HVAC System at the Captain Morse House

The Captain Morse House has five different HVAC systems divided into six separate zones.

DOS AND DON'TS

  • Do not set one Thermostat to HEAT and another to COOL - They should all be either in HEAT or COOL
  • This is crucial on the 2nd floor. They must be either both HEAT or both COOL or both OFF, as this is one system with a damper.
  • Close ALL windows, storm windows, and doors when running the system
  • Turn all six thermostats to OFF if you open the windows and doors 
  • Never set the Fan to ON – only use Auto

HVAC EQUIPMENT SUMMARY

The house has an East and West Wing and three floors. Each floor has a separate zone, controlled by six Ecobee Premium Intelligent thermostats.
There are five separate heating and cooling systems in the home with a total cooling capacity of 14 tons.

  • First floor East: 2025 Ecoer 3-ton with Trane Furnace in cellar.
  • First floor West:  2025 Ecoer 3-ton with Trane Furnace in cellar.
  • Second floor: One 2025 Ecoer 4-ton with Trane Furnace and an electronic damper to serve both the 2nd floor East & West Wings.
  • Third floor East: 2024 2-ton LG heat pump (no gas).
  • Third floor West: 2025 Ecoer 2-ton heat pump (no gas).

There is an Aprilaire whole-house dehumidifier in the East cellar and an automatic dehumidifier for the West cellar laundry room.

GENERAL NOTES
This home was built in 1840 and has no insulation in it except for the attic where we installed foam insulation in 2016. This insulation is still not up to modern standards of thickness but it did help out a bit.
Because of this you will need to adopt some "old-time" solutions to keeping the house cool during heatwaves.
  • Lower the window shades on the sunny side / Morse Street side of the house. This will be the most effective way of keeping the house cool during the day.
  • Keep all windows and storm windows down during heat waves to improve the insulation at the windows.
  • If it is cooler outside than inside consider turning off all 4 thermostats and opening up the doors of the house for great cross ventilation. It's what people did for 160 years before AC when the vineyard was known for its cooling breezes.
  • Use all four thermostats in the COOL position with fan set to AUTO. Do not turn one of them off, especially on the 3rd floor, unless that floor is unoccupied.
  • Use the provided box fans to provide additional cooling. It is amazing what moving air can do for cooling.
  • Sleep under sheets rather than under comforters like it is snowing outside and you are in some swiss chalet.
  • The East wing of the 3rd floor has the least amount of windows. The front 3rd floor window is all there is. The roof scuttle cannot be trusted to stay open because the wind can blow it shut and break it.
THERMOSTAT NOTES

Here is an explanation of how the ECOBEE thermostats run.

There are six thermostats in the house. Two each on each wing of the 1st floor, second floor and third floor

If you activate the thermostat (Press COOL or HEAT to start) make sure ALL windows and doors are closed and all other thermostats are either off in the same state, either all COOL or all HEAT.
You may not need the HVAC system at all during your visit. The system wasn’t needed at all in the previous 170 years of the house.
If you wish to open the windows and doors for the natural island cooling breezes please TURN OFF all thermostats.

There is a central APP you can access to control them all. (currently this is not available2025 summer)

Captain Morse Househttps://accessmyproperty.com/wl/p-35811
CMH East Winghttps://accessmyproperty.com/wl/p-35812
CMH West Winghttps://accessmyproperty.com/wl/p-35813

Please close windows and doors if rain approaches.

Automatic Cooling Settings
When you are away the setting for cooling is 77 degrees
When you return it will automatically sense that and lower to 73 degrees
For sleeping, it is set to 71 degrees for the duration of the night.
The attic is NOT well insulated and will not cool except for sleeping at night.
For sleeping at night it will lower to 74.

Automatic Heating Settings
When you are away the setting for heat is 63 degrees
When you return it will automatically rise to 67 degrees
For sleeping, it is set to 64 degrees

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

This is mainly for maintenance and HVAC technicians use.
Techs should print this and take to the house.
 
System #1 is located in the front basement and is accessed by a green scuttle next to the trash containers. Also in this space is a whole-house humidifier that keeps the crawl spaces dehumidified. This system services the front living room, media room, dining room, and kitchen. The thermostat is located in the front living room and senses temperature as well as humidity. There is an associated motion detector that activates the system when occupancy is detected.
 
System #2 is located in the back basement and is accessed through the west exterior basement door with the round porthole opposite the garden. The thermostat is located on the east wall of the living dining area in the back of the house. There is an associated motion detector which activates the system when occupancy is detected.
 

System #3 is in the attic and serves the East and West Wings on the 2nd floor. It is the largest system. It is located behind a small door opposite bedroom #7 on the third floor. Bedroom #7 is the one closest to the 3rd-floor bathroom #7. The Thermostats are in Bedroom #4 for the East and Hallway outside of bedroom 5. There is an associated motion detector which activates the system when occupancy is detected.

 
System #4 is located in the East Wing and the thermostat is located in bedroom #10 the sailloft
 
Sytem #5 is located in the West Wing and the thermostat is located in the hallway.

Username email is ________________

password is _____________________

Thermostat Offline

The answer is to Reboot The Thermostat. There are three ways to do this. If  Step One does not work then go to Two etc.

1)  Carefully remove the off line thermostat from its base by putting your thumb and index finger on the backplate and applying a steady tug against the ecobee thermostat.

2)  Wait two minutes

3) Reinstall the Ecobee

IF STEP ONE DOES NOT WORK

1) Use the master switch on your HVAC system or the circuit breaker box to power off your system. This is located on Morse Street. Access the Condenser for the 2nd floor systems and the 3rd Floor East system by walking through the gap between the hedge and the front Morse Street Entrance.

Access the other three condensers (1st floor East and West and 3rd floor West) at the gap in the hedge between the patio gate and hedge.

2) Carefully remove your thermostat from its base by putting your thumb and index finger on the backplate and applying a steady tug against the ecobee thermostat.

2)  Wait two minutes

3) Reinstall the Ecobee

4) Power on the condenser

IF STEP ONE AND TWO DOES NOT WORK 

1) Use the master switch on your HVAC system or the circuit breaker box to power off your system. This is located on Morse Street. Access the Condenser for the 2nd floor systems and the 3rd Floor East system by walking through the gap between the hedge and the front Morse Street Entrance.

Access the other three condensers (1st floor East and West and 3rd floor West) at the gap in the hedge between the patio gate and hedge.

2) Carefully remove your thermostat from its base by putting your thumb and index finger on the backplate and applying a steady tug against the ecobee thermostat.

3) Turn off the network devices in basement (xFinity Router) and the three Ubiquiti POE injectors for WAP, basement near XFinity, 1st Floor East Media closet, 3rd floor closet on right next to the big center unit

4)  Wait two minutes

3) Power on the condenser

4) Plug all network devices back in, but leave the ecobee off for now

5) Once all network devices are back up and running, place the ecobee back on the wall and wait for it to finish powering up—it should reconnect to Wi-Fi automatically.

You can check the status of your connection on your thermostat's screen by going into the Main Menu > General > About > Wi-Fi. You’ll want to make sure your ecobee is connected to your router, as well as connected to the ecobee.com server

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