Remote sensor for thermostat?

[mattsa]

I'm in a two-story home and the thermostat is mounted in the upper story, I'm assuming for convenient wiring access to the unit in the attic. Unfortunately the vast majority of the used living space is downstairs (there are just a couple of rooms upstairs).

As the summer heat is coming on the difference in temp between the up and downstairs is increasing, as I'd expect, but the problem is that given our layout even if the downstairs has been cooled significantly, it may still be hot upstairs where the thermostat is.

What would be ideal is if I could move the thermostat and its sensor downstairs. I'm wondering about the feasibility of either some kind of thermostat that can get temperature from a remote site (wired or wirelessly) or alternately dropping the wiring for the thermostat into the lower story and moving it.

Do thermostats with remote sensors exist and if so, is there anything you would recommend? I'd probably go this route if I can do it without spending an arm and a leg.

Is there anything special I'd need to worry about in terms of extending the wiring? I'm reasonably comfortable with standard electrical work, just wondering if there's any gotchas. Thanks!

[HayZee518]

bout the only "gotcha" would be the plate between the first and second floor and maybe some fire stops in the middle. if you remove the baseboard you may be able to drill through the plate with an angled drill & bit. with fire stops its a little more labor intensive but it can be done.

[mattsa]

Great, thanks for the info. Any thoughts on the feasibility/cost of a thermostat with a remote sensor? If that can be done easily I'd just as soon not put extra holes in the walls.

Thanks again!

[HayZee518]

ok, there's one way to do it. with an electrician's snake, see if you can drop the snake along side the stack in the attic all the way to the basement. you might need to shake it twist it and let it fall do anything to get around the cutout in the plate(s). another area you may be able to "snake" down is next to a chimney. most times the carpentry or framing leaves around 2 inches all the way around the chimney. once you get the snake to the basement, then all you need to do is calculate where or rather which wall you want the thermostat partition in. then figure it out in the basement and drill up in the wall partition with an eighteen in auger. make a hole in the wall and use a piece of string with a small weight on it and drop it into the wall space all the way to the bottom. then use a bent coathanger to see if you can snag the string and pull it through the hole in the basement. now you got a complete run to the attic. hook a piece of 18-2 or 18-3 and just pull up to the attic and up into the wall space. wiring is just disconnect the upstairs stat and reconnect the lower stat wires.