Joe, as others have said, you have been furnished a "list of features", not a construction specification. Such lists may often be as misleading and confusing for what they omit as for what they claim to proscribe. The language of your construction contract will determine the extent to which your "features" list governs and is binding, including recourse (if any) for errors, omissions and disagreements. For examples of construction specifications, visit the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI). Here's the Wiki definition for "Specification--Technical Standard". A key element of a legitimate specification is its three parts for each and every area of Work--General, Products and Execution: Construction specifications in North America Specifications in North America form part of the contract documents that accompany and govern the construction of a building. The guiding master document is the latest edition of MasterFormat. It is a consensus document that is jointly sponsored by two professional organisations: Construction Specifications Canada and Construction Specifications Institute. While there is a tendency to believe that "Specs overrule Drawings" in the event of discrepancies between the text document and the drawings, the actual intent��"made explicit in the contract between the Owner and the Contractor��"is for the drawings and specifications to be complementary, together providing the information required for a complete facility. The Specifications fall into 50 Divisions, or broad categories of work results involved in construction. The Divisions are subdivided into Sections, each one addressing a narrow scope of the construction work. For instance, firestopping is addressed in Section 078400 - Firestopping. It forms part of Division 07, which is Thermal and Moisture Protection. Division 07 also addresses building envelope and fireproofing work. Each Section is subdivided into three distinct Parts: "General", "Products" and "Execution". The MasterFormat system can be successfully applied to residential, commercial, civil, and industrial construction. Specifications can be either "performance-based", whereby the specifier restricts the text to stating the performance that must be achieved by the completed work, or "prescriptive", whereby the specifier indicates specific products, vendors and even contractors that are acceptable for each workscope. Most construction specifications are a combination of performance-based and prescriptive types, naming acceptable manufacturers and products while also specifying certain standards and design criteria that must be met. While North American specifications are usually restricted to broad descriptions of the work, European ones can include actual work quantities, including such things as area of drywall to be built in square metres, like a bill of materials. This type of specification is a collaborative effort between a specwriter and a quantity surveyor. This approach is unusual in North America, where each bidder performs a quantity survey on the basis of both drawings and specifications. Although specifications are usually issued by the architect's office, specwriting itself is undertaken by the architect and the various engineers or by specialist specwriters. Specwriting is often a distinct professional trade, with professional certifications such as "Certified Construction Specifier" (CCS) through the professional organizations noted above. Specwriters are either employees of or sub-contractors to architects, engineers, or construction management companies. Specwriters frequently meet with manufacturers of building materials who seek to have their products specified on upcoming construction projects so that contractors can include their products in the estimates leading to their proposals. Good luck on your project.

This morning I caught the system just as it turned on (my ears are now trained to listen for the click of the tstat and the fan coming on.) This time, when the tstat started heat all by itself, the Aux Heat call did not come on. I have a feeling that anytime I try to force the heat on myself, the tstat is seeing a large enough delta between set and actual temp that it is kicking AH on. I will have to watch the operations over the next few days to see if it consistently works without AH. In the mean time, the breaker to the heater pack is off to avoid the toaster. I have decided to send an email to Honeywell tech support on the CPH setting for my tstat. Now that I understand what the CPH setting does, I need to know how the logic is implemented. For example, my tstat setting for Compressor Cycle Rate is set to 3. Does the tstat bleed these 3 cycles per hour (max) uniformly over an hour of time - or does it simply allow 3 on/off cycles in rapid succession, and then no more for the rest of the hour. If the allocation is uniform across an hour, then the Aux heat setting (which is currently 9 CPH) could be adjusted lower to keep Aux Heat from popping on so quickly - like when I increase the tstat setting by 2 degrees. Again - if it is a uniform distrubution of on/off cycles the tstat would permit Aux Heat to come on every 3 minutes with a 9 CPH setting and that is too frequent. So the CPH adjustment may in fact be part of the solution. I have also discovered a nagging issue with my second story heat pump. That unit is actually zoned - where 3 bedrooms each have their own tstat. My guess is that the CPH setting for each tstat is set to the recommended default (3 CPH) which means that there are actually a total of 9 CPH allowed (3 for each tstat). That explains why that unit kept cycling so frequnectly on me last winter. I believe that a CPH reduction is probably warranted in each of those tstats and that would reduce the number of total HVAC cycles upstairs. The downside is that some rooms way have a wider tempertaure swing and then a longer run to get up to the set temp. But I would rather have a reduction in cycles as long as the swings are not too big (which could cause Aux Heat to pop on). Imagine Room 1 calling for heat and getting serviced - then shutting off. Then a few minutes later, Room 2 does the same thing, then Room 3. If I stretch out the ON/OFF times in all rooms, I will increase the probability that heat calls will overlap. I will check on the L line. I believe that my tstat does not use L becasue I get no alarm lights when the compressor locks out - and I would like to have that. There have been cases where the compressor has locked out and the only way I knew it is when it got very cold in the room and I opened up the heat pump cover to see the red light on the contoller.

And the current update: Called a little before 8 to make sure they were coming out (Hm, I don't trust them?) and learned: 1st person I spoke to: Fios order is still pending. The repair person would be out this morning 2nd person: repair person picked up the job and is on his way. 3rd person: repair will be between 12 and 5???? But he explained that one of the things they do to repair phone is replace copper wire with fiber, thus--he said--the confusion with FIOS (okay, but if that's true, why did no one else explain that when I said I didn't want FIOS? and why was my repair order cancelled?) Repair truck pulled up about 1/2 hour ago. He came in, checked something in the basement, went outside, then got in his truck and left. I still have no phone, he didn't say he was done, nor that it was fixed--nor why he was leaving. I'm hoping he'll be back. Soon. (am guessing it's maybe a pit stop? or he needs a part?)

Thanks! Yes, an electrician friend will be doing the work (and I'll be helping out). My issue is that I can't simply patch and paint the old J-Box location because I have a California Stucco ceiling -- it would be impossible to match :( If I don't use the existing ceiling fixture location then I'll need to just cap it with one of these: You don't think there's a way to use the exisiting fixture location in some way? Thanks for your suggestions on centreing the downlights -- that makes a lot of sense! I think I'd prefer to get rid of the standard ceiling fixture altogether (more of a minimalist look in my bedroom) -- do you think 4 potlights centrered as you suggest is sufficient lighting for the space? Or maybe I should consider either: - adding a 5th potlight centered in the room, or - adding a 5th and 6th potlights above the bed centred on the TV? Thanks!