The KUFH series does require a thermostat to operate. Several thermostats are available for your heater. When you are using this thermostat with a three-phase KFUH, a KFUH-2S3 2-stage control relay for three-phase models is required. The KFUH-2S3 control relay is factory installed and is included with the KFUH-2TS thermostat.