OT: Anyone use wifi thermostat at home?

dldawes1

Thanks for starting this thread, I've been checking into them as well. I had never heard of the Nest...only the Honeywell brand at Home Depot.

CPARKTX

Love the Nest, can't imagine going back old school.

NPHuskerFL

Raymont said:

OK. I'll bite... Why would you see Energy savings over a programmable thermostat?

It gives people that don't have work schedules that are set in stone more freedom to control temp and relative humidity which will lead to better comfort, efficiency and end energy savings. Also some models communicate with coupled with diagnostics. If there is a critical system malfunction it will shut down and show the error code message and email whomever you have programmed for repairs (in my case it emails me lol). Not all Wi-Fi thermostats do these things but, it's available.

stemc33

@DaveRichardson‌, my wifi thermostat works awesome. Pretty simple to operate too. When I get chilly and if my iPad is connected to WiFi, I just get my lazy ass off the couch and fill up the coal stove. Haven't lost a WiFi connection yet.

NPHuskerFL

@Jeremiah‌ the Honeywell tstats have had intelligence for awhile. They have used adaptive recovery for years. This requires the unit to know and learn your system's and your patterns to achieve better overall comfort. Of course you can turn this feature off. There are also tstats out there that don't slow down your home networks Wi-Fi because it uses its own bandwidth from RedLINK. Check it out on the web.

caliking

@Jeremiah - what would you like to know? I have 2 of the Honeywell WiFi models.

DaveRichardson

Hey @caliking‌ - which ones do you have????

NPHuskerFL

caliking said:

@Jeremiah - what would you like to know? I have 2 of the Honeywell WiFi models.

Do you have RedLINK models?

Jeremiah

Thanks caliking. I've spent a bit this morning researching it. It's now on my Christmas list. ;;)

caliking

@NPHuskerFL-

I have these:

http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-TH9320WF5003-Wi-Fi-Smart-Thermostat/dp/B00FLZEQH2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416325232&sr=8-1&keywords=honeywell+wifi+thermostat

http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-RTH6580WF-Wi-Fi-Programmable-Thermostat/dp/B00A97FIG0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1416325232&sr=8-2&keywords=honeywell+wifi+thermostat&pebp=1416325346925

They are not the RedLINK models. Both can be programmed to follow schedules. The color one can be set to automatically maintain a temp range i.e. heat kicks in if temp falls below a minimum and cooling kicks in if temp rises above the set max, as long as the differential between min and max set temp is at least 3 degrees. The monochrome runs in heat only or cool only modes, but not a big deal. Some folks (including myself) don't like the minimalist display of the nest, and prefer the color Honeywell which gives you outside temp, humidity etc.

I don't think the Lyric was available when I installed these 6 months ago.

saluki2007

I have been doing some research on these as well, and I'm leaning towards the Honeywells as well.  A big thing I have noticed is that the Honeywell will hold + or - 1 degree and the Nest is + o r - 3 degrees.

saluki2007

Zmokin  If someone wants into your house, they are going to get into it.  If anything, the smart locks are going to be harder to get into than traditional locks.  With the invention of 3d printers, people are now able to create "tap" keys.  Basically they create a blank key and tap it into your lock so that is molds into your locking mechanisms signature.  At least if someone wants to break into my house they will have to be computer savoy and been planning on breaking into my house.  In that case they really want in, for some unknown reason to me, and they are going to get in.  If someone want's to hack my thermostat and make spend a few extra bucks a month on my heating/cooling, then good for them.

Zmokin

Call me old fashion, but if you can access your house with wireless, then someone can hack into it.  The system that really scares me is these ads I've seen for "Smart House" where you can lock your house remotely.  Well, if you can lock it remotely, then someone else can unlock it remotely.
That's why I lock my cars inside my garage.  I do enjoy the remote control to open the garage door, which makes that door not so secure, so the cars are locked and alarmed while sitting in the garage.

grege345 said:

@Zmokin‌ I would say I'm completely opposite lol. Keys are in it just be careful. Haha

Well, to each his own.  I have a good friend that lives out in the sticks.  He always left his house completely unlocked, 24/7.  He felt"safe" living so remotely.  but he did have neighbors (typical 2-5 acre lots).  he had several uninsured dirt bikes, and figured the most likely burglar would be friends of his son stealing the dirt bikes, so he installed his own camera system in his house and garage and software on his computer to record "events".  Well, one day, they got up in the AM and his son asked him what happened to the money that he was given the night before and put in his wallet he left in his backpack for school the next day.  Well after much searching, he decided to check his computer recording.  Low & behold, a stranger entered their house while they were sleeping, while in the garage, he saw the webcam and turned it around, but that was after it had a nice close-up of his mug to show the sheriffs.  He then went in the unlocked house and rooted around until he found the wallet in the backpack and removed the cash (a couple hundred dollars), and then quickly left.  Sheriffs recognized the man in the recorded video and said the guy was a well known crankster from the area.  That was a few years ago, my friend now locks his house when he leaves and locks it up at night when he goes to bed.  It kinda creeped him out to realize a total stranger with nefarious intent was in his home while he laid their sleeping.  He thought living so far from big cities, ghettos, etc, that it was 100% totally safe.
Until he learned differently through the school of hard knocks.

Eggdam

+1 on the Nest.  They add new features all the time.  It plays nice with alot of other home automation also.  Living up North its nice to be able to monitor the temp on the WIFI when I'm on Vacation down south.  I really like the auto-away feature.  If it does not sense any motion in the house for extended periods it automatically rolls the heat back.  Great for times you are away for a few days.

4Runner

Here is a review of the Gen 2 model:  http://www.cnet.com/products/nest-learning-thermostat/

If I were in the market I would consider ecobee as well:

https://www.ecobee.com/

Ragtop99

Motion sensor won't work for our main house unit.  We are rarely in that room.  The addition is similar in that during the day we're in the kitchen, but not the family room where the T-stat is located.   I have a programmed thermostats now and remember to lock tem into a different temps when we're on vacation. So far, I'm not seeing much gain to switching.  

This has been helpful to read, thanks to those with these units for posting your experiences.

BigWader

I don't think nest works with newer modulating furnaces - at least that's what I remember from a year or so ago.  Can anyone confirm if that has changed?

 

4Runner

If you have more than 1 Nest, they all work together. If one unit sees motion they all "wake up". For the ecobee, they have a neat answer by adding a remote sensor...you can add up to like 30 plus to cover your house. I don't have experience with ecobee as I have only watched their video. Energy savings goes down if you already have a programmable t stat and actually use it, but there is more to the Nest and others than just a schedule. Also, if your current t stat is in a room you aren't using much, seems to me the ecobee offers a nice comfort advantage as it will turn on or off your unit based on the temp in room or rooms where people are. To me, the common rooms is where regulating the temp is most important. Something to consider. Nest incompatibility. https://nest.com/support/article/Incompatible-systems

BREWnQ

According to this you can get the Nest for $199 from Verizon this Friday.

http://www.droid-life.com/2014/11/24/verizon-black-friday-deals-2014/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+DroidLife+(Droid+Life)&utm_content=FeedBurner

DaveRichardson

@Brew'nQue‌ Sounds pretty good to me. Guess I'll be asking for forgiveness from SWMBO!!!!

rifrench

I have a heat only hot water system with 2 zones. Will the NEST do anything for me? I leave the thermostat set @ 70 24/7. I can't see where letting everything in the house cool down, only to bring it back in the morning saves anything in fuel.......
 

caliking

@rifrench - i don't think you can hook up a smart/wifi thermostat to your system. You need a "C" common wire to power the thermostat, and I don't think your type of system is wired that way. I could be wrong though. 

rifrench

Our thermostats use two wires....I guess I need to do some research.
Thanks, caliking

NPHuskerFL

caliking said:

@rifrench - i don't think you can hook up a smart/wifi thermostat to your system. You need a "C" common wire to power the thermostat, and I don't think your type of system is wired that way. I could be wrong though. 

"Common" on the control voltage is essentially ground. If this is not present you can take a ground rod or copper pipe and pound it into the earth to get good conductivity. Then attach a wire to said ground and you now have your needed common. We have done this in a pinch. Other alternative is to wire in a 40VA step down transformer and use the common off the low voltage of that transformer.
Question? What are the low voltage termination landings? Ie: R, Y, G, O, B, C, W1, W2 ?

hapster

I got the Nest for nothing from NRG when I signed up to have them as my energy provider

BigGreenKev

Elmer Fudd said:

I've had the Nest for maybe a couple of years now. I do like it however when my air conditioning or heater is really working hard, I get an error message indicating the nest is not connected to thh heating or cooling system (not a wifi issue). It always takes care of itself but is a little worrisome especially living in MN. uncertain where to place blame.

I'm in MN and used to have the same problem. Finally figured it out last January one night when it was -20 and furnace wouldn't kick on. There is a battery in the nest that charges when furnace/ac isn't running. During heavy use it can't charge and battery wears down until the use slows down. Solution was to do a dedicated wire from furnace to nest for charging. Haven't had the issue in almost a year now. This was from nest support FYI and not just a crazy hack

BREWnQ

Hate to bump an old thread.  But this thread got me excited about a smart thermostat so I got the Ecobee3 and extra sensors.  Got it all setup and install this weekend took maybe 20 minutes.  Now it keeps the house warm.  I don't yet see any real value in it or see how it's going to get smart and guess what I want.  Guess we'll see in a year or so.

Thanks guys got me all worked up about getting a new toy that quickly lost it's shine.

tarheelmatt

I just had a new outside unit installed (air handler, heater strips, UV light, new wall mount) last week.  Asked the guy, who seems pretty knowledgeable if he recommended a Nest or similar.  He said he really didn't recommend them for my application.  I have all electric heat pump.  He did indicate that if I had a gas pack along with what I have, he would recommend.  

With electric heat pumps, with heat, when the target temp is 3° below, your strip heaters will come on, which isn't very efficient.  So if you have your heat off while at work, the strips will be on longer say if the temp was even less than the 3°.  

He indicated that they had them and would sell one to me if I was hell bent to have one, but he indicated to just set the target and keep it there.