Wifi thermostats: annnnd go.

[Culley22]

Been a long time coming but the remodel is done, and the getaway house is ready. Problem is though I only go a handful of times a year and need to make sure the AC/Heat is on and set appropriately. So...I'm looking at wifi thermostats. So...opinions welcome!

I'll suffer through this view...

[crew]

Beautiful view!
I had been using the first generation Nest thermostat in my condo for the last 3-4 years. I replaced it once (under warranty) and it has served me well.
I like the remote monitoring and control that it affords me.
This summer I put in a heat pump and the original Nest can't be used for that so I bought the third generation Nest and I am equally happy with it.
I should point out that my contractor was against using the Nest and pushed for me to go with his Nexia unit. My GF had the same experience when she replaced her furnace a few years ago. I think the reason that they don't like using Nests is because they lose that revenue as Nest doesn't really have a dealer network. Perhaps I'm wrong, but that's my take.
Her Nexia was a complete pain in the #ss for the almost two years. It was offline more than it was online. The contractor, a major one in our area, struggled with the network aspect of it. I think it was replaced at least once, maybe twice, due to its poor performance. For the last two years it has worked very well and I'm reasonably happy with it as well.
I installed my old Nest in a condo we bought in Florida which has electric heat and A/C. It's working flawlessly there and, just last week, I had someone doing some work for me and they adjusted the temp. They left but forgot to turn the thermostat back up. I caught it on my Nest app and turned it up 6 degrees, likely saving myself a lot of wasted energy dollars.

[kulak]

I had the 2nd gen nest before I got a new HVAC system which included the Nexia. Both have been fine. They both support remote monitoring and control. The Nexia has the home automation tie in too but i don't use it. Their app tries to upsell you on automation upgrades which will force you into their monthly subscription fee.

[Rosato]

I have had good luck with a Honeywell Wifi "Smart" thermostat--it's very simple to adjust the temp/settings on the thermostat with a cell phone.

[GB-man]

I have the ecobee and love it. Did lots of research before and skipped the nest even though I thought it looked cooler. My sister has the nest though and no complaints.

I believe the nest only displays what temp you have it set to vs what temp the house actually is. This I do not like as I don't know if or when there is a variance.

[tvad]

Originally Posted by GB-man

I have the ecobee and love it.

+1. Works great.

The addition of sensors in rooms of one's choice makes this unit more flexible than other wifi thermostats, IMO.

Originally Posted by Culley22

the Nest and Ecobee are "smart" thermostats that learn and adjust from how you use it day in and day out.

The Nest works as you describe. The Ecobee does not...it is not a "learning" thermostat. It can detect when the house is empty (or when rooms are unoccupied), and therefore reduce heat or cooling as you wish (and resume heating and cooling when it senses the house or rooms are occupied), but it does not "learn" this through repeated user input, but rather detects this via the remote sensors. The Ecobee works however you program the thermostat and its sensors, and the options are vast (but easy to learn).

[crew]

I wanted to relate a story about my GF's Nexia that highlights the value smart thermostats can provide.
The first winter after her new furnace was installed we went on a vacation to St. John's, USVI. A day after we arrived I was checking her thermostat and the house was only 58 degrees. She left it at about 65. Rather than cause her any anxiety I raised the temp to 70 and monitored it for a few hours. I could see the unit click on but 3 hours later the house had dropped another 4 degrees.
I told her what was going on and we called a neighbor and the HVAC contractor to make an emergency visit. What had happened was that we had picked up more than a foot of snow and the intake for the new high efficiency furnace was covered completely by snow. The furnace was choking due to lack of air.
Had we not had that thermostat, and fortunately it was working that day, we would have come home to a potentially big problem.

[Culley22]

Right now, I'm looking close at the Honeywell, only because the Nest and Ecobee are "smart" thermostats that learn and adjust from how you use it day in and day out....and since I don't live here, not sure that aspect is needed (nor double the price). Again though, still not sold in any which direction.

Thanks for the input so far!!

[vman]

I have a Nest. It is okay and I do not necessarily buy into the savings. The smart learning embedded into the thermostat was not quite precise and our bill went up. It took a while to adjust. I ended up disabling the learning functionality completely and punched in the temp ranges myself. Now it works okay.

A friend has changed Nest to EcoBee and loves that more. I guess his major gripe about Nest was Google's ownership of the company.

Given all that, I would still recommend a smart thermostat. It certainly is comforting knowning that you can control temperature while being away. Also, it may prevent nasty surprises like the one described above.

[eco8gator]

I enjoy the wifi touch pads that came with my Lennox XC25 units. I have 2 installed and love them...amazingly quiet.

[Culley22]

Hmmmm....the Ecobee will get another look. thanks!

[anothernewphone]

I have had a Nest for a few years now. I don't have any issues with ththe device itself, just that the company is owned by Google now. I'm considering removing it in the future, in favor of something similar, though.

[Fleetlord]

Nest doesn't have humidity control, so if you live in humid environment and have a variable speed air handler, it's not going to work as you need it too.

Otherwise it is ok.

[GB-man]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

Nest doesn't have humidity control, so if you live in humid environment and have a variable speed air handler, it's not going to work as you need it too.

Otherwise it is ok.

I can confirm the ecobee has humidity control as I use it.

[WristEnvy]

I just installed one yesterday at my in-laws. Took about 15 minutes.





ig - @watch.kakashi

[T. Ferguson]

I have Honeywell. Iirc, got it at Home Depot. This one to be specific:

http://yourhome.honeywell.com/en/pro...stat-rth6580wf

I'm very happy with it. Was super easy to set up. Can't address ease of install because my handyman did that but I was there and it didn't take him very long. One of the things I like about it is that it is not constantly backlit so it isn't always throwing off light all night - I like it dark when I sleep. When you hit a button it lights up.

The other thing I like about it is simply this - it just works...all the time. And the phone app is easy to use.

It can be programmed for each day of the week but I haven't needed that. Mainly I use it to turn the A/C on when I'm going out to my place in the summer so the house is livable when I get there.

[mfer]

I just got 2 Honeywell wifi. Don't need the nest as I'm smart enough to know how I want the temperature set. Honeywell is really easy to set on your smartphone. Even easier than using the unit itself. Just make sure you have a "c" wire (most likely blue) for continuous power. Wifi needs that. If you don't, you'll need to run a wire from unit to the thermostat. Not too hard.

[roaddog359]

Originally Posted by mfer

I just got 2 Honeywell wifi. Don't need the nest as I'm smart enough to know how I want the temperature set. Honeywell is really easy to set on your smartphone. Even easier than using the unit itself. Just make sure you have a "c" wire (most likely blue) for continuous power. Wifi needs that. If you don't, you'll need to run a wire from unit to the thermostat. Not too hard.

I also have 2 honeywell wifi thermostats, they have been great. I even have one out in my pole barn so I can turn the heat up before i go out there to make sure its toasty warm by the time I walk out there.

[bdex75]

Originally Posted by roaddog359

I also have 2 honeywell wifi thermostats, they have been great. I even have one out in my pole barn so I can turn the heat up before i go out there to make sure its toasty warm by the time I walk out there.

I need to look into these Honeywell wifi units.

We have a furnace/ac on each level. And the level my kids tend to be at always gets the heat turned up in the winter. Would be nice to check from my phone rather than waiting until I wander upstairs to look for something (once every few weeks) only to get hit with a heat wave from the 75 degree thermostat setting. One would think 23 and 15 year olds could figure out/remember to not mess with the thermostats as told, but no. Snap chat gets in the way.

Probably easier to get the thermostats than it is to argue with the wife about taking the stupid cell phones away.


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[Ferdelious]

I have a Trane XL824 that came with my HVAC unit. It's equipped with Nexia and works great.

[kulak]

Originally Posted by Ferdelious

I have a Trane XL824 that came with my HVAC unit. It's equipped with Nexia and works great.

This is the one I have and it has humidity control too. The Nest learning feature never quite worked out for me....

[Limestonedan]

Don't have Nest but heard its great. We have WIFI Ecobee at our residences for many years. Really like it and are spoiled. Able to set heat or A/C from anywhere on the smartphone/ipad etc. If it's winter and we want to head to a place for the weekend, it's great turning the heat up from 55 to 68 and having the house warm for us and the dogs. It's invaluable and worth every penny when an issue arrises and we receive pro active temperature alerts.. Saved our bacon over the years.. We received one a few weeks ago when there was an issue with one of the furnace's. Tells us how much the temp drops over periods of time etc. 3 degrees over 2 hrs etc.. Got it resolved remotely in short order before a real problem surfaced.. Can create custom settings and graphs for observing temperature patterns over several days etc.

[btinl]

I have two NEST thermostats. They work well. I'm a big fan of all NEST products.