New thermostat

[dogdad]

Looking to replace my White Rodgers 1F56-444 Thermostat with something new. It's the older mercury style, and I've read that they have been discontinued and replaced with a mechanical version which has had some bad reviews. Any suggestions on a replacement? Thanks

 

[Big Daddy Chop Shop]

You need to decide a couple things.
1. Do you like simple or options?
2. Are you in a position to, or would you, use nite time and/or day time set back?
3. What kind of system are you running?

I'll go way, WAY out on a limb and make a general recommendation, the Vision-PRO from Honeywell is hard to beat. it will run anything short baseboard (or some other ancient systems) requiring a line voltage stat. Once programmed, they are very user-friendly.

Our service manager has a honeywell wifi and previously had a NEST. Liked them both.

 

[Falcon67]

We use a Honeywell wifi unit at the house and work uses all Honeywell t-stat controls. Works well. I forget which model we have, but the only issue I've had with it is that the filter change reminder isn't real reliable. It also doesn't track history.

We previously used a CT-50 Intertherm WiFi unit (see radiothermostat.com). It worked well and liked the history. It did not get along with our new Ruud heat pump, so we had to switch.

 

[Todd.Brock]

The 149 dollar unit was given to me for 99 due to a store error. It has been rock solid for the 1.5 years I have owned it. Set up is a tad bit cryptic for wifi, but it works well. The app for iPhone works well. Only gripe is it does not play nice with the wink hub( home automation) like it supposed to. If you aren't into that then I would say you can't go wrong.

 

[Trey T]

Three people I know love their NEST and they're no techie ... easy to install, easy to use.

I finally jump on the bandwagon and bought two NEST thermostats (3rd gen), on sale right now for $200 ($250 original). I have Trane z-wave (allow smartphone control) but those were lousy units.

 

[Driver3]

Check out the ecobee3. Multiple sensors, wi-fi and extremely easy to set up.
Love mine.

 

[lewis26]

Check out the ecobee3. Multiple sensors, wi-fi and exremely easy to set up.
Love mine.

This. No idea why anyone would buy a nest over the ecobee3. Having a remote sensor is revolutionary.

I currently have a honeywell 9580, (the silver one pictured above), and recently uninstalled (and am trying to sell....) a radiothermostat CT30.

I eventually will go to an ecobee3 with 3 sensors around the house.

 

[Todd.Brock]

I agree it's helpful- not sure revolutionary... A two zone system would have a second thermostat. I could see it driving the second zone from a single stat being helpful. I have a 2 story house - std grade 1zone system. One thermostat down stairs. It's hot upstairs - I know that , the kids know it. Not sure the sensor telling me it's hot would be a benefit b/c if it ran the A/C until that sensor said its not hot upstairs- the downstairs would be freezing.

Unless I'm missing something??

 

[lewis26]

I agree it's helpful- not sure revolutionary... A two zone system would have a second thermostat. I could see it driving the second zone from a single stat being helpful. I have a 2 story house - std grade 1zone system. One thermostat down stairs. It's hot upstairs - I know that , the kids know it. Not sure the sensor telling me it's hot would be a benefit b/c if it ran the A/C until that sensor said its not hot upstairs- the downstairs would be freezing.

Unless I'm missing something??

You're on the right track. It cannot fix temperature variation between floors, but It can ignore sensors during certain times of the day, follow your movements into/out of certain rooms, only focus on a single sensor at night, overcool to reduce humidity, average all the sensors for a general house temperature, etc.


In my case, our house has a single register in each room, with a central return upstairs in the loft. Being able to only focus on the master bedroom at night, and not worry about how hot/cold the downstairs is would be great.


The whole benefit is putting the sensors where people actually are. In most houses, including mine, the thermostat is in a downstairs hallway, or in an room that isn't used much. This now takes data from the rooms you're actually in.

 

[dogdad]

All these thermostat's seem to becoming star trekking...lol....all kidding aside, my house is a small raised 900 sq ft , two bedroom, one bath, kitchen, den.... So I do t think I need multiple sensors....so would the Nest or equivalent be a good route to go?

 

[Todd.Brock]

Thanks for the clarification. I guess I could run the Ac until a desired temp but it would be cold everywhere else and expensive! My Trane is 29 years old and still ticking. I can see the point of the sensors if the stat is in a remote part of the house.

@Dogdad- For that - I assume stat is in a used part of the house. Nest uses motion to determine when you are home to help build a plan. Or you can use a schedule with the one I linked. I wanted a nest but they were 300 bucks at the time and I couldn't justify the expense.

 

[Denwood]

Another Ecobee3 recommendation. I have nine of them in our building.

The ecobee3 base unit is an occupancy sensor itself, and ships with an extra sensor. One of these sensors sits in our server room to send a notification if temps in there rise too high. The sensor(s) also work nicely with automation (if you choose to go there) and can drive all sorts of events based on temp, humidity, or occupancy. For a small house, their free cooling algorithm allows you to control a ventilator (like a whole house fan) which will be run when inside/outside temps and humidity are at set levels. It will try the "free" option until temperature rise inside dictates AC.

The stat displays the weather forecast, and uses it to control smart setbacks based on your learned building efficiency correlated to the forecast. This "smart" behavior sets Ecobee apart from everyone else.

I also use the web portal all the time to monitor run time, temp changes etc as we use very aggressive set backs.

The Ecobee3 as a basic stat is excellent, and if you want to take it up a few notches with automation, has been perfect for my needs. We are using a night cooling strategy over 7000 sq/ft with several of the ecobee3 temp sensor values used to drive this process.

 

[Trey T]

Remote temp sensor is good idea for homes that requires a room-biased temp based on seasonal changes; however, if you need multiple sensors for different locations, there's something seriously wrong with your air distribution.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Check out the ecobee3. Multiple sensors, wi-fi and extremely easy to set up.
Love mine.

This. No idea why anyone would buy a nest over the ecobee3. Having a remote sensor is revolutionary.

I currently have a honeywell 9580, (the silver one pictured above), and recently uninstalled (and am trying to sell....) a radiothermostat CT30.

I eventually will go to an ecobee3 with 3 sensors around the house.

Nest is garbage compared to Ecobee. Too bad nobody makes an accessory to run mulitple zone valves on something like that. Honeywell has their Evohome to run zonevalves, but it's not available in the US yet...

Tommy

 

[rshadd]

I got my NEST thermostat for free when I changed my electric provider.

 

[jayoldschool]

Last night, I just replaced my W-R 1F90 with an Emerson/W-R Sensi UP500C. So easy, works perfectly, love being able to control it from my phones.

 

[lewis26]

Nest is garbage compared to Ecobee. Too bad nobody makes an accessory to run mulitple zone valves on something like that. Honeywell has their Evohome to run zonevalves, but it's not available in the US yet...

Tommy

Ecobee is compatible with the Honeywell HZ311 Zone Panel, but you still require an ecobee in each zone.

 

[zeeway]

One more happy Ecobee user. Using IFTTT my thermostat automatically sets back when both my wife and I are away from home - this is based on cell phone location. Have not received my first electricity bill after installation yet, but I have high hopes for significant savings.

 

[bushmechanic]

This. No idea why anyone would buy a nest over the ecobee3. Having a remote sensor is revolutionary.

I currently have a honeywell 9580, (the silver one pictured above), and recently uninstalled (and am trying to sell....) a radiothermostat CT30.

I eventually will go to an ecobee3 with 3 sensors around the house.

I've got a Nest, and I keep forgetting to call up and ask if two can work in tandem to average out temperatures. Another sensor hanging out somewhere would be nice.

This place is set up in a manner that disallows the effective use of a single thermostat. It's always been an issue; even before the Nest.

That said, the thermostat is outstanding. It's exactly what a thermostat should be. Temperature swings are a little more than some, but the brains behind the thing account for them.

I've got an extreme scenario here. Smart thermostats can handle tough situations, but I'm just asking too much of any single unit.

Best part about the Nest?

For the first time, I've got a thermostat that can switch itself between heating and cooling as it sees fit. I've always thought it was crazy that I had to do that manually in a house, when cars can do it automatically.

It's not really an idle gripe, either. This building is sensitive. It'll get so damned hot in here you wouldn't believe it if you forget to switch.

Not a problem with the Nest.

It's also idiot-proof from installation to using advanced features. Damned thing even comes with blanking plates and a screwdriver.

 

[JerryC]

Cheap, easy replacement if you don't want a programmable/learning unit.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Honeywell-Digital-Non-Programmable-Thermostat-RTH111B/203539510

When my 20+ yr old tstat died, we put this one in. Set it and forget it

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Ecobee is compatible with the Honeywell HZ311 Zone Panel, but you still require an ecobee in each zone.

Exactly. I already have three programmable stats. Three individual ecobees would run my valves without a zone panel, but that would require replacing all 3 existing 2 conductor stat wires with new 4 conductor wires and it really wouldn't be much of an upgrade other than the wifi & remote capability.

Tommy

 

[bushmechanic]

So, is it the case that the Ecobee has a remote sensor that will help reach a desirable average temperature throughout a house that would otherwise be impossible with a single thermostat in a certain location?

 

[lewis26]

So, is it the case that the Ecobee has a remote sensor that will help reach a desirable average temperature throughout a house that would otherwise be impossible with a single thermostat in a certain location?

It will average the readings from all sensors in the house(you can add more than the one included) to adjust the system.

That being said, it's not going to make it the same desirable temperature throughout the house. A cold or hot room will still be cold or hot.