Smart thermostat recommendations?

[danb35]

I apologize if this forum isn't appropriate for home-related stuff, but I see enough that I figured it was OK. If not, please advice.

My wife and I are buying a house that's under construction. In our last home, we had a Trane Z-Wave programmable thermostat that (when the gateway was working properly) we were able to control remotely. I liked that feature when it worked, and I'd like something similar in the new home.

I'm certainly not married to the Z-Wave technology, but I'd like something that (1) I could program to run on certain schedules, and (2) I could adjust from outside the home, like with a smartphone app. I would like to do some other home automation stuff as well (at least some lights, perhaps door locks), so I suppose it would be a plus if it could be integrated with that, but I don't think that's necessary.

The Nest thermostat is the one I've seen the most about. I don't think it integrates with other home automation, but again I don't think it'd be a bad thing to have a separate app to control the thermostat. What would you all recommend?

 

[aardquark]

I just installed two CyberStat thermostats, and am pleased. They were easy to install and control remotely, and are considerably cheaper than the Nest (although they don't have any dynamic learning capability).

https://www.cyberstat.com

 

[Nekit]

I just installed two CyberStat thermostats, and am pleased. They were easy to install and control remotely, and are considerably cheaper than the Nest (although they don't have any dynamic learning capability).

https://www.cyberstat.com

Not as fancy looking as the Nest, but for only $80 shipped might be good for shop. Thanks

 

[BoostAddiction]

Checkinto the Ecobee 3. I have them and like them a lot. Can be integrated easier than Nest.

 

[UpstateNY]

Nest

 

[sms1974]

The new Trane / American Standard Z-wave stats have the Nexia bridge built in to the thermostat and are very reliable. If you liked the last one you had why not look in to a new one?

There's also the benefit of being able to add door locks web cams and lighting as you go...

 

[mark11]

I'm happy with Nest.

 

[DC73]

I have the Honeywell Wi-Fi Model RTH6580WF. It's 7 day programmable via the unit itself, my desktop PC, or my Android phone. It's also has an Apple app available for iPods and iPads. It has a "hold until" feature that I really like. I can be away from the house for a few hours and set it to hold a more energy efficient temperature until just before I plan to return (this is handy if you're like me and forget to use the app to manually reset it). It also has a permanent hold feature for vacations. In that case, I set an alarm on the day I am returning to remind me to use the phone app to reset the temperature.

Here's a link to Home Depot (when I bought, it was $20 cheaper than at Lowe's).

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Honeywel...mable-Thermostat-Free-App-RTH6580WF/203556922

The only thing I don't like about it and it's not that big of deal is that there are only 4 temperature settings per day. I'd prefer 6 so I could ramp the temperature up or down more gradually before getting into or out of bed.

DC

 

[boo coo tracks]

Nest!! Has a lot of comparative data on usage. You can compare with other households in your immediate area. (heating degree days)
Tracks

 

[cdaiscool]

I installed a Nest around 1.5 years ago, and I absolutely love it. Auto-away, Auto-home, can detect sound and motion, shows current temperature outside, creates a program based on your activity.

When I get the garage heater installed, I'm putting another Nest out in the garage. When I pull in, open the door, or am just working out there, it won't go auto-away but after a certain time of no activity, or if I forget to turn it off, it'll turn itself down and/or I can turn it down with my phone.

Plus you get a lot of good information every month comparing your energy use to your previous month, gives an explanation why it may have gone up or down (temperature, month, etc) and shows how you did vs. other people in your area.

Nest gets my vote. :thumbsup:

 

[Hencini]

Another vote for The Nest here. We've had ours about a year and a half and have been pleased.

Not only can you program it if you want, it actually learns your habits and preferences as you tweak it. It also knows if you're home or not and goes into an energy saving mode if it sees that you're gone for a while. If it sees that you're routinely gone at the same time on certain days, it will adjust the program accordingly. They actually advise you *not* to program it out of the box and just let it learn from you. Pretty cool.

It can even do some pretty trick stuff like keep the fan running for another couple minutes after the heating element or compressor is shut off to squeeze the last bit of warm / cold air out of the air handler. Or it can be set to run the AC for a few minutes to get the humidity out of the air, even if the actual temperature in the house is below your set point. Great for late spring / early summer in a city like Memphis.

And of course, it can be controlled from any number of smartphones which is really nice when, say, you've been out of town for several weeks in the winter and your 100 year old radiators need almost a day to heat the house from 55 to 70 degrees.

Good luck whichever route you choose.

 

[Hencini]

Checkinto the Ecobee 3. I have them and like them a lot. Can be integrated easier than Nest.

Just curious, what did you find difficult about integrating the Nest? It was far and away the easiest thermostat I've ever installed and it connected in minutes to our newer AC system as well as our ancient boiler. We were actually able to consolidate from two thermostats to one.

 

[dfiler2]

I also have the Honeywell Wi-Fi Model RTH6580WF and it works well, however, it does not track any data and I believe the Nest and Ecobee do. I would like to be able to know how often the furnace in my shop is cycling. I could then determine weather it is is more efficient to turn the heat down to 40 all the time or if on weekends I would be better off leaving the temp a little higher. It would also help determine how much it is costing to heat the shop and whether I should consider some other method of heating.

 

[theoldwizard1]

The biggest residential HVAC company around here only installs White-Rodgers.

 

[wvrailroader]

I have a question for those with the Nest. I know it learns your patterns, but my wife is a RN and works 3 days per week, but they are different days almost every week. Does anyone have any experience with that and how did it work out? Also, how does the occupancy sensor do with a dog in the house? Will the dog trick the sensors into thinking the house is occupied and make the furnace run to keep the house warmer?

I really like the idea of the Nest thermostat, but had a few questions before I sunk the money into it.

 

[BoostAddiction]

Just curious, what did you find difficult about integrating the Nest? It was far and away the easiest thermostat I've ever installed and it connected in minutes to our newer AC system as well as our ancient boiler. We were actually able to consolidate from two thermostats to one.

Installing either one is easy, especially if you have a power wire already at your old thermostat.

I was referring to integration with other Internet-of-things stuff. The Nest, coming from ex-Apple engineers, predictably has a closed ecosystem- Nest wants to control anything you do with it in terms of external partners. Ecobee has a much more open approach to things, making it easier to integrate with other systems.

 

[danb35]

Thanks for the suggestions. One of the things I liked about the Trane thermostats was that the filter change reminder was based on actual system runtime, not calendar time. Any idea how the Nest or ecobee compare on this?

My old Trane thermostats, as well as a door lock and a few lights, were connected to a Vera Z-wave controller which just wasn't very reliable (but there was no recurring subscription cost, compared to the Schlage gateway which was something like $9/mo). I like the idea of a unit that connects directly to my WiFi network and doesn't need any sort of intermediate gateway.

 

[Hencini]

I have a question for those with the Nest. I know it learns your patterns, but my wife is a RN and works 3 days per week, but they are different days almost every week. Does anyone have any experience with that and how did it work out? Also, how does the occupancy sensor do with a dog in the house? Will the dog trick the sensors into thinking the house is occupied and make the furnace run to keep the house warmer?

I really like the idea of the Nest thermostat, but had a few questions before I sunk the money into it.

Unless your dog is 4 feet tall, you should be okay. You've pretty much got to walk right in front of it to get it to notice you.

Edit: Mine is in the hallway. If you have yours in an open room, it might pick up pets. But you can always shut that feature off in the menu.

Installing either one is easy, especially if you have a power wire already at your old thermostat.

I was referring to integration with other Internet-of-things stuff. The Nest, coming from ex-Apple engineers, predictably has a closed ecosystem- Nest wants to control anything you do with it in terms of external partners. Ecobee has a much more open approach to things, making it easier to integrate with other systems.

That makes sense. I interpreted your use of "integrate" as "getting it to talk with your existing HVAC system".

Thanks for the suggestions. One of the things I liked about the Trane thermostats was that the filter change reminder was based on actual system runtime, not calendar time. Any idea how the Nest or ecobee compare on this?

My old Trane thermostats, as well as a door lock and a few lights, were connected to a Vera Z-wave controller which just wasn't very reliable (but there was no recurring subscription cost, compared to the Schlage gateway which was something like $9/mo). I like the idea of a unit that connects directly to my WiFi network and doesn't need any sort of intermediate gateway.

Nest filter reminder is based on run time.

Related: I had an HVAC guy out to the house who tried to tell me I shouldn't change the filter on run time, but rather calendar time. Conversation went like this:

Him: This filter is a couple months old.

Me: Yeah, I change them based on run time.

Him: You can't rely on run time. You still have to change the filter every 30 days like it says on the package.

Me: Even during the winter when we're running the radiators and not the air handler?

Him: No, of course not.

Me: So it sounds like I should change them based on run time.

Him: No. Every 30 days like it says on the package.

Me: ???

 

[bushmechanic]

I have a question for those with the Nest. I know it learns your patterns, but my wife is a RN and works 3 days per week, but they are different days almost every week. Does anyone have any experience with that and how did it work out? Also, how does the occupancy sensor do with a dog in the house? Will the dog trick the sensors into thinking the house is occupied and make the furnace run to keep the house warmer?

I really like the idea of the Nest thermostat, but had a few questions before I sunk the money into it.

I have no regular schedule. Seriously, if the Nest was going to give anyone an issue it would be me, and it hasn't. I thought it would never be able to keep up with my nonsense, but it hasn't missed a beat.

It's even clever about the away feature. I should have confused it by now, but I haven't managed to. It's the strangest thing ever.

Somehow it knows...

You can program the thing manually if you want, and it's very easy (genuinely easy; not road map instructions easy). Every feature can be controlled that way.

You likely won't have to, though.

Because you adjust the temperature by turning the dial, it learns when and where to expect you, as well as what you want at that time. It doesn't rely only on sensors. The technology is actually pretty common-sense.

Those darn sensors are clever, though. Daily operation is... Well... Not daily operation. Once it gets used to you, you'll be annoyed that you don't have an excuse to play with it more often.

It will even cycle between heat and cool automatically if you live in one of "those" climates, and allow it to do so.

The damned thing will cut your bill like you wouldn't believe. It's worth far more than they charge for it.

 

[bushmechanic]

That's not even factoring in the cash you'll save with the report cards you get every month. That made a big difference, as well. Once it learned me, and I learned it, I was able to adjust as recommended to increase efficiency even further.

It's also a bit... Fun...

I also like the very quick ability to turn the fan on whenever I want for however long I want, because none of the windows open in this place.

 

[cort]

Here's another vote for Ecobee 3. It is a power stat with some pro features. Very customizable. They really did their homework with this stat.

 

[bushmechanic]

I withdraw my recommendation for Nest.

Google bought them. Find another product.

 

[dfiler2]

I withdraw my recommendation for Nest.

Google bought them. Find another product.

Just imagine being a company like Google and knowing when your customers are home and then targeting ads maybe based on how cold or warm it is outside or maybe knowing that you are now probably sitting at your computer.

 

[Rockcam]

Nest.

We have three, and love the user interface and iPhone app. When we're out of town, it's simple to set the system to away mode.

Nest is also the best looking, which was important in our new home's modern interior.

 

[bushmechanic]

Just imagine being a company like Google and knowing when your customers are home and then targeting ads maybe based on how cold or warm it is outside or maybe knowing that you are now probably sitting at your computer.

They paid 3.2 billion dollars cash for the operation.

Google didn't buy Nest.

Google bought the location-based and identifying data that all those little Nest thermostats are generating. That's the only way it adds up.

Sometimes things aren't as dangerous as we like to believe. Google, however, is different. It's different because it's an entity populated by people that are just a bit too new and pie-eyed to understand the problems involved with their operations.

They believe they are making everything more sensible and easy, and that's dangerous.

It's not even about "security", or keeping "the man" at bay. The idiots in the government people worry about are not the threat.

This is about how much of your life you want connected to a database over which you have no control; and it is certainly a problem considering just how "social" everything is becoming, whether you realize it's happening or not.

It's hard to enjoy technology nowadays without giving up too much information, but it's been possible so far. Until someone takes Google and Facebook down a peg, however, it's only going to become more difficult.