Thermostat App

[Mr.N]

Have any recommendations?

Looking for a Thermostat with an app so I can turn on the heater for the shop on my drive home from work. (Yeah, I get off when the work is done so setting it on a timer is not an option. )

Anything with a motion sensor that would shut off with 30 minutes if no action?

Thanks for your input.

 

[BKB]

Geo is simple, cheap, looks good. Im sure there are better units but i paid $90 for it in black and see the white go for $60 on ebay. No motion, not something i would want.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

I use an Emerson Sensi which was about $100 on Amazon. I like it a lot, except for the fact that the minimum set temp for heating is 50 deg F. Because of that, my new shop will get a Honeywell, which can be set to maintain only 40 deg F.

Neither of these has motion sensing, which I would think opens a new can of worms.

 

[Twodawgs]

Look for the Emerson Sensi or other thermostats thru your gas and electric utility. I got my 2 Sensi for $5 each after instant rebates during cyberweek with National Grid's Marketplace. They are now $52 each, but still a deal. Most utilities in US seem to be doing this.

 

[mobetta]

many smart thermostats use bluetooth for occupancy sensing, not motion.

is your shop far enough from the house that your bluetooth will disconnect??

on my MR Cool(mini split) app i can set a geofence to trigger a warm up when i get within X miles

I have not tried it

 

[Showkey]

AGREE on the utilities are offering discounts on t stats.

The other issue is 40* set point is well below the manufacturers specifications for minimum intake temperature which is usually 50*.

Low intake temperatures are a cause for premature rust issues in the heat exchanger.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

...

The other issue is 40* set point is well below the manufacturers specifications for minimum intake temperature which is usually 50*.

Low intake temperatures are a cause for premature rust issues in the heat exchanger.

A valid point that everyone making these decisions should consider for themselves.

Premature rust is a concern when heat exchanger metal temperature is below the dew point, principally, IMHO, of the combustion gases due to the high amounts of water vapor created by combustion. If using a non-combustion heat source, this minimum intake temperature should not be a concern.

 

[510ebl]

I bought a Nest thermostat from my natural gas supplier for $15, and love it. It is basic, but that is all I need. No motion sensing, at least not how you would like to use it. I can check the temp in the house from virtually everywhere, and adjust as required. I have it in a schedule to “reset” to 65 in case someone forgets to return to our “usual” setting after bumping it for a bit due to being too hot or too cold.

I am sure there are may better products with more comprehensive apps, but this works for my application.

ETA: the app only lets me set as low as 50 deg.

 

[penright]

What kind of heater?
I just bought an 89K Big Maxx. Waiting for the plumber to run gas (NG) and some flex-warp to finish off the vent.
It uses 110 AC for the fan and ignitor. For my disconnect, I wired an outlet, then some SO cord with a plug. I going to try and make the outlet "smart" instead of the thermostat. Just leave the thermostat set to 55-60 or whatever you want, and kill the power with the smart switch. I have an Alexa skill that runs automation in "Home Assistant" When I leave the shop, I leave the lights on for 5 min and turn the back porch lights on for 5 min. I plan on adding the "smart outlet" to the automation. You can find 15amp UL "smart switches/outlets" these days for around $30.
This is my plan, we all know how "best laid plans of mice and men" can turn out.

Depending on the heater this may not work for you. It might not work for me.

 

[Mr.N]

thoughts on thermostat honeywell t6 ?

 

[rlitman]

many smart thermostats use bluetooth for occupancy sensing, not motion.

is your shop far enough from the house that your bluetooth will disconnect??

on my MR Cool(mini split) app i can set a geofence to trigger a warm up when i get within X miles

I have not tried it

My Ecobee uses motion sensors for occupancy, though the cheaper models do not have that feature. I believe that the more expensive Nest thermostats are the same that way.

The cheap option would be to use a $5 IOT WiFi switch in series with your cheap thermostat. It would work with even a mercury stat. You could even have a second thermostat in parallel with that to maintain a minimum temperature all the time, and turn on the IOT switch to bring it up to comfort level when you want.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

thoughts on thermostat honeywell t6 ?

Check the reviews on Amazon. One guy said the minimum temperature you could set it for heating was 50 deg F, yet the installation manual for the tstat on the Honeywell web site says the min temp is 40 deg F.

 

[klassenl]

I have 2 of these. The one in the garage is set to 9 celsius 48.2 farenheit.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00Y6M2OUC/?tag=atomicindus04-20

I have the schedule to revert back to 9c at the end of the day. That way I never forget to set the temperature back.

 

[Showkey]

Check the reviews on Amazon. One guy said the minimum temperature you could set it for heating was 50 deg F, yet the installation manual for the tstat on the Honeywell web site says the min temp is 40 deg F.

Reviews can be problematic.
The t stat temp setting are generic. Low setting below 50* might be a problem.
One caution is check the heater manual. That’s only because the owners manual of many heaters have this instruction:



The heater manual over rides the t stat instructions or capabilities, because the t stat could be installed on an endless number of circumstances. The heater manual the explains the reasons, set temp requirements and the consequences.

 

[Twodawgs]

I use an Emerson Sensi which was about $100 on Amazon. I like it a lot, except for the fact that the minimum set temp for heating is 50 deg F. Because of that, my new shop will get a Honeywell, which can be set to maintain only 40 deg F.

Neither of these has motion sensing, which I would think opens a new can of worms.

I recently bought the Emerson Sensi. According to their documentation, the minimum set point is 45F. That is the reason I bought Sensi over others. I have not yet tried to set it that low on the first one I installed. I'm not home as I write this.
Emerson's documentation says thermostat limits "can only be adjusted through the Sensi app or Sensi Multiple Thermostat Manager."
Maybe your limit is set to 50f ?

 

[Yankeefarmer]

Thanks, twodawgs. I remember when I bought mine that I was disappointed I could only set it down to 50 deg F, and that’s what my programmed schedules show. Based on your post, I just double checked, and it is now allowing me to set a minimum heating temp of 45 deg F. I’ve had it for, I think, two winters, so I suspect it has received a firmware update since I installed it. Thanks again!

By the way, I do not use this to maintain 45 or 50 degrees over the winter. I only heat when I am working out there. The reason for wanting a low set temp on this one is to minimize fuel usage on those very rare days when I forget to shut the heat off, since the tstat does not have the capability to program on/off. ( I have been able to program that using Apple HomeKit, but it only functions if my iPad is connected to the right network at my house. I’ll be fixing that issue later this year).

 

[Muc]

I bought a Nest thermostat from my natural gas supplier for $15, and love it. It is basic, but that is all I need. No motion sensing, at least not how you would like to use it. I can check the temp in the house from virtually everywhere, and adjust as required. I have it in a schedule to “reset” to 65 in case someone forgets to return to our “usual” setting after bumping it for a bit due to being too hot or too cold.

I am sure there are may better products with more comprehensive apps, but this works for my application.

ETA: the app only lets me set as low as 50 deg.

I use a Nest in the shop. I keep the shop at 45 deg. when I’m not there.
The ECO feature will allow you to set as low as 40 deg.

 

[littleboss]

Aren't most heat exchangers stainless steel? If so rust shouldn't be an issue

 

[mepstein]

I’ve had two nest thermostats for 6 years now and would buy them again in a heartbeat. Easy to install, sync and use. The app is very easy to use and I can put a code on it so when my kids have friends over, it doesn’t get changed to anything crazy. Conversely, my 80 year old mom can adjust the temp very easily if she wants.

We have some cheap thermostat in an apt we own and I still haven’t figured it out after 4 years.

 

[rlitman]

Aren't most heat exchangers stainless steel? If so rust shouldn't be an issue

No. Most heat exchangers are galvalume, just like most mufflers. Anyway, typical stainless isn't immune to the corrosivity of exhaust condensation.

 

[littleboss]

No. Most heat exchangers are galvalume, just like most mufflers. Anyway, typical stainless isn't immune to the corrosivity of exhaust condensation.

Goodman, Carrier/Bryant and Amana are stainless steel.

Not sure what you think "typical" ss is but because it resists rust is why they use it.

 

[penright]

Goodman, Carrier/Bryant and Amana are stainless steel.

Not sure what you think "typical" ss is but because it resists rust is why they use it.

Is that why Carrier is twice the cost of say, Big Maxx?

 

[cahilj]

Anything that has a direct Z wave connection would be a great choice.

Venstar, AS/Trane 624, a few Honeywells, etc.

A simple motion sensor connected to the Z wave hub with an event set up to adjust the stat setting is easy to do.

 

[jarhead]

Have any recommendations?

Looking for a Thermostat with an app so I can turn on the heater for the shop on my drive home from work. (Yeah, I get off when the work is done so setting it on a timer is not an option. )

Anything with a motion sensor that would shut off with 30 minutes if no action?

Thanks for your input.

I just bought this for my shop a week ago, installed it yesterday... it was 80$

https://www.honeywellhome.com/us/en...day-programmable-thermostat-rth6580wf1001-u1/

It will allow me to set to 40 degrees... control with phone, tablet, or computer. I use a Grainger 3ug73

 

[Plump]

+1 on the Sensi through your local utility. Cheap and easy.