Internet / wifi thermostats

[Daox]

My current thermostat is a LUX 5-1-1 that has been working great for a while now. During the week, I keep my house at 60F at night when I go to sleep and all day while I'm at work. I do not warm the house up when I wake up in the morning. I only have my current themostat programmed to go up to 70F a bit before I get home during the week. On the weekends its 70F all day, and back to 60F at night.

However, I'm finding my schedule highly variable these days. A 7 day programmable thermostat would help. There are usually two days I could probably leave it set at 60F all day long. But, what would really be great is if I could change the temperature remotely (from my smartphone). Also, from some very quick research, a wifi or internet thermostat isn't much more expensive than a new 7 day thermostat.

So, I am looking for any input on these devices. I really know nothing about them at all. I just did a quick amazon search for internet thermostat and saw prices much lower than I was expecting (~$100). I think for me that this device could pay for itself relatively quickly.

[RobbMeeX]

I bought the Nest. Necessary? Not at all. Do I love being able to turn the heat off on my girl Absolutely! I'll review later.

[Daox]

Awesome, that is cool to hear RobbMeeX. I look forward to hearing it. I've requested to try the Nest out and even get one for our fall give away (which is coming up very soon!), but I have not gotten any replies sadly.

This is the first site I've found on wifi thermostats. They're all made by Honeywell, a huge and widely known name. They have a selection of four different wifi thermostats, one even has voice control... Not really sure why you'd talk to your thermostat all that often, but it did give me a chuckle.

Honeywell Wi-Fi Programmable Thermostats

Their lowest cost wifi thermostat, the RTH6580WF, starts at $120 new on amazon. I'm still comparing the features of this with the other fancier touch screen ones.

[Daox]

So far, the RTH6580WF looks like a nice thermostat. It has all the standard 7 day programmable features plus wifi control. They also offer email alerts if your temperature gets too high/low. The only thing it doesn't have is what Honeywell calls 'advanced fan control' which is basically what you would want to run an HRV. As mentioned, this thermostat is going for $120 on amazon.

MFG's site: http://www.wifithermostat.com/Produc...DayThermostat/

To control the thermostat remotely, you can login to a website (mytotalconnectcomfort.com). There is no fee for this service. Alternatively you can download an app for your phone/tablet. The app is also free.





The next step up is the RTH8580WF thermostat. It really doesn't seem to add any features besides a touchscreen display. It also only costs an additional $20 over the RTH6580WF, currently $143.50 on amazon.

MFG's site: http://www.wifithermostat.com/Produc...eenThermostat/





To get the adfanced fan control, you have to go with RTH9580 thermostat which costs a bit steep $240. I am not willing to pay for that, especially since I don't even have an HRV (yet).

MFG's site: http://www.wifithermostat.com/Produc...artThermostat/

[where2]

Bought my Generation 2 Nest on the weekend they hit the stores (October 15, 2012), a little over a year ago now. Installed it on my central A/C with electric heat strips system with no fuss, other than having to cut the wires off the old thermostat because the screw terminals were seized up. The Nest replaced a 14 year old digital 5-2 programmable with 4 different set points throughout the week. (Morning, Day, Evening, Night).

In my case, I run A/C 10 months out of the year, and heat maybe 2 weeks of the year. (3 days in 2013). The nest and other energy saving upgrades have substantially reduced my electric bill. I've had a difficult time deciphering what was nest related, and what has been due to other modifications. Something is helping more than $40/mo.

The smart phone app is intuitive and user friendly. The device is certainly unique in appearance after comparing it to so many large rectangular devices with numerous buttons or touch screens.

My thermostat is located in a 3' long hallway under my stairwell to the second floor, and between the living room and the formal dining room. This location is unfortunately not well suited for the use of the signature "Nest Sense" feature that keeps an eye on activity around the house and turns the thermostat back if it does not sense anyone in the house for 2 hours. Despite this limitation, I was able to set individual programs for each day of the week which helped greatly when my wife was working part time as a teacher only a few days a week. My old 5-2 couldn't handle the variety and either cooled the house on days where it wasn't needed, or left the wife hot on days when she was home.

Initially, when I began researching WiFi thermostats, I wasn't keen on the drastically higher expense than some of the other offerings in the Wi-Fi thermostat department, but I soon noticed that some companies were charging an annual fee for the ability to access your thermostat remotely. Those fees would have quickly flipped the expense in favor of the Nest in only a few short years. My last thermostat lasted 14 years! The Nest has no recurring monthly or annual charges. You download the free app or you access the device on their website, and that's it.

I'd buy my Nest again. I'll buy one for the next house I buy...

[Daox]

Thanks for the quick review! I was a bit worried about companies trying to get a subscription fee for the service too. I haven't run into any who do this yet, but I haven't done a ton of digging yet. I'll be adding info as I find and learn more about the other options on the market.

[celblazer]

I have been running the CT30 for over a year.
link

It works well. Apps for both android and apple available. Does logging through a 3rd party app on the pc.

[Daox]

Do you guys find yourself really using the wifi thermostat function a lot to alter the house temperature remotely?

[where2]

Originally Posted by Daox

Do you guys find yourself really using the wifi thermostat function a lot to alter the house temperature remotely?

Having the WiFi thermostat allows me to do several things. I can remotely look at the temperature inside the house. I can check the humidity level in the house. I can kick the circulation fan on. I can kick the heat on. I can turn the A/C off.

When my wife calls to tell me she's having issues getting on the internet, I can tell whether the wife's WiFi problem is isolated to her PC, or whether it's a house-wide WiFi problem, then direct her what to reboot.

The Nest thermostat also provides me with run time data for the past 10 days for the HVAC system. It will provide reasonably highly detailed data if you care for it. For instance, I can tell you my A/C ran about a 20 minute blip at 1AM, another 20 minute blip at 4AM, not at all again until 5:30PM, where it ran for roughly 45 minutes, a 15 minute blip at ~8:50pm, a 30 minute blip at 9:45pm, and a 35 minute blip around 10PM.

If you really want to have fun, you can lock the system remotely. I don't recommend using it on your wife or spouse, but the baby sitter, the house sitter and the roommate are all fair game.

[NeilBlanchard]

Programmable thermostats are great! You can save even more energy by setting them lower - ours is 66ºF in the morning and the evening and 54ºF overnight. We splurge on the weekends and turn it up to 68ºF - though cooking our Sunday family dinner usually gets it above 70º.

We use steam humidifiers overnight to keep the air moist without chilling the air too much. Boiling water in these dead simple humidifiers also avoids putting all the minerals and chlorine into the air as dust. The carbon rods in the humidifiers need descaling at least once a year, but that is easier enough.