Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Smart thermostat ?

From: Ronnie Day <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 13:34:37 -0500

We had a Honeywell programmable in the house we were renting while we built
our new place, and I'm sure it more than paid for itself, especially with
our highly variable central Texas temps. It was around $65, IIRC. The newer
"smart" units can be far more expensive, around $250 right now but I expect
prices may begin to drop soon as production volume and sales increase.
These will probably have to be connected to a router or switch so they can
be accessed remotely with a computer or mobile device.

One point about Honeywell. When we bought the unit at Home Depot the
packaging said it would automagically switch between heating and cooling
modes based on pretty simple programming, which was what we wanted. Turned
out that the packaging was incorrect and the model in the box had to be
switched manually. When I called Honeywell customer service they were very
nice and sent the correct, more expensive unit overnight and free of any
cost. Told us not to bother sending the incorrect unit back. Good C/S, IMO.

Ron

On Thu, Oct 30, 2014 at 1:10 PM, David Cole <[email-masked]> wrote:

> I'm looking to upgrade the thermostat in my new-to-me home.   They claim to
> reduce heating and cooling costs.
>
> What brands have the list members used with success?  Lots of different
> choices out there for programmable units .  7 day, 5-1-1, 5-2, wifi units,
> self learning, brands, etc.
>
> The Honeywell units seem to be common at the local big box stores.  Any
> good?
>
> For hvac I have a heat pump.  American Standard 4 Ton split unit
>
> Thanks
> David Cole
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From: Doug Braun <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 14:43:49 -0400

The way these save money is by simply  turning down the heat during the
times you don't want it,
like at night and when you are at work.

I think it is best to have one that is not too difficult to program.
Unfortunately most of them have ancient, cheap, ugly user interfaces.

Last year I got one of those cute Nest thermostats for the first floor of
our house.
It is certainly good-looking, and fairly easy to program from a web browser.
But its hyped auto-learn feature does not work so well, since it is
mounted in the living room, which is usually unoccupied (compared to
the den and kitchen).

I could have bought a second one for upstairs, but I did not feel like
spending another $200.
The one downstairs is sufficient to impress guests. :-)

But if you often leave your house for more than a day at a time, the
ability to remotely control the heat from a smartphone or PC would be
pretty handy.
Our house is almost always occupied, so I can take advantage of
that only a few times per year.

Doug

On Thu, Oct 30, 2014 at 2:10 PM, David Cole <[email-masked]> wrote:

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From: Benjamin Zwissler <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 14:44:59 -0400

For heat pumps it may not be wise to set back very much. If the gap
between "set" and "actual" gets too large it may kick on resistance
heat, depending on the ambient temp and intelligence of the controls.
Resistance heat is much more expensive per unit of heat than the heat
pump.  If you're in a cold climate your opportunity to save on heat
may be limited.

Ben....

On Thu, Oct 30, 2014 at 2:10 PM, David Cole <[email-masked]> wrote:
> The Honeywell units seem to be common at the local big box stores.  Any good?
>
> Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/[email-masked]

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From: steve hochschild <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 14:09:30 -0500

We bought the Nest, and it works great for us.  The house is almost 
always where we want it.  It allows you to easily adjust your 
preferences, and it is connected, so it knows whether it is hot or cold 
outside.  We luv it, and would buy it again.  It cost $250, installed in 
minutes, and works better than we expected.  We live in Austin, and our 
thermostat is in the entryway...

On 10/30/2014 1:10 PM, David Cole wrote:
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From: Tim Hoerning <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 22:21:51 -0400

Last year I upgraded my house to Nests.   The first one (heat & AC on separate
systems) was great but when I went to wire the second one, I found the Argo
box zone controller didnt like the vampire power draw of it.   Luckily they
make a dedicated power feed, but I had to run wires for the other thermostats
so they can be powered.

I love the programmability and the Nest App for setting the heat / AC when
coming home, but the install was definitely not as easy as expected.

I will vouch for their warranty.  I bought all but one use on ebay and they
were great on the phone and provided warranty returns quickly.

		Tim

On Oct 30, 2014, at 3:09 PM, steve hochschild <[email-masked]> wrote:

> We bought the Nest, and it works great for us.  The house is almost always
where we want it.  It allows you to easily adjust your preferences, and it is
connected, so it knows whether it is hot or cold outside.  We luv it, and
would buy it again.  It cost $250, installed in minutes, and works better than
we expected.  We live in Austin, and our thermostat is in the entryway...
good?
>> For hvac I have a heat pump.  American Standard 4 Ton split unit
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