Programmable Thermostats

[tmorris1]

@Hall
Have you guys been happy with the Ecobee? Our new home has a Honeywell and control it through the alarm system.
IT works fine but it works on Z-Wave and the programming options are limited when using the Z-Wave yet if I choose not too then it opens up more options.

My utility company offers a mostly free Ecobee or Honeywell WiFi thermostat installed and if I give them permission will also credit me $5 a month to be able to adjust my thermostat during peak demand emergencies (lack of better word) for a limited number of times a year.
I dont have much interest in the "Smart" function of it learning my habits and I assume I can turn that off? Meaning I would just want it to come on at the times I select and not have the smart part of the thermostat change that.

Anyway, just curious, not sure I will ever do anything. Believe it or not, my biggest fear is the technician screwing up swapping out the thermostat which is a heat pump.

I am not sure what your alarm system is, but you may be able to tie in Ecobee as well. I have a home automation system that has drivers for Ecobee.

 

[alarmguy]

I like mine. I don't have the "Smart stuff" turned on where it uses proximity sensor to tell if someone is home. I have three external sensors that it can use to even out the temperatures in the house. We have an addition that probably should be zoned, but the external sensors help a little. It can average between the sensors when it decides to turn on or off.

I'm not sure it is worth $5 a month to give all your data and control of your thermostat to the utility company though. I don't want them to be able to control or see what I set my thermostat to. I think Ecobee is one of the best out there.

Nicely said, thanks for the reply. The $5 was the bonus to a free stat and install. Its just a thought, whenever I see a thread in here *LOL*
We are a co-op and co-op members are the shareholders/owners.

 

[Leo99]

I have the Google Nest basic thermostat. 58 at night, 55 when we're away or it thinks we're away, 68 to 70 when we're home. One problem is that it often thinks I'm not home when I'm working from home and it shuts the heat down on me. The thermostat tells the time to get the house to the temperature setting. I'm convinced that it's saving me money. It's also smart to keep the fan going and shut down the furnace after it reaches temp to blow that hot air through the ducts into the house. Same with the AC, it keeps the fan going when it senses it's the right thing to do. I'm hooked into the collective so it shuts down my thermostat 1 degree in the winter every now and then to conserve utilities during peak demand times. I get many emails about how eco wonderful I am but I've only noticed it making changes once.

 

[Hall]

I have the same Ecobee thermostat. It will also learn how long it takes to warm up or cool down your house and start the schedule accordingly so it is at temp at your programmed times.

I've read that many thermostats have this feature but I'm not sure if this Ecobee does. This is their "Lite" version - "ecobee3 lite", to be exact. If it does have it, it's enabled automatically, I guess, 'cause I don't believe I've seen a setting to enable or disable it. I built in that buffer anyway when I set up the schedules.

 

[Hall]

Have you guys been happy with the Ecobee?

My utility company offers a mostly free Ecobee or Honeywell WiFi thermostat installed and if I give them permission will also credit me $5 a month to be able to adjust my thermostat during peak demand emergencies (lack of better word) for a limited number of times a year.
I dont have much interest in the "Smart" function of it learning my habits and I assume I can turn that off? Meaning I would just want it to come on at the times I select and not have the smart part of the thermostat change that.

Anyway, just curious, not sure I will ever do anything. Believe it or not, my biggest fear is the technician screwing up swapping out the thermostat which is a heat pump.

Zero complaints about it. I'm not sure how different the various ones are, to be honest, at least the common ones like ecobee and (Google) Nest. Reason I went with this one ? Cost.... It was FREE between instant rebates from our electric supplier and natural gas supplier.

The ecobee has what they call "eco+" and further, "Community energy savings" which says "...eco+ works with your utility provider to prevent" outages. It's turned on but I can turn it off in my case. FWIW, our fancy refrigerator has It also has that "learning" function, also enabled, but I don't think it does much.

Speaking of heat pumps, those are different animals.... Our son's house has one and he wanted a smart thermostat. We tried installing a Google Nest (it was pretty inexpensive through our electric company plus he didn't want a separate "app" as this one integrates 100% into Google Home, which he already uses) and couldn't figure it out.

 

[tmorris1]

I've read that many thermostats have this feature but I'm not sure if this Ecobee does. This is their "Lite" version - "ecobee3 lite", to be exact. If it does have it, it's enabled automatically, I guess, 'cause I don't believe I've seen a setting to enable or disable it. I built in that buffer anyway when I set up the schedules.

I don't think you need that buffer, it will figure it out

 

[Hall]

Ehhh, not too worried either way.... If schedules change, etc I'm not adjusting it

 

[Sam_Julier]

This is exactly my point said much more eloquently.

This is why I wear flannel lined pants, a turtleneck and a sweater.