wifi thermostat

[socotech]

What are your thoughts on smartphone controled thermostats? Sounds interesting to me. I know they are availabe but I haven't had any experience with one yet.

[Jupiter Trch]

I love my ecobee thermostat!!

[syndicated]

The Honeywell product is pretty sweet, but you have to have to also install the redlink EIM to Connect to. It's free for the customer to use and pretty cheap to buy too.
I've put a few in, no issues yet....

[t527ed]

installed our first Lennox i comfort stat last week, customer was very happy with it.

i must have screwed something up on the installer setup though since i can't access it from Davenet.......:gah:

[LibertyTree]

Not many customers care for such a thing. I have installed a handful of the Redlink units. I just did a heat pump/zoning system for a customer who had a "control 4" system installed for his boiler. The Control 4 HVAC thermostats are almost as atrocious as the Mitsubishi thermostats... Steer clear of that brand

[CoolHeater]

A few people have seen them as very interesting, but find parting with the extra $ usually not worth it. I have a guy who travels a lot and likes the ability to remotely control the residence from his phone. Especially cranking up the AC when he reaches the airport on the way home.

[mark beiser]

I like my Ecobee thermostat, but the "cool factor" of being able to control it from my phone wore off pretty fast.

Most people loose interest when they find out the cost.

[tedkidd]

I just put 2 Ecobee's in my rental house. Nice to have charts showing how the house is behaving. I'm hoping to optimize differential temperatures to the largest delta the tenants will accept. Furnaces are grossly oversized.

Pretty slick stats.

[mark beiser]

I'm beginning to hate my Ecobee thermostat.
It is purely temperature differential driven, no algorithms or logic to its cycling of the system or stages to maintain the setpoint.

Honeywell's P+I control is sooooo much better...

[totalhcgeo]

I installed and watch over 98 ecobee stats in a building all on water source heatpumps i do like having the stats helps with checking operation and trouble shooting in some situations since everything is record online at there website i haven't had many problems with the operation of them nor keeping them connected to wifi also customer service I'd awsome if you have any problems they're always there to walk you through it

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[Nytefog]

Not many customers care for such a thing. I have installed a handful of the Redlink units. I just did a heat pump/zoning system for a customer who had a "control 4" system installed for his boiler. The Control 4 HVAC thermostats are almost as atrocious as the Mitsubishi thermostats... Steer clear of that brand

I'm sorry to say that i do no like Honeywell thermostat myself either. The quality seems to have dropped greatly.... The Carrier Infinity Control has been my favorite over the past few years. I just like being able to have the customer check the fault logs and sometimes repair the problems over the phones which makes some customer very greatful and can help build great relationships with them because you don't act like you are after their money but are more concerned about keeping them comfortable and up and running even if you might have to come out at a later date. Education of the customer is key for those are interested in learning about their systems.

[Pete838]

I just put the Honeywell prestige iaq with redlink in my house. It's great so far. Delta T sensors with programmable alerts, 4h4c, humidity, dehu, outdoor temp, everything you could ask for. And only two wires (with a controller board on the ahu).

Pretty neat I can change the settings from my iPad in bed, or change any common setting from anywhere I have Internet access through the Honeywell website. I love tech toys. Especially useful ones.

[tedkidd]

Nytefog, communicating equipment is a whole nother level.

Mark, I believe you can set smart recovery. Can also set delta to manage staging. Seems the thing gets as close to communicating as you could expect from non-communicating stat.

Like totalhcgeo, I like being able to see history. Also, as these are in rentals, controlling temp is big. No setting to 80 and opening windows.

[Salesleader]

The Lennox i comfort is very nice and will soon be able to be used with any brand and non communicating systems

[duckman06]

I like my Ecobee thermostat, but the "cool factor" of being able to control it from
my phone wore off pretty fast.
Most people loose interest when they find out the cost.

I agree with you. We have installed many comfort link t-stats and some comfort linkII stats. Customers uses for a few months then the new goes away.

Then when it is time to start to pay for it most don't renew. It is a great tool if someone travels or has camp house so they can see what the there systems are doing or adjust before getting home or to there camp.

I had a demo in my home and just like most customers i used and then didn't really see the need after a few months .

[tedkidd]

Control, to me, is a secondary advantage.

The reporting is primary. Looking at the chart (ecobee) you can see how the house behaves under varying conditions, and how the house behaves when the equipment operates.

You can see and manage deadband, play with setback and see if there is benefit, keep an eye on humidity. Understand conditions equipment saw before failure. I'm just beginning to see these opportunities, I'm sure more will present themselves.

[NCHeat]

Not many customers care for such a thing. I have installed a handful of the Redlink units. I just did a heat pump/zoning system for a customer who had a "control 4" system installed for his boiler. The Control 4 HVAC thermostats are almost as atrocious as the Mitsubishi thermostats... Steer clear of that brand

I had a horrific experience with "Control 4". I was using dual fuel with a ground source GEO heat pump and 2 stg. gas furnace.

[valentyn]

Try this www.nest.com



312701

[Brent Ridley]

I've installed the new Carrier touch infinity control and the Trane XL950. They are both good thermostats. The wifi was easy to setup. Carrier's is free and Trane's just became free if your are only controling the HVAC. With Trane (and Schlage-link), you have the ability to control alarm systems, door locks, blinds, lights, all remotely thru wifi....but they do charge for that.

I personally think the user control is the 1st priority. A thermostat can have a million features but if it is too complicated for the homeowner...then it worthless. I service a light commercial account that has several Ecobee's. I like the tracking but the customer hates them due to a complicated user interface.

[tedkidd]

Brent, does carrier or Trane do charting like ecobee?

I put 2 ecobees in my rental and am learning a LOT from the "home hq" time line charts.

[Brent Ridley]

The Trane XL950 does the charting. I don't think that the Carrier stat has that feature. I have only done (2) of the Infinity touch controls so I am still learning. The Infinity does have the option to input the price per KW and let your know how much it costs to operate.

[tedkidd]

That is fantastic news. I'm going to replace a system that is using Time Warner's service (Trane stat) and I'd like to reconcile past operation to my model. House has twinned 80,000/4ton units and I'd love to drop to one 100k 4 or 5 ton unit, but that's pretty aggressively below modeled load.

Tranes new communicating zoning should help, but seeing current behavior will improve understanding of actual need.

[oldertech]

Venstar has very good residential and commercial color touch thermostats with WiFi. www.venstar.com or www.us-ac.com. I have a residential model on my wall.

[thermojohn]

Control, to me, is a secondary advantage.

The reporting is primary. Looking at the chart (ecobee) you can see how the house behaves under varying conditions, and how the house behaves when the equipment operates.

You can see and manage deadband, play with setback and see if there is benefit, keep an eye on humidity. Understand conditions equipment saw before failure. I'm just beginning to see these opportunities, I'm sure more will present themselves.

teddkidd, does the online chart for ecobee show humidity along with dry bulb? If so, how long of a time does the graphing allow? Week, month, year, etc...?

[Keith73]

I just put 2 Ecobee's in my rental house. Nice to have charts showing how the house is behaving. I'm hoping to optimize differential temperatures to the largest delta the tenants will accept. Furnaces are grossly oversized.

Pretty slick stats.

Now this makes the most sense of any use I have seen.

[tedkidd]

teddkidd, does the online chart for ecobee show humidity along with dry bulb? If so, how long of a time does the graphing allow? Week, month, year, etc...?

Pic:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-e2rXf7ncKEo/UGMWCs7D8YI/AAAAAAAAWx8/haV3MVkooDc/s640/C71D9329-0C72-483D-A1A8-52012205DF5D.PNG

Rh, not wet bulb.
Week now (see pic) but allows XML download. Hopefully they'll improve charting flexibility. Annual overlays would be really cool!

[thermojohn]

Pic:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-e2rXf7ncKEo/UGMWCs7D8YI/AAAAAAAAWx8/haV3MVkooDc/s640/C71D9329-0C72-483D-A1A8-52012205DF5D.PNG

Rh, not wet bulb.
Week now (see pic) but allows XML download. Hopefully they'll improve charting flexibility. Annual overlays would be really cool!

Thank you. Going to do our first one with a dedicated dehumidifier. Have been using the Redlink Honeywells with these set ups, but like you, I like historical data (graphs).

[Glennhvac]

Ok folks, don't beat up on me for this question. Truly I have been online since Compuserve and the BBS garbage so I am not computer dense. That said I have no need for a smart phone. I use my cell ONLY to make outgoing calls. The question I have is should a client ask me to install one of these thermostats, what would I need to do on my end to set it up for them after installation?

[tedkidd]

Ok folks, don't beat up on me for this question. Truly I have been online since Compuserve and the BBS garbage so I am not computer dense. That said I have no need for a smart phone. I use my cell ONLY to make outgoing calls. The question I have is should a client ask me to install one of these thermostats, what would I need to do on my end to set it up for them after installation?

The only stupid question is the one you don't ask.

Stats set up very easy. All you need to get on line is their router username and password. They can do that part themselves. Write down the registration code the stat comes back with, log on at a computer and enter it, go back to the stat and acknowledge and you are done.

Bit convoluted having to confirm at the stat. Means taking a notebook if you are installing on rental properties - you'll make multiple trips if you don't have computer access.

Default is .5f deadband. I moved mine to 2f. Unfortunately those settings have to be done at the thermostat.

[Glennhvac]

Ok so basically me and the client deal with it at his computer together. No doubt any customer who wants one will probably be savvy enough to get it going when I am there with him/her.


The only stupid question is the one you don't ask.

Stats set up very easy. All you need to get on line is their router username and password. They can do that part themselves. Write down the registration code the stat comes back with, log on at a computer and enter it, go back to the stat and acknowledge and you are done.

Bit convoluted having to confirm at the stat. Means taking a notebook if you are installing on rental properties - you'll make multiple trips if you don't have computer access.

Default is .5f deadband. I moved mine to 2f. Unfortunately those settings have to be done at the thermostat.

[tedkidd]

I was surprised at how easy it was. My prior experience was setting up a Infinity SAM's - Those were bitc#$.

My business partner ran the wire and had everything connected to both furnaces in an hour. Nice to have new wires. (Nice to have fan control for heat only. I played running the fan on sunny days to rebalance the rooms. Fan goes on, watch temp drop. Fan off, watch rise. Calling me a dork doesn't hurt my feelings.)

Again, only frustrating part is setting up the account on-line and finding out you have to go back to the GD house. It's not clearly explained that you will need to be at the stat AFTER logging on with the stat "Registration Code" to complete setting the account up.

[tedkidd]

I've started an album of chart screenshots (http://bit.ly/4ecobeethermostats) from my Ecobee portal. Look what can be learned by tracking how a home and it's equipment interact with each other and the environment.

This thing tracks indoor, outdoor temps, run time, and RH.

Each vertical red line represents up to 5 minutes of run time.
Green line is indoor temp
Black is outdoor temp.
Dotted red is set temp

Really interesting to see cycle time and impact.
320201

[smurphy]

I had a horrific experience with "Control 4". I was using dual fuel with a ground source GEO heat pump and 2 stg. gas furnace.
I install these control 4 thermostats for a high end home audio company. I have run into some nightmares, but the complete control 4 system is awesome. Actually its a complete home automation system which you control everything from the a/c's, lighting, open/close blinds, unlock/lock doors, tvs, audio and so much more from your phone or computer. I have the control 4 system in my house as well. http://www.control4.com/

[JBM1000]

How about this new one coming out in late November? Does not need Red Link is a solo on it's own 900 MEGAHERTZ smart phone capable etc.
Model # TH8320WF1029

320491

[superfittertech]

Try this www.nest.com



312701

they're crap. anyone can buy them and install them. You can buy them at Lowes

[forcryinoutloud]

How about this new one coming out in late November? Does not need Red Link is a solo on it's own 900 MEGAHERTZ smart phone capable etc.
Model # TH8320WF1029

320491


Installed this stat in my home this afternoon. Easy set up, no frills wifi stat that is priced right.

[tim79]

I will look forward to switching to redlink from honeywell, as soon as they work out the kinks. We had honeywell stat training at work and we had the sales staff lost with the zoning questions. They will figure it out and when they do it won't be free. :censored:

[Pete838]

I will look forward to switching to redlink from honeywell, as soon as they work out the kinks. We had honeywell stat training at work and we had the sales staff lost with the zoning questions. They will figure it out and when they do it won't be free. :censored:

My experience with the RedLink is that you are controlling the t-stats individually, and the stats communicating with the zone board. Every stat is addressed and communicates with the gateway, which relays info to and from the RedLink website. It's just like walking up to the thermostat and making a change. The current limitations in the system only allow you to alter temperature, heat/cool, and fan mode; and monitor temperature and humidity.

Individual thermostats are grouped and sub-grouped together for remote access, so you can set it up by buildings and zones. A client with 3 houses/businesses with three zones each could would log in and select a property, then a zone, and make the changes.

Setup is pretty easy. Probably idiot proof. So far the only problem I've encountered is that if the gateway loses its connection it doesn't always automatically restore, and requires a manual reset- computer lingo for unplugging it and plugging it back in. If you're attempting to change the set-points at your vacant beach house in Maui from your condo in NYC that isn't necessarily going to be possible.

Soon I hope they'll integrate the other Honeywell security products into the system for a total home approach. As it is now I'm only aware of the thermostat controls.

[tedkidd]

Data logging? Or just "right now" information?

[BaldLoonie]

That new Vision Pro WF sound great. Hardly any more than a regular 8320.

[Pete838]

Data logging? Or just "right now" information? None that I'm aware of. I wouldn't think it would be much of a stretch of the technology, though, for the RedLink website to log and chart. There are supposedly 70 different alerts and send emails, but I haven't figured that out yet.

[carmon]

did 2 Lennox ones last week.....best stat this old man has ever seen...customers loved them

[thermojohn]

did 2 Lennox ones last week.....best stat this old man has ever seen...customers loved them

Were those the iComfort?

[mav2909]

I have installed a few of the Honeywell Prestige and Lennox iComfort. The Honeywell is by far the more universal. I can be used on any system and with zoning. The setup was easy and free to the customer. The iComfort offers more features and contractor notification of issues, but it doesn't currently offer zoning. It is also a communicating stat designed for Lennox Signature Products.

[envisionservice12]

I don't think you can do much now but override the program (command it on and off) you can't change program from your phone, but I'm sure it's coming !

[GJWinair]

they're crap. anyone can buy them and install them. You can buy them at Lowes

There is some misleading advertising to the public also as they seem to believe it's an Apple product while it was only designed by a former Apple employee.

I agree with tekkid. The ecobee is probably my favorite of all the various wifi stats. We have one and still really enjoy it. My wife will adjust it in bed on her phone.

If the price of the original one scared people off, you can now get the Smart SI which is a smaller screen and manual button control but it's probably around $140 cheaper. It also eliminates the need for the interface box.

[tedkidd]

I have 2 of each. If you don't require the additional features the touch screen version offers I think the si is a better choice. The touch screen is finicky, entering changes to the si is much easier.

[must]

i got a honeywell wifi from hd for $149 looks nice but u need 24v to work especially if you dont have a spare wire to make it 24v, and it couldnt communicate with router because of distance in between instead of bringing the router closer returning the product was easier.