Smart Thermostats

 

Several years ago, Jonathan replaced the basic thermostat in our home with a nice programmable thermostat. At the time, Consumer Reports was recommending the Venstar ColorTouch, so we went with that. Over the first year he fine-tuned the program schedule, and since then it’s worked really well.

Now I see there’s a new class of “smart” thermostats (e.g., Nest, Ecobee) on the market that use occupancy sensors and more sophisticated software to automatically manage the home temperature.

We’re still happy with the Venstar, but curious to hear what others think about the newer smart thermostats. How well do they work? Do you see significant advantages over a programmable thermostat?

~Angela

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Perhaps more likely to be used properly

GlobeTurtle wrote:

Do you see significant advantages over a programmable thermostat?

Personally, I've owned and used programmable thermostats for decades, and think I save fuel and increase comfort per unit fuel cost with them.

But people who study these things report that a terribly high fraction of programmable thermostats sold never get usefully set up by their owners. I believe it was proposed to lift the EnergyStar rating from them on the theory that real savings were not delivered on average.

While I'm not personally tempted to use the NEST or such, perhaps they have succeeded in providing a user interface that is easier or more engaging in ways that make successful use more likely.

--
personal GPS user since 1992

Mine is dumb

I've always used a dumb thermostat and feel that the way I use it saves as much or more than a trained smart one (or programmable one) would. Am I right? If it matters, I'm in a natural gas furnace home with no AC so I'm a winter-only user of my thermostat.

When I'm home and want to be comfortable, I set the thermostat to what I prefer. When I'm away or sleeping, I pretty much bottom it out to 50-60 degrees. When I get up (or even better, if I wake up an hour or so before getting up), I turn the thermostat up to my preferred 'at home' temp.

Given this, am I right in assuming a smart thermostat would save me nothing compared to my current operation? I suppose a smart one might learn to turn up the temp an hour or so before I get up in the morning, thereby making my early morning routine a bit more comfortable, but if that's the only gain, I'll stick with being chilly for an hour or less each morning and keep my dumb one.

Given my routine, I'd like to know if a smart one or programmable one would save me money while accepting that a programmable one would give me a short time each morning with a bit more warmth.

Also, given my routine, wouldn't a simple programmable one do as well as a 'trained' smart one?

PS: After watching the last season of Mr. Robot and the automated home of the E Corp lawyer that was hacked, I do wonder about these smart homes. I'd hate to end up dead in my pool. razz

If you suggest I'd save money with a programmable or smart thermostat over my routine with a dumb one, I'd like to have it explained...and can it accept Custom POIs? wink

This site is dedicated to

This site is dedicated to GPS discussions...

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Garmin Drive Smart 61 NA LMT-S

Honeywell

Our heat pump came with a Honeywell smart. We love it. While on a trip the unit is off so on the way home from the airport we turn it on with the app on my smartphone and when we arrive the house is nice and warm. We keep it on a schedule while not out of town and our electric bills are so much better than with our old unit and dumb one. I know the heat pump helps the electric bills but I also am sure the smart one helps too.

We pay nothing to use our Honeywell but while looking at some that are at Lowes I noticed there is a fee to use some of the features on some of the units. If you are looking for a new one be sure and check to see if it has a fee.

--
Mary, Nuvi 2450, Garmin Viago, Honda Navigation, Nuvi 750 (gave to son)

internet of things

Things like the Nest products and so many of the 'Internet connected' devices have no protection from being hacked. You've heard of the baby monitors and video cameras that have been hacked in the past. The last major Internet outage where a routing system was hit with a massive Denial of Service attack was done through hacked connected devices with no internal protections. This included refrigerators and washer/dryers among other things. Personally, I'm waiting to see what comes out of some of the noise being generated about manufacturers being told to incorporate safeguards before purchasing.

--
Illiterate? Write for free help.

---

Garmin Gal wrote:

This site is dedicated to GPS discussions...

This discussion is in the "Welcome/Open Talk" section of the discussion boards... And was started by one of the site's admins...

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*Keith* MacBook Pro *wifi iPad(2012) w/BadElf GPS & iPhone6 + Navigon*

Addressing some Statements

OP,

I do not think a "Smart" thermostat will be any better than what you already have. The smart thermostats were mainly developed for those that find it too complicated to program themselves and thus end up not programming their thermostat at all. In your case, you have taken the time to program it the way you like it. No benefit for you.

Craig,

No, a programmable thermostat will not save you money. What it will provide though is convenience. I do not have to worry about turning the thermostat to the temperature I like when I wake up. It is already there. I do not have to worry about turning the thermostat down when I go to bed to save money. It is already there. I do not have to worry about turning on the heat when I get home from work. It is already toasty and waiting on me. I do not have to remember to turn the thermostat down when I go to work. It remembers for me.

So, what is your time and convenience worth? Is it worth spending $40 to $70 on a programmable thermostat to save you time and convenience? Is it worth spending $60 to $100 to adjust via wifi? Is it worth spending $150 to $200 so that you do not have to program it yourself? It is worth it to me. Heck the price of this convenience is less than I usually pay for one nice night out. Now that is a bargain!

--
Garmin Nuvi 2699 with 2017.30 Maps

Nest

I have the Nest 3rd Generation and I love it. One of the features I really like is the auto away. Nest uses the location of my phone and my wife's phone to determine if we are home or away and sets the unit to specified temperatures accordingly. The Nest also learns your daily routines. Like if you work 9-5, the nest knows you probably won't return until 5 and goes into away mode. Nest also learns that if you were to run out at say 8, Nest would maintain the set temp longer before going into away mode because this is not your "normal" schedule. Its definitely worth looking into.

--
Garmin Nuvi 1490LMT, Nuvi 750, Nuvi 255LT

in a nutshell

Holydoc wrote:

~snip~

No, a programmable thermostat will not save you money. What it will provide though is convenience. I do not have to worry about turning the thermostat to the temperature I like when I wake up. It is already there. I do not have to worry about turning the thermostat down when I go to bed to save money. It is already there. I do not have to worry about turning on the heat when I get home from work. It is already toasty and waiting on me. I do not have to remember to turn the thermostat down when I go to work. It remembers for me.

~snip~

Yep I have one, it's kind of old, and it only has an associates degree, but it gives me 4 times a day to change during the week. So I can set it to go a little higher before I get up, lower before I leave for work, go back up before getting home and lower again for the overnight.

Plus it has 4 more settings for weekends.

The hardest part is remembering to change the time when daylight savings starts and ends.

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

Honeywell Smart Thermostat

I have the Honeywell smart thermostat. It is bright and easy to read, gives the indoor and outdoor temperatures and humidity and data on the settings and system status. It is connected to the home wifi and can be accessed from anywhere on my iPhone. I can remotely set temperatures, or turn the unit on or off.

It's brilliant without being overly smart or expensive. It even has settable color schemes for the screen. Prices are from $165 to $200. For me, the easy access to settings and remote access make that worth while. While I've got your attention, why can't images be posted on this site. Very hard to use.

http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/0FJ-009M-00001-01.jp...

?

soberbyker wrote:

The hardest part is remembering to change the time when daylight savings starts and ends.

"What is this Daylight Saving you speak of?" says the Arizonan. cool

And to holydoc: I confess to being inconsistent. I love accurate time and always try to buy and use radio-controlled watches and clocks—and for watches, even go with solar powered to avoid a battery change. But yet I live with my dumb thermostat and have to turn it up and down every winter day.

My Son is a senior HVAC tech...

...with a large country wide heating company. He is a great believer in the NEST thermostats. He has offered to put one in for me but I already have a Trane programmable thermostat and don't really see any need to change it at the present time. But, as I said, he is a great believer in these things and he says that they will save you money in the long run.

--
"Everything I need can be found in the presence of God. Every. Single. Thing." Charley Hartmann 2/11/1956-6/11/2022

Nope

Garmin Gal wrote:

This site is dedicated to GPS discussions...

Not in the open forum, it isn't.

--
nüvi 3790T | Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable ~ JFK

...

CraigW wrote:
soberbyker wrote:

The hardest part is remembering to change the time when daylight savings starts and ends.

"What is this Daylight Saving you speak of?" says the Arizonan. cool

~snip~

“Only the government would believe you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.”

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

I have Nest second

I have Nest second generation for almost two years. It works very well. It switches to auto away when there is no motion detected during day time. Last year in December it stared losing connection with my wifi. So I would go down to in my basement and reboot my router and it would connect again. I was thinking it was my router but then I realized that it was just Nest disconnecting. Then it drained the battery as well, Then I called Nest support but they had no idea what was going on. I recharged battery and connected it back. After few days, I read in the news that due to bad software update, all Nests start losing battery etc. Then pushed new software upgrade and resolved all issues. Since then it is working well. So if there is some software glitch then it may cause big issues.

The biggest advantage was when we went on vacation, it will stay on Away status. I will turn on air conditioning before boarding flight back to home. So in 4-5 hours time our house would nice and cool when we arrive home.

--
Iphone XR, Drivesmart 61,Nuvicam, Nuvi3597

Another thing

Some way our Honeywell smart thermostat reads the temperature of our walls. With this reading it knows when to start the warm up or cool down to be sure and have the house at the temperature that is set at the time it is set to change. It doesn't come on at a set time. It comes on according to the temperature it read at the walls and how long it will take to get the house at the correct temperature at the correct time. This is amazing technology.

--
Mary, Nuvi 2450, Garmin Viago, Honda Navigation, Nuvi 750 (gave to son)

DST

soberbyker wrote:

The hardest part is remembering to change the time when daylight savings starts and ends.

I wonder if the smart thermostats adjust for DST automatically via their internet connectivity.

I have a 14 year old Honeywell programmable, but I don't bother changing the time on it for DST. Just set all the times for the cooling season an hour earlier. So when I want my A/C to turn on at 5:00 PM in the summer so it will be cool when I get home from work, I set that time interval to start at 4:00 instead, since 5:00 DST is 4:00 non-DST.

Since the time change where I live usually takes place in-between heating and cooling season the heat or A/C are not used much anyway so it seems to work OK.

I would think so

BruceMck wrote:
soberbyker wrote:

The hardest part is remembering to change the time when daylight savings starts and ends.

I wonder if the smart thermostats adjust for DST automatically via their internet connectivity.

I have a 14 year old Honeywell programmable, but I don't bother changing the time on it for DST. Just set all the times for the cooling season an hour earlier. So when I want my A/C to turn on at 5:00 PM in the summer so it will be cool when I get home from work, I set that time interval to start at 4:00 instead, since 5:00 DST is 4:00 non-DST.

Since the time change where I live usually takes place in-between heating and cooling season the heat or A/C are not used much anyway so it seems to work OK.

Every device I have with either GPS or internet connectivity automatically changes with the DST time changes so I would guess the "smart" thermos change automatically.

As I mentioned mine is programmable but it came out way before "smart" devices were ever heard of. As for not changing the time, my system is heat only and it's either change the time, or 8 settings, so I change the time.

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

Saving money

Too help our central AC cool the upstairs of our home, we had our gas-fired central heating/cooling system converted to a zone system. Our system uses two thermostats, one upstairs and one downstairs, both are programmable.

I keep careful records of our utility costs using an Excel spreadsheet. Each month I enter the total cost, amount used, number of days in the billing cycle and degree day total for the month. Degree day figures come from my Davis Vantage VUE so they are local not regional figures. Then the spreadsheet figures the cost per degree day. Using my records from before the zone conversion, I have been unable to verify any consistent cost savings using the programing features. I think the reason for this is that the furnace has to run extra time to heat up the house and furniture. While turning down the furnace or turning up the AC while on vacation will produce savings, doing so on a daily basis probable won't.

Zone

Our master bedroom gets too cold in summer and too warm in winter so my husband bought a vent to put in the duct work for the bedroom and hooked up another non smart but programable thermostat. It is set to close when too hot in winter and close when too cold in summer. That lets more heat and air come to the rest of the house. This has work very well.

--
Mary, Nuvi 2450, Garmin Viago, Honda Navigation, Nuvi 750 (gave to son)

I totally agree. Dumb devices are safer

Box Car wrote:

Things like the Nest products and so many of the 'Internet connected' devices have no protection from being hacked. You've heard of the baby monitors and video cameras that have been hacked in the past. The last major Internet outage where a routing system was hit with a massive Denial of Service attack was done through hacked connected devices with no internal protections. This included refrigerators and washer/dryers among other things. Personally, I'm waiting to see what comes out of some of the noise being generated about manufacturers being told to incorporate safeguards before purchasing.

Read an article recently that said one of the easiest hacks came via an LED light bulb that had internet connectivity for dimming and colour control.

I prefer dumb devices that control things that don't really need remote access. When it drops to -20C (0F) I don't want to risk someone turning off my thermostat and have pipes bursting when I'm away. If you live someplace hot and humid, shutting off the AC could end up with mould problems. The convenience isn't worth the risk.

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DriveSmart 65, NUVI2555LMT, (NUVI350 is Now Retired)

Honeywell....

I have a Honeywell smart thermostat and love it!

Something to think about

sometimes the recovery is worse then just a steady temp. Here in Arizona the older houses have little or poor insulation. Turn it up and it will have to cool down the wall, floor and ceiling when it goes down. We have a duel compressor heat pump so that would cause the big compressor to come on, probably cost more the letting the little compressor keep it cooler.

maybe

windwalker wrote:

sometimes the recovery is worse then just a steady temp. Here in Arizona the older houses have little or poor insulation. Turn it up and it will have to cool down the wall, floor and ceiling when it goes down. We have a duel compressor heat pump so that would cause the big compressor to come on, probably cost more the letting the little compressor keep it cooler.

I could see that, especially for a single home out in the open. For me though, I live in a row home (the fancy name is townhouse but my "row" was built way before the term came about) and I live in kind of the middle of the row, so my only exposed walls are the front and back, with neighbors on either side I draw some relief from them. Not to mention we had new more efficient windows put in a couple years ago.

If the this style home isn't familiar to you here is a photo of similar type homes:

http://suburbanphiladelphiarealestatenews.com/image_store/up...

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

Garmin Gal....Think you need to lighten up...

Maybe try a re-boot.

It Depends

windwalker wrote:

sometimes the recovery is worse then just a steady temp. Here in Arizona the older houses have little or poor insulation. Turn it up and it will have to cool down the wall, floor and ceiling when it goes down. We have a duel compressor heat pump so that would cause the big compressor to come on, probably cost more the letting the little compressor keep it cooler.

IMO there is no single approach that is always right. If you have the heating system off for a relatively small percentage of the time, the total energy demand of the house will be approximately the same regardless of which approach you take. If the heating system is off for a relatively large percentage of the time, the total energy DEMAND of the house will be less.

HOWEVER, the total energy USAGE may or may not be much different, depending upon the efficiency of the heating system when operating in the "keep warm" mode, versus the efficiency when operating in the "warm-up" mode - and that may be different for different systems.

- Tom -

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XXL540, GO LIVE 1535, GO 620

Well being as we have a 8.58 KW Solar System for awhile

So it don't matter, the last 8 years our electric bill use has been "Availability Charge" only, presently $10.73 a month

For the vast majority of

For the vast majority of people, a programmable thermostat properly programmed will save money. If you manually adjust it yourself and don't ever forget, it is possible to imitate a programmable thermostat. It also depends if the house is primarily occupied much of the day or not. For some, the newest generation thermostats will do a little better than the older ones, but it is not as big a change from a manual thermostat to a programmable one. I don't think the newest generation thermostats are worth it for me.

Many of us not that way

-et- wrote:

depending upon the efficiency of the heating system when operating in the "keep warm" mode, versus the efficiency when operating in the "warm-up" mode - and that may be different for different systems.

In principle this is true but in practice not many of us own systems that have meaningfully different modal efficiency.

In fact the only scheme that I am personally aware of that has the characteristic that you suggest is an installation of a heat pump that's backed up by fuel-burning system (natural gas or fuel oil) or resistive electric for higher heat rate when needed.

For the great majority of American homes which are heated by single mode natural gas, fuel oil, or resistive electric heating, this sort of loss of efficiency in recovering from an extra low overnight temperature is just a myth.

--
personal GPS user since 1992

programmable thermostat

I have an old programmable thermostat by Honeywell which I can set up daily temperatures and times. I like it b/c I do not have to remember to turn the thermostat on or off (lower or higher temperature). If I happen to be home when it is set low, I can manually change it and it reverts to schedule at next scheduled time. Previously, I had one with no programming and had to manually change the temperature. If I forgot when leaving the house, it would bother me all day. I don't know how I feel about a "smart" thermostat. If it is anything like the "smart" motion detector lights I have in my office and which turn off at the oddest times, I will pass.

Lots of Variables

GlobeTurtle wrote:

curious to hear what others think about the newer smart thermostats. How well do they work? Do you see significant advantages over a programmable thermostat?

~Angela

As others have mentioned, there are a lot of variables to consider when deciding which type thermostat works best. Your location, type of heating system, how well the building is insulated, the weather in your area, your daily routine, the number of residents, pets and most important, security.

Some older homes with a lot of masonry or those with in floor radiant heating do not respond well to large swings in temperature. Once cooled off, they can take a long time to come back up to a comfortable level. Programming a thermostat for these structures can be difficult.

If you have a small household and a regular routine for weekdays and weekends, a relatively simple programmable model is all you need. On the other hand, a large household with many people coming and going on regular intervals might see the benefit of a self programming smart thermostat.

My neighbor for example, bought a Nest smart thermostat when they first became available and it worked fine for he, his wife and their four kids. Now, they are retired and the kids are all away at college. They come and go at irregular times and often come home to a cold house. As a result, he took out the Nest and reinstalled his old dual stage programmable model.

Due to recent hacking incidents in our area, he, like myself, turn off our wireless WiFi routers when we are away thus disabling the remote features of "smart" household devices. This is another factor to consider before buying such a device.

bdhsfz6: I have Nest

bdhsfz6: I have Nest thermostat for more than two years now. I am not sure how your neighbor configured it. It is a very smart device. It has motion sensor which knows day and night. It is not looking for any movement at night and will not switch to "away" mode at night. You can access it and change settings from outside of your house.

Now coming to security concerns.. First of all, never use very old routers because they will lack all new security patches and features.
Secondly, use Security Mode: WPA-Personal, Authorization mode: WPA-PSK OR WPA2-PSK and Encryption mode: AES.

Never use security mode as WEP. This mode is very easily hackable but not WPA.

If your router is new and you are using all the above security, you should be fine and won't be easy for anyone hack your wifi.

--
Iphone XR, Drivesmart 61,Nuvicam, Nuvi3597

+1

bsp131 wrote:

I have an old programmable thermostat by Honeywell which I can set up daily temperatures and times. I like it b/c I do not have to remember to turn the thermostat on or off (lower or higher temperature). If I happen to be home when it is set low, I can manually change it and it reverts to schedule at next scheduled time. Previously, I had one with no programming and had to manually change the temperature. If I forgot when leaving the house, it would bother me all day. I don't know how I feel about a "smart" thermostat. If it is anything like the "smart" motion detector lights I have in my office and which turn off at the oddest times, I will pass.

my old, first gen, digital thermostat still works fine...I find in most technology the "smarter" it is the less useful it becomes quicker...JM2CYMMV smile

--
"You can't get there from here"

Thanks For Your Input

rookie8155 wrote:

bdhsfz6: I have Nest thermostat for more than two years now. I am not sure how your neighbor configured it. It is a very smart device. It has motion sensor which knows day and night. It is not looking for any movement at night and will not switch to "away" mode at night. You can access it and change settings from outside of your house.

Now coming to security concerns.. First of all, never use very old routers because they will lack all new security patches and features.
Secondly, use Security Mode: WPA-Personal, Authorization mode: WPA-PSK OR WPA2-PSK and Encryption mode: AES.

Never use security mode as WEP. This mode is very easily hackable but not WPA.

If your router is new and you are using all the above security, you should be fine and won't be easy for anyone hack your wifi.

The purpose of my post wasn't to be critical of the Nest specifically. I'm sure it's a fine product and if it works for you, great! I was just pointing out a real life situation which may help others decide on a suitable product.

As for security, if hackers can gain access the Pentagon, even a novice shouldn't have much trouble with a WiFi router. Security settings or not, the only 100% perfect one is the off switch.

I realize this is my own, somewhat pessimistic, view but around here, it's shared by many of my friends and neighbors. If you have a real need for remote access to your home, hey, go for it! I'm just trying to point out possible pitfalls.

This just in

Morning Consult Tech wrote:

The presidential Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity urged the incoming Trump administration to address threats posed by insecure internet-connected devices, and it recommended that the Commerce Department work with businesses to reduce those risks. (The Wall Street Journal)

--
Illiterate? Write for free help.

I have an older programmable

I have an older programmable thermostat and can’t see an advantage to anything more complex. For heating season I program it to be comfortable for about 2 hours in the morning when I typically take a shower, slightly cooler than comfortable in the evening, and much cooler at night for sleeping or during the day when I am at work. I use the same schedule on weekends because I typically am still not home during the day. Except for morning, I set everything on the efficient side of comfortable. If I am home, I can easily set the thermostat up a little for comfort, knowing that within a couple of hours it will automatically revert to the more efficient setting. I obviously could program it for more efficiency, but that would be further out of my comfort zone than I wish for minimal benefit. If I am going to be away for any length of time, I do use the vacation mode to hold a lower temperature.

I do know my thermostat was purchase with and matched to my furnace and therefore all the features properly aligned. I have never been convinced that after market thermostats can routinely take advantage of the furnace capability. Yes I know they are highly programmable. The last time I studied the programming for a thermostat, there were multiple parameters that I had no idea what the proper setting would be for that specific heat pump. Guess I am not convinced that I could properly program a modern thermostat to provide real benefit over the existing one.

FYI, GlobeTurtle and HolyDoc

I just thought I should let you two know that you cost me $20 at Home Depot today, GlobeTurtle and HolyDoc. wink

After reading (and replying to) this thread, I finally figured today that I should enter the 20th Century. No, not a typo—I'm still not completely ready for our 21st Century...

Today, I researched and replaced my dumb thermostat with a 7-day programmable Honeywell unit. Feel free to smirk now, GT & HD!

Luckily, retired folks don't need to alter their schedules between weekdays and weekends so a 7-day-all-alike program suited me just fine and I didn't need a 5/2, 5/1/1 or 1/1/1/1/1/1/1 programmable thermostat, let alone a 21st century smart thermostat or an Alexa-enabled-'stat' or ??

So what did I gain? Now if I sometimes awake and get up at 4 AM (don't ask me why I do this), I don't need to turn the 'stat from 60 to 69 degrees so it'll be 'warm' when I get up at 5 AM. The new programmable device should have the house pre-warmed for me without my manual intervention—plus eliminating the issue when I turn in the night before, then realize I forgot to turn down the 'stat' before hitting the sack.

The worst part of the installation was realizing I was replacing a vertical rectangled device with a horizontal one meaning I needed to spackle, knock-down and prime/paint part of the wall. sad

I hope you're happy, GT & HD. laugh out loud

PS: An advantage of living in Arizona (actually, non-Navajo-Rez AZ) is that I don't need to worry about reprogramming the 'stat twice a year when DST starts and ends...

21st century

21st century Honeywell sets for daylight savings time.
My brother lives in Marana Arizona and is always bringing that up that he doesn't have to step clocks twice a yeay.

--
Mary, Nuvi 2450, Garmin Viago, Honda Navigation, Nuvi 750 (gave to son)

Internet connected devices

Internet connected devices (most) only have protection from your router, depending how it is setup. If they can get to the thermostat they can getting to something more valuable (i.e. your wireless computer). Hacked corporate systems with access to your thermostat is still a valid issue.

I've had one for years and I love it.

My schedule does'nt change much either. I set it to start warming the house a little before I get up. I also set it to start cooling it down before I go to bed. As for DST, all I do is alter the clock. It's real easy to do. And if you want it a little warmer/ cooler, just alter the temp a little. At the next cycle it will reset to the program. You will enjoy it.

CraigW wrote:

I just thought I should let you two know that you cost me $20 at Home Depot today, GlobeTurtle and HolyDoc. wink

After reading (and replying to) this thread, I finally figured today that I should enter the 20th Century. No, not a typo—I'm still not completely ready for our 21st Century...

Today, I researched and replaced my dumb thermostat with a 7-day programmable Honeywell unit. Feel free to smirk now, GT & HD!

Luckily, retired folks don't need to alter their schedules between weekdays and weekends so a 7-day-all-alike program suited me just fine and I didn't need a 5/2, 5/1/1 or 1/1/1/1/1/1/1 programmable thermostat, let alone a 21st century smart thermostat or an Alexa-enabled-'stat' or ??

So what did I gain? Now if I sometimes awake and get up at 4 AM (don't ask me why I do this), I don't need to turn the 'stat from 60 to 69 degrees so it'll be 'warm' when I get up at 5 AM. The new programmable device should have the house pre-warmed for me without my manual intervention—plus eliminating the issue when I turn in the night before, then realize I forgot to turn down the 'stat' before hitting the sack.

The worst part of the installation was realizing I was replacing a vertical rectangled device with a horizontal one meaning I needed to spackle, knock-down and prime/paint part of the wall. sad

I hope you're happy, GT & HD. laugh out loud

PS: An advantage of living in Arizona (actually, non-Navajo-Rez AZ) is that I don't need to worry about reprogramming the 'stat twice a year when DST starts and ends...

--
Nuvi 2460LMT.

Yes indeed

pwohlrab wrote:

My schedule does'nt change much either. I set it to start warming the house a little before I get up. I also set it to start cooling it down before I go to bed. As for DST, all I do is alter the clock. It's real easy to do. And if you want it a little warmer/ cooler, just alter the temp a little. At the next cycle it will reset to the program. You will enjoy it.

Yes indeed. I wouldn't be surprised to find we both have the same unit given your statements and that Amazon states that mine is a very popular one and runs about $20.

It won't save me any money compared to what I've manually done in the past but it does keep me from my twice daily temp adjustment.

I do like the override feature, temporary and permanent. I wish it was not powered by two AAAs (since a battery failure will cause the furnace not to run) but am happy that it keeps previous programming settings with a battery swap and also gives about a 60-day warning of low batteries so I doubt that I'll be caught with dead batteries freezing my pipes when I'm on vacation.

And...as reported by others, we need not worry about an internet hacker's evil intents that would involve our 'stat.'

programable

I really benefit from a programmable thermostat, but a smart one would not add any additional value for me?

--
___________________ Garmin 2455, 855, Oregon 550t

Set back is why I have one

I like to turn down the heat 4 degrees at night. The programmable thermostat I have does this for me so I don't forget. It also lowers the temp during the day when no one is home. I feel this helps save some money on the fuel bill. It's easy to overide the settings to hold the temp if I want.

--
"Primum Non Nocere" 2595LMT Clear Channel and Navteq Traffic

I could use

I could really use a programmable thermostat, or one I can control from my phone when the temps are 4 degrees overnight and I want to avoid freezing when I get out of bed.

Holy smokes would that come in handy the past week or 2.

Welcome to the Dark Side

Craig,

It is good to see you coming over to the dark side. You will enjoy the added liberty it gives you.

--
Garmin Nuvi 2699 with 2017.30 Maps

!

Holydoc wrote:

Craig,

It is good to see you coming over to the dark side. You will enjoy the added liberty it gives you.

Ha, I still have a landline and tried ever so hard to avoid getting a basic cell phone, then a smartphone, etc. But now with a smartphone and Garmin Smartphone Link app I guess I've lost my luddite credentials...

Cool!

Or, I suppose I should say, "warm"!

I'd also like to take credit for helping you kick off your first DIY project of the year.

What would you like to tackle next?
Built-ins?
razz

~Angela

Nope, nope, nope

When my wife and I were both working it made a lot of sense to have the thermostat adjust things automagically depending on the time of day and day of the week. Now that we are retired there really isn't much point to it. I miss the old dial on the wall.

--
GPSMAP 76CSx - nüvi 760 - nüvi 200 - GPSMAP 78S

Hg

thrak wrote:

When my wife and I were both working it made a lot of sense to have the thermostat adjust things automagically depending on the time of day and day of the week. Now that we are retired there really isn't much point to it. I miss the old dial on the wall.

But then, the old thermostat probably had a slug of metallic mercury. I now have to take my old one to the city's Household Hazardous Waste Center along with a few old NiCds, NiMHs, old CFL bulbs, etc.

Do you travel?

rigel wrote:

I really benefit from a programmable thermostat, but a smart one would not add any additional value for me?

When we travel and arrive at the airport we use our smart phone and turn the heat or air on so the house will be nice when we get home.

If we are local but going to be gone for a while we turn the thermostat up or down and then when we start to head home we put the unit back on schedule.

This is so nice when it is so cold outside and we have been gone for a while with the temp turned down and come home to a warm house.

--
Mary, Nuvi 2450, Garmin Viago, Honda Navigation, Nuvi 750 (gave to son)
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