OT - Wireless thermostats?

[Swingman]

Anybody have one and what are your recommendations as to brands and model?

Thanks ...

[Max]

I'm sure glad you mentioned that. I want one...or two.

[Swingman]

I'm looking at getting two (first and second floor units). The reviews on the Honeywell and Filtrate are mixed, so it's hard to pull the trigger on a specific brand and model.

Honeywell has a gateway that looks interesting:

but it really kicks the price up.

Also, it seems there is a lot left out of the documentation ... like whether you must have a 24v power source for each unit.

[FrozenNorth]

I'm curious too, are there any that are wireless to the furnace/AC from the thermostat? I have read a bit about a few that you can set and control remotely.

Our house only has three wires from the Furnace/AC to the thermostat, so we don't have the fan control on the thermostat, it would be a major job to retrofit a five wire cable, just because of the run.

[Max]

I'm "imagining" a system where the *receiver* replaces the present thermostat and the "transmitter" goes wherever you want it. By setting the temp on the "transmitter" the heater/cooler would respond to the temperature desired "wherever".

Max

[Swingman]

There are a number of them that do just that. Check out the Venstar, for one:

[G.W. Ross]

I'm looking for the opposite--a plug in thermostat that you can plug an electric heater into. I heat my shop with cheap little electric heaters, but the built in thermostats are nearly worthless.

[EXT]

Get an "electric baseboard heater" thermostat and mount it in a double electric box with a receptacle and a cord and you will have what you want -- reasonably cheap too.

[G.W. Ross]

Thanks! Just ordered two. All that I had found were in the $50-$70 range and that is a little much to use on a $10 heater.

[Larry]

Swingman wrote in news:Zoidna5JcOJ3CDPSnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

Wireless like a TV remote control for tempurature or 802.11 WiFi?

The former I have no knowledge of, the latter I have a Filtrete. It works well but have had to replace it twice after some thunderstorms passed through and zapped it. In fact the first time I noticed it because it smelled of smoke. It comes with a 5 year warranty so keep your packaging and receipt.

It is a direct replacement for a standard 24v stat and takes only a couple of minutes to install. The PITA is getting it connected to the wireless network. It boots up as a access point, you connect to it and pass along the credentials that it needs to connect to your home WiFi. After it connects you then you have to download a small app to register it. Once functioning there is both an Android and iPhone app from which you can remotely control it.

The thing I don't like is that you must use their service. Although it's free I would rather it had an embedded web server. I can setup routing and DNS so I could connect directly.

It's also easy to setup the programming online. Most of the programmable stats are a pain to program from the limited interface of the fromt panel. The Filtrete allows you to do it online. Only when I'm off of work during the week is it out of program mode making this the first stat that I actually used for any length of time because of the clunky interface.

Ecobee

is another one that I have no knowledge of. When they started out they had a monthly charge kind of like Schlage locks but I think they've since abandoned that business model and just added it into the initial price.

Hope this helps.

Larry

[Max]

BINGO!!! Thank You.

[Leon]

If you can get into the TXU energy site, normally TXU.com you can check out their setup for reference.

They are offering electricity for free at night, every night. There is an iPhone app to control your/their thermostat.

txu.com/anytime

Looks like we are going to be able to control what we pay and and when pretty soon with tiered pricing.

[Larry]

Leon wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I believe that signing up for that program gives them the option of controlling your temp if they see fit. While the intent is good, I'm not big on giving control of my A/C to the utility company.

Larry

[EXT]

I have seen cheaper thermostats, but that was a local company. A $10.00 heater, hmm -- maybe that is why the built in thermostat is useless, it is probably manufactured for 25 cents. Do the math, a $10 heater was sold to the retailer for $5.00, imported for $2.50, and cost $1.25 to make -- it doesn't allow much budget for the built in thermostat.

[Leon]

During peek demand periods they can cycle your AC off for 15 minutes at a time. NO big deal, I have had that feature in the past. I never noticed the difference. That was before I was involved in a test pilot program in the mid 90's. That program involved a digital smart meter, electronic thermostat that tied in to a modem and a switch for the water heater. I controlled what temp depending on the price of electricity during the day and controlled when the electric water heater ran. IIRC between 10:00 pm and 9:00am I payed just under 5 cents per KwH. Between

9:00am and 1:00pm I paid just under 6 cents per KwH. Between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm I paid about 18 cents per KWH and between 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm I paid about 6 cents per KwH. During certain unscheduled periods of high demand the thermostat would blink a red light 15 minutes before a 37 cents KwH period would kick in and that period could not run longer than 1 hour. The thermostat would revert back to a higher temp setting so that you used less electricity during that high demand period. I think I saw a total of about 45 minutes of this type usage during a 1 year period.

I was on this program for 2 years and 2 months, starting the first complete year in 1996 and ending with the end of 1997.

I had a new central heat and AC installed in 1995.

Usage before the program 1995, 16693 KwH $1349.31 for the year

With the program, 1996, 16444 KwH for $1138.31 for the year With the program, 1997, 15657 KwH for $1098.29 for the year

Back to regular usage with out the program 1998, 16401 KwH for $1341.18

Over all we were more pleased to be able to be cooler in the summer when we were actually at home.

ALSO on weekends the pricing tier topped out at 6 cents per KwH regardless of demand or time of day and this was also true regardless of the day of week during the "6 month winter period".