Hi, all. I haven't been around here too much lately, but being recently retired, maybe I'll spend a little more time here getting to "know" you all again...

Anyway, one of the things I'm thinking of doing at home is installing one of these newfangled wi-fi connected thermostat units. I don't know too much about them, but thought I'd ask if anyone does have one, which one, and what your thoughts or suggestions would be?

Cost of the unit is secondary to functionality. Thanks for any advice....

Here's two threads:

https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...0601935/m/5200095514

https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...0601935/m/5350076514

Thanks, I'll check those out.

I highly recommend the Nest thermostat. I've had one for ~4 years now and it's great.

I have the ecobee and have not been entirely happy with it. The remote sensors loose contact with the "base" frequently. I had a Nest prior to that and think it still is the standard.

Can't speak to the other brands but we have the Nest and it's worked very well, they even replaced my Gen 1 with an upgraded version when the old unit was incapable of software upgrades due to a flaw in the design. It still worked fine but they
would not be able to send updates, so they swapped it out for free.

Easy to use, has a smart phone app, some power saving features, auto away, auto fan circulation schedule etc.

I started one of the threads linked by Shaql. I wound up buying the Sensi wifi thermostat and have been happy with it. It doesn't have quite all the bells and whistles of the Nest or Ecobee, but it does allow me to control my furnace from my phone, and it was quite a bit less expensive than the others.

Make sure your thermostat wire is a 5 conductor and has a 'common' wire before you purchase anything.

Mine is really old and has no common so no constant voltage. As a result I had to get two Emerson Sensi thermostats that run on AA batteries instead.

Similar functionality, with a little less intelligence, but cost about $100 less each than the nest.

quote:

Originally posted by jcat:
Make sure your thermostat wire is a 5 conductor and has a 'common' wire before you purchase anything.

Mine is really old and has no common so no constant voltage. As a result I had to get two Emerson Sensi thermostats that run on AA batteries instead.

Similar functionality, with a little less intelligence, but cost about $100 less each than the nest.

I had the same problem, having no ac and a two wire setup. I solved the problem by buying a 24 volt transformer from Amazon, and wiring it into the thermostat.

I had that issue with mine I think, when I installed the Honeywell pre-Nest Wi-Fi thermostat about 4 years ago. They had instructions or a video or something in using the fan wiring with bridge wiring at the thermostat to get your power. You can't run your HVAC in fan mode set up like that, but being in the Midwest, I never use the fan mode as it ends up only circulating cold air in the winter or humid air in the summer.

I have a Nest in a second home and am very happy with it. I can control the temp from my phone and check in to mAke sure the heat pump is working. Nest tech support is great. I took a picture of the wires I have and they verified what I had to do to hook it up.

I have a Sensi - works great

I'm happy with our Nest.

Honeywell fan...

So far so good on the Ecobee. MOstly just an easy to program thermostat, but I can also control from a smartphone or my Amazon Echo.

quote:

Originally posted by vandrv:

quote:

Originally posted by jcat:
Make sure your thermostat wire is a 5 conductor and has a 'common' wire before you purchase anything.

Mine is really old and has no common so no constant voltage. As a result I had to get two Emerson Sensi thermostats that run on AA batteries instead.

Similar functionality, with a little less intelligence, but cost about $100 less each than the nest.

I had the same problem, having no ac and a two wire setup. I solved the problem by buying a 24 volt transformer from Amazon, and wiring it into the thermostat.

Mines was so old I only had a two conductor wire.

Nest is working great in our household.

I should probably put this in the rant section, but I hate the damn things. I want the old school bell housing with the clear plastic cover that you turn. My house is 3300 square feet, 108 years old, and heated by a hot water boiler. Any and all monetary gains from lowering the temp are lost when you try to bring it back up. I have no idea why something as simple as a thermostat has to be so damn complicated.

When and how would I ever need to connect to it thru weefee?

quote:

Originally posted by vandrv:
I started one of the threads linked by Shaql. I wound up buying the Sensi wifi thermostat and have been happy with it. It doesn't have quite all the bells and whistles of the Nest or Ecobee, but it does allow me to control my furnace from my phone, and it was quite a bit less expensive than the others.

^^^^ This. I have been happy with the Sensi and the lower price is refreshing. Has a schedule, you can remote in and change it anytime.

I haven't seen the threads Shaql provided, but I have a Nest and think it's the bomb. We've had it for almost three years and it's paid for itself several times over.

I wouldn't consider a different one.