Thermostat

[Local150]

Getting ready to head to Florida in about a month. Always have had the neighbor check my house . But thinking of installing a thermostat that I can control and check from my phone. Any advice and suggestions ?

[sourdough]

Why? I've traveled for many years and just set my thermostat and go. Never had an issue at all. There probably is something to be said for getting TOO involved in tech stuff. :angel: I do however have ADT pulse on my phone to watch our various properties....a little more important to me than trying to watch a thermostat that has (hopefully) been set. :hide:

[liv42day777]

I have a Honeywell thermostat that's connected through my home wifi and an app on my phone. I've been using it for about 4 years and has worked great. You can change the temp, heating/cooling and also setup a maintenance schedule. We mainly use it to adjust the temperature a few hours before we get home from a long tip.

[Local150]

I remember a friend came home a few years ago and furnace had went out and a few days of around -10 and a pipe had frozen and broke. That my friend is why I was asking

[bware454]

We use a Honeywell as well, it has worked great and reassures us that all is well at home.
https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Programmable-Thermostat-RTH6580WF-Requires/dp/B00Y6M2OUC/ref=sr_1_4_acs_ac_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1541851544&sr=1-4-acs&keywords=honeywell+thermostat

[Dave W]

We have auto setback thermostats in our 4 zone baseboard HW heating system. As long as the batteries are fresh, they work just fine, and usually more then a year. If the batteries fail, they default to 70 degrees. If the furnace fails, well that's not going to help, auto or app controlled. I really don't see any advantage to the expense of an app on a smart phone - but then we are Luddites:eek:

[SummitPond]

... thinking of installing a thermostat that I can control and check from my phone. Any advice and suggestions ?

Why? ...

Steve

I don't have any suggestions, but I can tell you why from a Southerner's point-of-view. We were on the road one year from early May to late October; the air conditioner was set to a decent temperature. Unfortunately the circuit breaker tripped for some reason, and when we came back the house was inundated with mildew. As we had a hurricane during that period, the insurance company blamed it as the issue - said we reported it too late - and we did the clean-up ourselves. I know this won't be the issue for you - you're on the other end of the temperature spectrum. But wouldn't it be more cost-effective to winterize the house?

Safe travels.

Ken

[busterbrown]

Any wifi thermostat should do the job. Some are better than others with higher price points packing in more features. The "learning" Nest and Ecobee t-stas are premium models that do well in adjusting temps based on motion, weather, and vacation schedules. I bought a Ecobee with 4 remote room sensors that detects temps and motion in different zones...a bit sophisticated but it has lowered our monthly energy bill. A $80 Honeywell unit will work too if you just want to keep an eye on interior temps and the control to regulate them from 2000 miles away. Wifi control is something that I couldn't live without, now that I have it. This includes my irrigation system, camera security system, door bells, smoke and CO detectors, wifi lumination, garage door, and sub-pump pit water detection. YMMV.

[Local150]

Steve

I don't have any suggestions, but I can tell you why from a Southerner's point-of-view. We were on the road one year from early May to late October; the air conditioner was set to a decent temperature. Unfortunately the circuit breaker tripped for some reason, and when we came back the house was inundated with mildew. As we had a hurricane during that period, the insurance company blamed it as the issue - said we reported it too late - and we did the clean-up ourselves. I know this won't be the issue for you - you're on the other end of the temperature spectrum. But wouldn't it be more cost-effective to winterize the house?

Safe travels.

Ken
I dont think it would be cheaper,, I am only gone for 10 weeks

[Local150]

Any wifi thermostat should do the job. Some are better than others with higher price points packing in more features. The "learning" Nest and Ecobee t-stas are premium models that do well in adjusting temps based on motion, weather, and vacation schedules. I bought a Ecobee with 4 remote room sensors that detects temps and motion in different zones...a bit sophisticated but it has lowered our monthly energy bill. A $80 Honeywell unit will work too if you just want to keep an eye on interior temps and the control to regulate them from 2000 miles away. Wifi control is something that I couldn't live without, now that I have it. This includes my irrigation system, camera security system, door bells, smoke and CO detectors, wifi lumination, garage door, and sub-pump pit water detection. YMMV.
Thanks for your input,, I just want one that's pretty basic

[Slapshoot]

Our home insurance requires we have someone check our house every 48 hours while we are away. I wonder if a thermostat app would cover this off.

[Local150]

Our home insurance requires we have someone check our house every 48 hours while we are away. I wonder if a thermostat app would cover this off.
Hmm ,never heard of that every 48 hour thing but would think the insurance company would consider the thermostat as a replacement for a human. My neighbor has checked it every other day or so but they are now in mid 80's and very good health, but am sure they would just as soon not having to check. Lol I do know when it's real cold they watch the chimney to see if furnace is running

[sourdough]

I remember a friend came home a few years ago and furnace had went out and a few days of around -10 and a pipe had frozen and broke. That my friend is why I was asking



Got it. I wasn't thinking about leaving things on when you are gone. We have a house in the mountains where it gets below zero but I had it plumbed so that all the lines drain and then winterize like an RV. We've never had a problem in many years. Seems like that might be the thing to do and there would be no thermostat worries or frozen/busted lines. Never thought about mildew either. We have lost our AC while gone in the summer from our W TX house but it just gets hot - we don't have to worry about moisture - or hurricanes. We always turn the water off in W TX any time we are gone for more than a weekend. Took a one week trip once and came home to soaked carpet in 3 rooms due to a pin hole leak in a copper pipe requiring replacement of all the carpet in the house.

[Local150]

Iam just a poor guy who tries do do things the easiest and most economical that I can.

[ADQ K9]

A remote controlled Tstat. will tell you if there is something is wrong with your HVAC system but like the previous said, What to do if something more is wrong, a breaker for AC or a thermo couple for a furnace or just a burst water pipe due to age of the building. Maybe a professional house sitter would work for ya. Not sure about your area, up here there are people that do it full time.

[tech740]

We have a honeywell Wi-Fi model. It works great for us. It alerts on our phone if something isn't right. We also have a touch pad lock on our doors. If something is wrong we can contact the repair person and give them the code to make a repair in our absence. Then change the code when we get home. You can also get cameras that you can monitor from your phone. Just depends on the level of trust issues you have :)

[Local150]

A remote controlled Tstat. will tell you if there is something is wrong with your HVAC system but like the previous said, What to do if something more is wrong, a breaker for AC or a thermo couple for a furnace or just a burst water pipe due to age of the building. Maybe a professional house sitter would work for ya. Not sure about your area, up here there are people that do it full time.
Live in a small town 2500 people. It will tell me if something wrong ,, and that's about all I need to know. We have 2 plumbers here and 2 heating and cooling businesses, and a electric service,, and all you have to do is call one of them they would be here within the hour , have it fixed and at reasonable price. I have had one or the other here on a Sunday before and once on a holiday No overtime or holiday charge,, just good honest businessmen, in a nice midwestern town

[ADQ K9]

I wouldn't mind living in a town like that.

[Local150]

Nice town ,, 6 small factories, a ace hardware, 4 nice restaurants, 2 bars , green house, cloting stores,, health food store,, car dealer,, several mechanics, ,, a doctor, dentist, veterinarian, pharmacy, and 2 banks and more. Really a nice town.

[notanlines]

"Our home insurance requires we have someone check our house every 48 hours" I heard that from another poster awhile back. Is that just a Saskatchewan thing, or all the provinces?
I also wonder if that isn't just a good recommendation rather than a condition of acceptance.

[notanlines]

Steve, Prophetstown IS a nice little town. A slice right out of the Americana pie. Just far enough from Moline (the big city) so you can enjoy the benefits of the city while also the peace of mind of a small town.
I guess you've heard of Erie Campground, I believe near you off Erie Road by the Rock River? Come on up they said....don't worry about the bridge they said....stay close to the middle they said. We had to back our Raptor out in the mud for about 400 yards and then go to the KOA. But we did enjoy "loose meat sandwiches" while in the Moline area. I think they were called Maid-Rite. We would be glad to go back, but not to Erie RV Park.

[Local150]

"Our home insurance requires we have someone check our house every 48 hours" I heard that from another poster awhile back. Is that just a Saskatchewan thing, or all the provinces?
I also wonder if that isn't just a good recommendation rather than a condition of acceptance.
That's interesting, not that way here in Illinois,, at last that I know of

[Local150]

Steve, Prophetstown IS a nice little town. A slice right out of the Americana pie. Just far enough from Moline (the big city) so you can enjoy the benefits of the city while also the peace of mind of a small town.
I guess you've hear of Erie Campground, I believe near you off Erie Road by the Rock River? Come on up they said....don't worry about the bridge they said....stay close to the middle they said. We had to back our Raptor out in the mud for about 400 yards and then go to the KOA. But we did enjoy "loose meat sandwiches" while in the Moline area. I think they were called Maid-Rite. We would be glad to go back, but not to Erie RV Park.
We have a pretty nice state park here also,, been a little rough on it this year as flooded 3 times.

[Local150]

Steve, Prophetstown IS a nice little town. A slice right out of the Americana pie. Just far enough from Moline (the big city) so you can enjoy the benefits of the city while also the peace of mind of a small town.
I guess you've hear of Erie Campground, I believe near you off Erie Road by the Rock River? Come on up they said....don't worry about the bridge they said....stay close to the middle they said. We had to back our Raptor out in the mud for about 400 yards and then go to the KOA. But we did enjoy "loose meat sandwiches" while in the Moline area. I think they were called Maid-Rite. We would be glad to go back, but not to Erie RV Park.
And oh yes,,,, love those maid rites

[66joej]

"Our home insurance requires we have someone check our house every 48 hours" I heard that from another poster awhile back. Is that just a Saskatchewan thing, or all the provinces?
I also wonder if that isn't just a good recommendation rather than a condition of acceptance.

Jim might be a Canadian thing, Here in BC our policy says if away from the house for an extended period have residence checked every 72 hrs. You must remember for the most part stuff freezes real quick here. Like the saying goes we get 11 months of winter and 1 month of poor skiing!:lol:

[Local150]

Jim might be a Canadian thing, Here in BC our policy says if away from the house for an extended period have residence checked every 72 hrs. You must remember for the most part stuff freezes real quick here. Like the saying goes we get 11 months of winter and 1 month of poor skiing!:lol:
Now that's funny

[flybouy]

I have a Honeywell wifi t'stat. You can set it to alarm you if it's above or below your setpoints. Every month I get an email with the energy usage (in hours)of heating and cooling as well as an average outside temp for the month. Love it in the summer as we set cooling to 85 of 87 and then turn it down with the phone app on our way home so it's nice and cool when we walk in.

[Harleydodge]

"Our home insurance requires we have someone check our house every 48 hours" I heard that from another poster awhile back. Is that just a Saskatchewan thing, or all the provinces?
I also wonder if that isn't just a good recommendation rather than a condition of acceptance.


It may well be a "Canadian" thing.
My policy requires someone to physically look into my home every 3 days if we are away for longer than that.
Not sure how they could ever prove that someone wasn't, should I have an issue, but it's something I keep in mind, should I ever have to make a claim:whistling:


As for the thermostat question, I use a Nest, and like it.
We also use "Blink" security cameras which also work very well for us.
If one wanted to get "fancy" you could always point one of the cameras at a thermometer within your house and look at the temp any time you wanted.

[Local150]

I have a Honeywell wifi t'stat. You can set it to alarm you if it's above or below your setpoints. Every month I get an email with the energy usage (in hours)of heating and cooling as well as an average outside temp for the month. Love it in the summer as we set cooling to 85 of 87 and then turn it down with the phone app on our way home so it's nice and cool when we walk in.
I like the sounds of that

[jamtracy]

Nest Thermostat works for us.

[FlyingChief]

We have used a Nest thermostat (and smoke/CO detectors) for many years. It connects to the home wifi and I can access it at any time via the internet on my phone, my tablet, or my laptop while traveling. Available at Home Depot, Lowes, or on-line. Installation was super easy.

[WJQ]

I live in the mountains of Utah where it can get really cold. Just this week we were at 11 F. We have two furnaces and 4 heating zones. Thus, I have 4 thermostats. As others have mentioned, good quality thermostats with fresh batteries have a very high reliability but you still have to trust them. If you have one thermostat or one furnace, the downside of a system failure can be costly.

I replace one of my "older" thermostats and installed an Emerson Sensi about four years ago. It was their first model. It connects to your WIFI. The Nest and Ecobee work similarly but cost more.

You can then look at the house temperature via an app on your phone/tablet and change settings as well. For a little more than $100 (assuming you do it yourself), you get a warm fuzzy feeling that the house is as you left it. If your WIFI fails, the thermostat will still follow its plan. If I recall correctly, if anything else fails, it defaults to 70 F. If your furnace fails for any reason, your app can tell you that you have a problem. Do you need it? Maybe not but it sure is nice.

At other times of the year when you are only gone for shorter times, we set back the temperature and hold to 53 F. The same occurs in the summer with the air conditioner. Then, when we return, we can start to warm/cool the house when we are about an hour away via the app.

So, I wouldn't place the importance before food or medicine, but somewhere pretty high on my list.

[Laredo240MK2015]

I have been using a Honeywell thermostat for several years. It is internet viewable. It can be adjusted from anywhere in the world. There are several brands that will do the same thing.

[Takingthe5th]

I have met two people who are more security-minded and they have their thermostat within range of one of their cameras. They call a neighbor if needed.

And I have a friend who had a neighbor watching the house but who never went inside. The furnace quit and pipes froze.

[Ccsluke]

Getting ready to head to Florida in about a month. Always have had the neighbor check my house . But thinking of installing a thermostat that I can control and check from my phone. Any advice and suggestions ?

I’ve been using the NEST smart thermostat for a couple of years now. They cost around $250.00 and the free APP you’ll need to control it remotely is very user friendly & simple to use. Unless you’re tech savvy, I’d suggest getting the thermostat professionally installed and programmed. The installer should also assist with getting the APP on your smart phone and setting it up for remote operation. After that, it’s a “cake walk”!

[pitman44]

Getting ready to head to Florida in about a month. Always have had the neighbor check my house . But thinking of installing a thermostat that I can control and check from my phone. Any advice and suggestions ?


I own a residential HVAC business and recommend any one who leaves their home unattended for extended periods of time in sub-freezing temperatures have an automatic means of getting a notice when the interior temperature gets below whatever temperature they have it set at. The potential for extreme damage to your home is simply too great to risk it.



For the folks who say their neighbor/son/daughter/Uncle Harry is going to check it every day/week/month and that's enough, you're putting a relationship you have with someone at risk. How are you and they going to feel about it when the house freezes, your pipes burst and you have a couple of floors flooded?


The couple hundred bucks you save by not having some sort of active monitoring system is a false economy. How much is your homeowner's deductible? Probably more than the investment in some sort of monitoring system. What if you can't live in your home for a couple of months while it's being rebuilt?


To the OP, do you have a forced air system or a hot water system? I would not recommend a NEST thermostat to anyone.

[Wilco]

I have read the comments with interest in updating my home setup.

Originally I hung an outdoor thermometer across the room from one of my security cameras so I could monitor the house temperature while we are away in the winter. I would set the thermostat to 50F when we would leave during the winter.

Recently our homeowners insurance company gave us a Roost wifi leak detector that ties into our router. It also monitors the temperature and humidity at the detector with the ability to set max/min values. It will send an alarm to my smart phone if these are exceeded. I can log in from my smart phone to check the temperature in the house.

I am now considering installing a wifi enabled thermostat that will allow us to start warming up the house when we are a few hours away so we do not come home to a cold house.

[shermris]

I use a Sensor Push gateway that allows me to monitor home temperature. I have a boiler with 4 zones and 4 thermostats. I set the thermostats to the temperature I want to maintain and just monitor the house temperature. Any failure to heat will not be solved by an adjustable wifi thermostat. You will want to be able to call someone to troubleshoot your heating problem.

[notanlines]

Pitman, you took a good swipe at Nest thermostats but didn’t include a reason. We just have a few old Honeywell thermostats so I don’t have a dog in this fight (no WiFi when we’re gone) but I’m sure those that have one would like to know why, especially in that you seem to be a person who should know these things. Thanks.

[AbHDToyHauler]

We have the Nest one (kids bought for us a few years ago). Works great and yes you can keep an eye on your place and adjust it accordingly. Also integrates with Wemo (wifi electrical controllers) so your lights go off and on by schedule (makes place looked lived in) etc. For my wife and I has been very nice to have.

[dpatroch]

We use a Nest thermostat both at home and at the cottage. Gives peace of mind to see the temp in the house and we can call someone if the temp drop below the setting. Also great to warm up or cool down either location prior to us getting there. When we leave we shut off the water so that if there is a problem there will not be a lot of water running into the house/cottage.

[Chebert]

We have a Nest at our home and a Honeywell at the lake house. Both are great with about a $100 difference in the prices. The Nest works pretty much like the Honeywell but has more bells and whistles in term of statistics it reports on. Hence the higher price tag.

[Local150]

Thanks for all the replies and opinions. I bought the Honeywell,, thanks everyone,,,,,,, gave a great Thanksgiving

[Frank G]

An alternative to the Nest and Honeywell systems is the Professional Bayweb system. No they don't advertise, they don't have to. The home based system costs about $328.00 including humidity monitoring, and no cost wifi access for life.
I have used them for home, vacation houses and commercial buildings. Some systems are over 12 years old and still working perfectly. I get almost instant notification of power and internet outages and restorations along with equipment malfunction. Want to know if your housekeeper is actually doing there job? Just add a dry contact to the door and you will receive instant notification.

https://bayweb.com/
https://store.bayweb.com/