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Old 11-09-2018, 07:49 PM   #1
Local150
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Thermostat

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 ?
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Old 11-09-2018, 07:55 PM   #2
sourdough
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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. 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.
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Old 11-09-2018, 07:58 PM   #3
liv42day777
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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.
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Old 11-09-2018, 08:03 PM   #4
Local150
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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
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Old 11-10-2018, 04:06 AM   #5
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We use a Honeywell as well, it has worked great and reassures us that all is well at home.
https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Pro...ell+thermostat
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Old 11-10-2018, 05:05 AM   #6
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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
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Old 11-10-2018, 05:16 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Local150 View Post
... thinking of installing a thermostat that I can control and check from my phone. Any advice and suggestions ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by sourdough View Post
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
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Old 11-10-2018, 06:50 AM   #8
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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.
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Old 11-10-2018, 09:31 AM   #9
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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
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Old 11-10-2018, 09:32 AM   #10
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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
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Old 11-10-2018, 09:37 AM   #11
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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.
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Old 11-10-2018, 10:00 AM   #12
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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
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Old 11-10-2018, 11:30 AM   #13
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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.
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Old 11-10-2018, 11:54 AM   #14
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Iam just a poor guy who tries do do things the easiest and most economical that I can.
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Old 11-10-2018, 07:14 PM   #15
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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.
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Old 11-10-2018, 07:34 PM   #16
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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
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Old 11-10-2018, 08:14 PM   #17
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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
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Old 11-10-2018, 08:37 PM   #18
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I wouldn't mind living in a town like that.
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Old 11-10-2018, 08:46 PM   #19
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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.
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Old 11-11-2018, 02:37 AM   #20
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"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.
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