What thermostat are you using?

[GoinAllTheWay]

Sounds like Lyric is the one. Thanks for the input all, greatly appreciated!

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I didn't have as many of these issues because I have the later generation, but I do totally understand some of the annoyances you are running into.

I read up on how it works and why it does what it does. The scheduling thing was appreciated at first, but it overwrote my changes and never learned when we came home despite it being in a high traffic area. If I'm constantly adjusting it down or up to the same temperature 5 days a week it should catch on. I think it's designed to move to a prescribed range between 17 and 22, with the highs and lows in that range depending on whether it's running the AC or furnace.

The power draw only happened once I got A/C installed. Apparently it isn't pulling enough volts to run both controls and keep itself alive when I have it in heat/cool, where alternates between furnace and A/C as required. It stays perfectly charged if I unplug the A/C wire on heat, and when both are plugged in on cool. Once the battery drains away it stays on telling you it's dead and the furnace fan cycles on and off every few seconds. We've woken up to dead nest and no heat in the house a few times which is ridiculous because the display is on its usable aside from providing no heat.

Mine also froze during updates in the past and I had to roll back the firmware manually. This latest version I can't seem to adjust the temperature on my phone anymore. Stopped caring in general about the whole thing. Just sold our house and the nest is staying behind. Will get something better than a overpriced piece of brushed industrial art next time.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I read up on how it works and why it does what it does. The scheduling thing was appreciated at first, but it overwrote my changes and never learned when we came home despite it being in a high traffic area. If I'm constantly adjusting it down or up to the same temperature 5 days a week it should catch on. I think it's designed to move to a prescribed range between 17 and 22, with the highs and lows in that range depending on whether it's running the AC or furnace.

The power draw only happened once I got A/C installed. Apparently it isn't pulling enough volts to run both controls and keep itself alive when I have it in heat/cool, where alternates between furnace and A/C as required. It stays perfectly charged if I unplug the A/C wire on heat, and when both are plugged in on cool. Once the battery drains away it stays on telling you it's dead and the furnace fan cycles on and off every few seconds. We've woken up to dead nest and no heat in the house a few times which is ridiculous because the display is on its usable aside from providing no heat.

Mine also froze during updates in the past and I had to roll back the firmware manually. This latest version I can't seem to adjust the temperature on my phone anymore. Stopped caring in general about the whole thing. Just sold our house and the nest is staying behind. Will get something better than a overpriced piece of brushed industrial art next time.

Wow. Sounds like you had a hell of a time. Thanks for sharing.

I read about the power drain issue and I heard adding a common wire for regular power was an easy fix. however, many HVAC guys kept telling me it wasn't necessary. But when I install AC, I'll be asking for it to be done for sure. The Ecobee refuses to function without the common wire IIRC.

[burn_this_city]

The common wire isn't necessary on mine unless I run it on a specific mode. I don't know that I'll buy another eco thermostat, just get something basic with a schedule.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I have the pro version of this one:
http://yourhome.honeywell.com/en/pro...mostat-rth9580

Basically it connects to it's own portal which is in my electrical room. The advantage with the pro version is I have 3 other sensors throughout the house. Where the build placed mine it gets direct sunlight for 1-2 hours per day, 2 months per year. This ensures a correct temperature reading.

The ability to set the temperature with an app is key. As much as the idea is that you can the temperature or schedule from anywhere, honestly I do it from bed more often than anything.

Same thing I have. Works great. Honeywell app is pretty simple to use.

[TurdFerguson]

Maybe someone can answer this for me. What's the point of remote sensors? Unless you can control the flow of the air in your house through dynamic vents do you really achieve greater all around comfort?

In my house, as with most newer 2 stories, there is a big temp difference between the front and back of the house(where the tstat is). If I used a remote sensor in the front of the house then it would make the back of the house unbearably hot. I've now only flipped which part of the house is uncomfortable, which I suppose is greater control but not really solving the issue.

Maybe I'm missing something as this has never made sense to me.

[calgarywinning]

Originally Posted by TurdFerguson

Maybe someone can answer this for me. What's the point of remote sensors? Unless you can control the flow of the air in your house through dynamic vents do you really achieve greater all around comfort?

In my house, as with most newer 2 stories, there is a big temp difference between the front and back of the house(where the tstat is). If I used a remote sensor in the front of the house then it would make the back of the house unbearably hot. I've now only flipped which part of the house is uncomfortable, which I suppose is greater control but not really solving the issue.

Maybe I'm missing something as this has never made sense to me.

I think you have described the purpose perfectly.

What you would do though is alter the vents by cutting the flow in the uncomfortable part and this would create more circulation and heating and cooling in the uncomfortable areas.

I use google, but for me the remote sensor should be in the Master so you can have that comfortable when you are sleeping not some other part of the house.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

I just recently went with an ecobee because it seemed the best option for controlling heat, ac, and humidifier in one unit. And I liked the idea of an extra sensor.

I thought there was a special Honeywell router you had to buy with their thermostats? maybe that was just the type I was looking at. Anyway that killed the Honeywell for me.

Originally Posted by TurdFerguson

Maybe someone can answer this for me. What's the point of remote sensors? Unless you can control the flow of the air in your house through dynamic vents do you really achieve greater all around comfort?

In my house, as with most newer 2 stories, there is a big temp difference between the front and back of the house(where the tstat is). If I used a remote sensor in the front of the house then it would make the back of the house unbearably hot. I've now only flipped which part of the house is uncomfortable, which I suppose is greater control but not really solving the issue.

Maybe I'm missing something as this has never made sense to me.

We'll see how it goes, but the hope is it can be something closer to a happy medium. you can average between the unit and sensor, or tell it to listen to one or the other. Heating a hallway to the right temp always seemed a bit dumb to me, and since you can move the sensor we hope we can find the 'right' spot. TBD if it works.

[underGRADFlame]

I had a 2nd Gen Nest in my old house and loved it. Moving into our new build in 3 weeks in which I have 2 2nd Gen Lyrics to control my dual zone furnace and humidifier (and future a/c)... I wanted to go with Nest again but was told that the logic board on the Honeywell dual zone system is not compatible with Nest. So I'm hopeful that it's a good thermostat.

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

I have the Honeywell. App is better now that it has gone through a few recent updates.

I also have a Honeywell; see pic
I hate trying to do vacation mode. You can only set vacation mode locally on the thermostat for if say you were gone from Nov 18 at 7am to Nov 22 at 8pm. There is no way to do this from the app. Also, when you do set this, you cannot change the temperature from the phone for say if you come home a day early. The only way around this is to manually set a hold temperature, and un-set it before coming home.

On another note, I like changing colors on it every week or so =)

[TurdFerguson]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

I think you have described the purpose perfectly.

What you would do though is alter the vents by cutting the flow in the uncomfortable part and this would create more circulation and heating and cooling in the uncomfortable areas.

I use google, but for me the remote sensor should be in the Master so you can have that comfortable when you are sleeping not some other part of the house.

its just a pain to be flipping vents trying to find that balance - ive done it over and over again. The challenge is that i need the front AND the back to be comfortable (master + kids). What we really need are smart flaps within the duct system that are tied to remote temp sensors. A good network of those sensors could really help construct a heat loss model for someones house, directing heat/cold where its needed and makes a difference. The right smart tstat system, leveraging this model, could then actually achieve total home comfort instead of peaks and valleys of comfort.

or we all just wear suites that regulate the personal environment for us.

[wookster]

I have a nest and we love it. Had it for just over a year now. Super easy to use. Would buy again.

[Canehdianman]

I've been waiting for the ecobee to go on sale for a few months now. Until then we have a basic programmable honeywell thermostat.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Ya, that Ecobee looked pretty interesting too. They had a live demo at Home Depot. That price tag tho......

[Flames89]

I've been looking into these the last few days as well.
From what I gather
Lyric T5 - Brand new, great price point for a smart thermostat, offers geofencing, integrates with Apple HomeKit, does not offer outside temp/weather
Ecobee3 - Looks good but is still 2 years old (leading people to wonder when ecobee4 is coming out), has all the required and wanted features
Nest - Fanciest, best UI, but does not integrate with Apple HomeKit

[GoinAllTheWay]

Well crap. Stoopid ancient furnace doesn't have the required C wire. Completely forgot current thermostat has batteries in it. Now I have to decide if it's worth trying to add one or just returning for a regular thermostat.

Stoopid old house with stoopid old stuff........

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by Canehdianman

I've been waiting for the ecobee to go on sale for a few months now. Until then we have a basic programmable honeywell thermostat.

I believe if you sign up with Bullfrog they will give you a discount on one.

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

I believe if you sign up with Bullfrog they will give you a discount on one.

Just looked it up (never heard of them before). Paying a premium for eco-friendly power/gas is an interesting idea.

They give you the ecobee for free, but you have to commit to at least 18 months of a premium of at least $21.25 a month.

Might appeal to some (which is why I'm leaving the details here), but I'm not interested in paying $382.50 to save $300.

[Fuzz]

Ya, but you also get to feel good about yourself for going green. And you can't put a price on that kind of happiness.

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by fuzz

ya, but you also get to feel good about yourself for going green. And you can't put a price on that kind of happiness.

$82.50?