Wi-Fi Thermostats...and other home automation

[H D]

Is anyone using a Wi-Fi enabled thermostat? Thoughts? Is it really any more useful than a regular programmable thermostat?



Reviews led me to the Honeywell Model # RTH9580WF. The Nest and Ecobee just seemed to have too many drawbacks that seemed addressed or non-issues with the Honeywell.



Also, does anybody have any other home automation devices that they recommend or warn against?

 

[EddieS'04]

Im no expert, but IMO. From years of doing my own HVAC work and familes. Experiance wise I wont buy anything but Honeywell. Not familiar with your model t-stat. It seems as if all models I have used just wont die. Or I just have good luck. Even at work as a proccess control tech. Some of the best industrial temp controllers were honeywell. Standalones or tied into DCS systems.



I know that is not your question, but my 2cents....:grin:

 

[Richard L]

I will second Eddies two cents.

Years ago I replaced a new Honeywell thermostat with a fancy programmable Hunter unit shortly after I had my whole heating cooling system replaced with a new energy efficient heat-pump. What a waste of money. I was having a lot of problems with my new heat-pump when it turned out to be the Hunter thermostat. It said it was designed for heat pumps, but it really wasn't. When my HVAC guys came back to check out what was wrong, they saw the Hunter thermostat and said that was my problem. It was not compatible with my heat-pump because it did not have a connection for another wire.



They re-installed the original Honeywell thermostat that came with my new HVAC system and it worked perfectly.



My new home has a heat-pump along with a fancy Honeywell thermostat that has 4-6 schedules and separate weekday and weekend schedules along with different schedules for cooling and heating seasons. When I was working and gone all day I used about 4 schedules. Now that I am retired, I only use 2 schedules for the heating season. to turn the heat down to about 65 at 10:00pm night and start to warm up about 5:00am so it's comfortable when I get up in the morning.



I see no reason or situation where I would need to control my thermostat over the Internet or by Cellphone?



I learned my lesson and now I will always go with a Honeywell.



...Rich

 

[H D]

Thanks, that is helpful. I've been reading similar stuff regarding Honeywell versus the hippest new, more expensive stuff. That makes it easier. Now just have to decide between a couple models. It's either a regular 7 day programmable and the fancy wifi one.



I can't think of why I would want to control my thermostat remotely, either, but the price difference isn't incredible. I'm not very tech savvy but want to get better and thought this might be a simple stepping stone. I just really don't know if I'd use it.



That's why I also was interested in other home automation stuff.: a hobby/interest with observable results (convenience/energy efficiency) and doesn't cost a fortune or ideally saves money.



I'll spare you my gardening and pond stuff until I fail a few times and learn something but that project is for next spring and will require some automation.



Rich,

I've been looking more into Wi-Fi camera systems and have found some interesting stuff. Most are really reasonably priced as well. There's just a lot to sift through to get through the junk.

 

[Richard L]

Hugh,

I would recommend buying a cheaper one to play with. They come with basic software and see how you like it. They are not hard to connect and configure to your WiFi network. It is more complicated to configure them so you can monitor them over the internet or cellphone. That involves port forwarding on your router and you have to have a host site to pickup the camera feeds off the internet. Some cameras will provide you with a host site, however many your router may also offer a free host site for video camera feeds. I have a D-Link router and they offer free service from DynDNS.com but there are others. ...its hard to find the info on the router firmware, but if they offer the service it's probably hidden somewhere in the various router setup screens or help screens.



...Rich

 

[H D]

I'm considering this one right now. No port forwarding. Truly plug and play.



<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/quZKYCWfmZE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[H D]

And this thermostat.



<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fWK7_5OMJSQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Richard L]

Hugh,

It appears that the OpLink system uses a proprietary WiFi router that has pre-programmed Fixed IP Addresses for the cameras with the necessary port forwarding and they are providing the Internet Hosting site. Like I said, many camera companies provide a Hosting site and this system has to be connected to your broadband router. If you already have a WiFi router, you are paying for a special dedicated WiFi router just to handle the camera...not a bad thing, just more expensive to pay for the convenience. As long as they don't charge a monthly fee for Hosting your camera feeds.



OpLink has just packaged it all together in a plug-n-play system. and included wireless door and window systems as an added feature....which seems to be a good deal for the prices on their systems. They seem to be a perfect system for someone who does not know about IP addresses, port forwarding, etc....and that's the way consumer electronics should be.



For us techie geeks who want a more flexible system that we can customize and tweak, most pre-packaged, plug-n-play systems won't work for us. LOL



I will dig into more details about the OpLink system but so far I like what I see and wish they had outdoor cameras?



...Rich

 

[H D]

The monthly fee for Oplink is kinda putting me off. It's not much, but I want DIY. If I wanted to pay, I'd contact ADT and let them monitor. Not scratching it off the list but I'm now really interested in Piper. It puts monitoring and home automation in one neat bundle and has no fees. Turning on a lamp when a door is opened as well as monitoring the smoke detectors seems like something we might would use.



I'm not entirely technologically backward as I may have put on. I can work with port forwarding, static IP addresses, etc. but I don't really like to and I get bored with tech pretty quickly, especially network crap. I'm more interested in "the way consumer electronics should be" as you put it. I want simple. I don't want to troubleshoot every damn thing I purchase and have to find out how to make it work with my time capsule. I really hate that we still need to have cords attached to everything. I want things to operate wireless, charge wireless, integrate with everything else I own and just simply work out of the box. Just like I shouldn't have to be a professional chef to use a microwave, I shouldn't have to be a tech nerd to use modern technology.



I'm really not interested in wifi thermostats per se, or even surveillance. I just want to play with some new and cheap technology that is supposed to make life easier. It seems home automation is going to be big and will offer some cool stuff in the near future.



I also really want an electric motorcycle but that's a much harder sell to my wife.



Anyway, I linked to the Piper system below. I also wanted to look at one made by Canary but it's only by preorder and is already sold out so I didn't even look any further than that.