Does anyone use "Nest" to control heat?
I am looking to use WIFI to monitor and control our heat during the winter. I want to be able to turn my heat on prior to getting here (it takes hours to warm our house) and also be able to check and see what the temperature is when we are not there. Someone suggested "The Nest." Are there other thermostats that I can turn on from my IPhone? Any comments would be very much appreciated! Thanks everyone have a Happy Summer!
"The Eagle" |
I have not used Nest, in part because I did not think it could be controlled remotely (my understanding was that it 'learns' your use patterns but I did not see web based control...I may be totally wrong about that). We have a couple of Honeywell units that can be controlled from the internet. They work well and will send an alert if the temp falls below a set point. Only caveat on that is that it requires your router to be working, so in a power outage, you cannot get the temp reading. They will, however, alert you of a power outage if you set them to do so.
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Nest is a great unit. It can be controlled via a web account, as well as, via an iPhone app. You can control both heat and air, and similar to what previous comments state, it does learn how you set the environment based on your use. There are other benefits where you can set it up for economy mode, and remote enable all features. You will also receive a monthly report on your consumption, based on external temps and settings.
I have been using Nest for years, and have not been disappointed. Sent from my iPad using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app |
Love the Nest Thermostats. Saved a small fortune in propane and electric especially a few years ago when propane was over 3.00 a gallon. Easy to set up easy to use. App is awesome.
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I love my 2 Nest thermostats. Some people I work with also use Ecobee thermostats but I have no experience with them.
With the Nests I can do exactly what you want to do. I have them on a schedule but if I'm coming home early I can turn the heat up from my phone so it's warm when I get there. Nests also have a learning mode where it figures out your patterns and automatically adjusts for them. I had no luck with that and shut off the learning feature. I would walk into a room and find the heat on just because I may have been in that room at that time in the past. I shut off learning and just use it on a schedule or with my phone. The Nest costs about $200 but I found them for about $180 on eBay. Then I got a $100 rebate meaning each Nest cost me $80. http://www.nhsaves.com/wp-content/up...and-Unitil.pdf I also got a Nest Protect smoke/CO detector. It also connects to wifi and your phone and gives you alerts on your phone if it detects a problem. It also can be set to shut off your heat through the Nest thermostats if CO is detected. |
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A copy of the report they produce Nest April Home Report Home This month we are all about pioneers. Since October 2011, Nesters have saved 13,080,742,032 kWh. That's the same amount of energy to fly Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Vega 5B 90 thousand times around the world. Learn more > Energy savings are an estimate, not a guarantee that you will save energy. Energy summary as of April 30 We're looking at info from your Nest Thermostat: Hallway (Home). Here's how you did: This month you used 104 fewer hours than last month.-104 hrs March 168 hrs April 64 hrs Tell your friends how much energy you're saving. Why did your energy use change? We look at a lot of reasons your energy use can change — from weather to your Eco Temperatures — and this is the one that made the biggest difference this month. It adds up to ‑100 hours of energy use. The difference of ‑4 hours was caused by other factors. Learn more > -100 hrs Warmer weather helped you save. A look at your Leafs: You get a Leaf when you choose an energy‑efficient temperature. And now, see your Leafs add up all year long. In April you earned: 9 Nest Leafs 9 more than March Let your friends know how many Leafs you earned. Meet 2‑step verification. Using your phone as an extra layer of security, 2‑step verification helps ensure that no one else can log into your account, even if someone knows your password. Learn more > Sent from my iPad using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app |
It works great and you can also see what the temps are in your house. I use it now in my phoenix home and after being away for a week lowered the temps from the airport on arrival and when i got back it was at desired level. Yes it does need active wifi.
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Also there are wireless cameras for the the App and as stated CO2 detectors. I have both and they are also great.
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By the way there is a settings gauge that you can remove any learned settings if you want as it will automatically reset at times you have previously used
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on a side note, you need a 3 wire for the thermostat, and if only a two wire coming out of the wall will need to replace with a 3 wire set up. I went to replace in my full time house but when I took the old thermo off the wall it was only a two wire. Due to the route the wire takes I would have had to poke a couple of holes to install the wire so I could thread it the same way.
I ended up just going back to the programmable thermostat for the house. Up in NH I have the mini splits from Mitsubishi, they can be installed with Wifi thermo's so I got those, can't wait to use them |
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I must have missed the online compatibility tool, looks like I'm gonna have some fun tonight |
Honeywell
Honeywell makes a wifi T-stat that works well, sends power and low temp alarms, and can be manually adjusted when you are on your way to your place.
https://yourhome.honeywell.com/en/pr...ouch-rth8580wf |
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This rebate looked great, until I saw it was natural gas customers only. I'm on LP gas, and electric backup. So now I'm searching to see if a rebate is available for LP or Electric customers. |
Ecobee
I love my Ecobee, which allows remote control via mobile app.
Ecobee has remote sensors that allow you to control what room(s) determine the temperature. You can set up a schedule. For example, on weekdays, it uses the sensor in my home office. In the evening, it uses the sensor in the den. At night, it uses the sensor in the bedroom. All on a single zone. It comes with one remote sensor; I bought two additional sensors so that I can schedule 4 rooms. You can set up multiple rooms during a period so the average is used. You can choose "follow-me" via motion detection. Very powerful. One note: the main unit thermometer is so sensitive that I had to plug the hole behind the unit with plumbers putty because cold air from the basement was affecting the reading! The website provides detailed reports of system usage, so you can see charts of on-off vs outdoor temp, total runtime, etc. Overall, it's great. |
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I have heard nothing but good about the Nest system as well... Dan |
I have the Emerson Sensi and love it. I have it at my house in Mass and my house in Meredith. Home Depot has them for $100. It does everything I want it to do. The nest is a learning T-stat. It's does more but also costs a lot more. I don't need a T-stat that learns my movements, esp in NH, where I'm only there part time. My son has two Sensi's in his house also. They work great with no issues for a reasonable price.
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One Problem With Nest
I have two Nest thermostats at my primary residence and I do love them. Very simple to install and work really well. For my home at the lake though I wanted to be notified if the temperature dropped below a certain level and my Nest was unable to do that. Maybe newer models now have this feature. I ended up going with a Honeywell and have been very happy with that.
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Another Ecobee fan here.
I have an Ecobee and it has worked great for my needs.
Like others, I shut off the learning feature as I prefer to have set schedules whether we are there or not. I am able to monitor and control the temp via the internet when we are away. It's great to be able to turn the heat up before we arrive home. |
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https://ifttt.com/applets/428054p-ne...rature-warning |
Honeywell at home and on the island. Nice to be able to kick the heat or A/C on well in advance of arrival. Also notifications can be set for temp thresholds or loss of connection.
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Ecobee needs 4(?) wires
Following up on posts above--I have multiple Nests and love them.
Before Nest, I tried to install Ecobee, but failed. I'm not perfect on the technical issues, but Ecobee requires an additional wire over the Nest, so fewer homes will be acceptable with that system. |
First winter heating house with the Mitsubishi heat pump. I was able to control with Kumo Cloud from my lap top or I phone, was able to control heat and monitor temp at any time, I also set up Temp Stick by Ideal Sciences I could set alert that if temp in house dropped below 45 I would get an alert email , worked great as long as you have internet and wifi.
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Nest and Ecobee
Love them both. I have the Nest and my daughter has the Ecobee.
I installed the Nest a year after installing the Rinnai condensing boiler. The boiler has an outside sensor and its own sophisticated algorithm that adjust the baseboard temperature based on the outside and inside temperature. It is so slick that I never notice temperature swings in the house. After the installation I have seen little difference in efficiency, perhaps because the Rinnai is efficient (95.5). I bought the Nest at Home Depot for $140, (a return). Sent in the energy rebate of $100. Not bad for a Wi-Fi thermostat! |
NEST / Honeywell. Eco Info
THANKS everyone for your feedback! I now feel comfortable looking into installing any of these! Wish the rebates were for oil heat too, but I guessed we can't have everything! LOL! Happy Summer!
The Eagle |
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Nest is great. I also added cameras to see in the house when I'm not there
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Turn off...
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Not that I am aware. It's all or nothing. You can certainly choose not to get the email. The iPhone app does show running tally bar chart, so that may accommodate your consumption, but leave the comparison to your own determination. Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app |
Schedule with Nest
I have two zones, each with a Nest. I installed them myself about a year apart so they are different versions. I also have a Nestcam I got on sale last winter. I control it all from one app. I never turned on the learning mode. I like the schedule. I can manage all from iPad, iPhone and a PC. I love how easy it all is. My house is forced hot water on oil and 25 years old, no central air.
IG |
Iris
I have been using Lowe's Iris system for over 2 years now and after the first year of growing pains, it is now great. I have 42 devices connected in the system in my winter home and a half dozen devices in the summer home. These include thermostats, lights switches, outlets, indoor and outdoor cameras, alarms, IR sensors, door/window sensors, key fobs, water shutoffs, pet doors, and door locks and much more......all controlled with a single smart phone or tablet via wifi and remotely via internet. Smart rules can be set for everything to conditionally adjust thermostats based on occupancy or remotely adjusted. They can also turn lights on/off based on rules or schedules. They even now have remote monitoring service for a fee.
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Noisy
Is the heat pump noisy, bothering neighbors and self? What is a typical added electric bill for April, September, October?
Thanks so much IG |
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I do not have the hyper heat units just the standard one and they work very well for heating but only down to about 30 degrees efficiently. The hyper heat units are efficient to 13 below zero! They are extremely quiet and I do not hear them running at all. Dan |
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We have one 15K Btu standard unit at camp and two hyper heat units at home, one 12K and one 18K. My estimate is that one 15K unit would add about $15/month in Sept and about $20 to $25/month in April and Oct. A/C in the summer may cost $10 to $20/month depending on use. Alan |
If you are looking for numbers on Mitsubishi mini splits, go to the following thread....you can search for "Mitsubishi system" and read the posts. Looks for the two I posted under "tummyman" and see my data. For the last two seasons, I have gone back to using oil since the cost of oil has dropped significantly and the cost of electricity over the winter has gone up dramatically. So I play the fuel game on cost of the commodity.
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Heat pumps
Heat pumps, in general, are awesome. Super efficient, super quiet. We added one to our MA house--we're getting a very nice payback on the investment and we'll never go back.
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just about perfect
Sitting in the ultra-quiet coolness of a 2 yr old Mitsu Hyper Heat unit right now. They really are as good as everyone says. They are best when set to a temp and left at that temp. I don't think you get much advantage using a setback, but I could be wrong. They use very little electricity once they reach the set temp as the fans slow way down and just maintain that temp. I use for heat as soon as temps are above mid 30's since oil is still cheap for colder temps and the hyper heat units go through a long cycle (maybe 30 minutes) doing something to prevent ice build up, I believe. During that time, there is no heat output.
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When you say three units do you mean three indoor units run off one outside condensing unit? Thanks! Dan |
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per system. I know it sounds geeky, but with the solar panel app, I've been anxiously waiting for a real hot day to see just what these units burn....I'm stunned at how efficient they are. Very pleased.... |
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Warning: Nest (and similar connected appliances are surveillance systems sold as an appliance. The business model of Nest and similar connected devices is to get something into your home to collect and sell data on what you and your family do at home 24x7. If you like that kind of monitoring by strangers and the security risk that the data will be stolen someday and used to target you by criminals and hackers, buy it. Note that the worst data and network security risks these days come from the relatively immature "internet of things" devices like this that are not as well protected or patched as phones and computers.
If you can find a model that you are sure allows only you to connect to it, that might be safer. But then how would the vendor apply security patches ... ? Can of worms. (full disclosure: I work for a software company, not a Luddite. I know how these people think.) |
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