Choosing smart thermostat

[kfred]

Building a new home and searching for an attractive controllable thermostat. I'm amazed that for the most part "controllable" relegates me to primitive looking thermostats that will cause a raised eyebrow from my wife. Is there anything like the Honeywell prestige HD thermostat that communicates via IP or Zwave? Or like the Hunter touch-screen thermostat? So far the only decent looking one I've found is the HAI Omnistat 2, but I'm hoping there are more and I'm just not getting the search terms right. I've purchased an Elk M1 Gold with zwave and ethernet, but am not afraid to throw a slug in there with custom code to tie it together. I just can't help but believe if I'm going to spend that much on a thermostat it can't have a little bit of wow to it.

Thanks,

(kfred)

 

[electron]

Hi kfred, welcome to CT!

Have you seen the Proliphix thermostat? It's IP enabled, and they even have an iPhone client for it.

 

[PAPutzback]

I get a WOW every time I walk by my RC-2000. The motion sensor lights it up for me and if I want a quick change I just turn the knob. I haven't wired it into the OMNIPro yet but just the ease of programming it as a standalone is great. Today it was almost 80 here and it is a good feeling when I am leaving work at 3 and my program is set to drop the temp from 85 to 73 starting at 3 and I know I saved that money during the day. I look forward to comparing bills from this year to last.

It might not be the cheapest but at 300+ it is cheaper than a lot and is a much better looking unit. And the control knob is way better than pushing buttons over and over.

And of course after the fact I found this place here for almost 80 bucks less.

http://www.discounthomeautomation.com/cgi-...atpump-Humidity

 

[electron]

I do think the RC-2000 is a VERY nice looking thermostat, probably one of the best designs actually.

 

[Rupp]

As you are noticing these are "generally" not cheap and it depends on the features you desire. Do you need zoning, do you need more than one stat, etc. A very affordable and bare bones stat is the WDTC-20 - Z-Wave Thermostat (Wayne-Dalton). The RCS thermostats are nice hardware as well and have been around a long time. The HAI line is also a very good line as are the Proliphix and these have a build in web server for external access without the need for other hardware. I have one of the WDTC-20's upstairs and it works well and for $90 they can't be beat.
http://store.homeseer.com/store/HVAC-C38.aspx

 

[Steve]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Ecobee. It is definitely a very nice looking stat if that is your main goal. The problem is that is doesn't interface with any of the panels like Elk or HAI. But, it is net workable I believe so I guess you can hook into it somehow. Personally I have the RC1000 and really like it. Our stat is pretty much on a side wall where its not really seen by anybody anyway but I think its one of the best out there now in its class.

 

[DavidL]

Today it was almost 80 here and it is a good feeling when I am leaving work at 3 and my program is set to drop the temp from 85 to 73 starting at 3 and I know I saved that money during the day. I look forward to comparing bills from this year to last.

Got me thinking...anyone have a good logic routine for thermostat set back that accomodates different energy costs per hour of the day, time for the system to recover, weekend vs. work day (vacant), that might even consider primary (cheaper) vs. supplemental heat source (more expensive per btu)? Some formula for optimization with these constraints?

For example...my Geothermal uses geo for primary (cheap heat) and two stages of electric "toaster" heat (more expensive per btu) and then ultimately propane heat as emergency heat. If the heat drops too low below the "at home" mode, the secondary heat will kick in to catch up...that is more expensive per btu than just the geothermal catching up.

Anyone do some strategizing on these issues? ie: step the heat back up a degree at a time so seconday heat doesn't kick in? And, of course...if the heat doesn't want to recover (too cold for only the primary heat source), then kick on the secondary stages so the temp doesn't drop. The simple two state Home and Away can't be the most efficient...any ideas?

 

[GraysonPeddie]

Hi kfred, welcome to CT!

Have you seen the Proliphix thermostat? It's IP enabled, and they even have an iPhone client for it.

I've bookmarked the Proliphix website showing an IP-based thermostat. Thanks!

 

[Osler]

I use the Proliphix and like it. Basic, stand-alone operation that you can access very easily over the network (and remotely). I have written a COM object that encapsulates this thermostat as a windows script component, making it easy to integrate into various PC-based automation packages (I currently use HouseBot). The script component can be found here if you are interested:

<can't post link - search HouseBot forum for Proliphix and it should come up>

I am still working on building the device script in HouseBot, but the component itself functions as one would expect.

Osler

 

[Lagerhead]

Have you seen the Proliphix thermostat? It's IP enabled, and they even have an iPhone client for it.

I have the Proliphix residential thermostats and have been happy with them. The API is robust, documented well, and very easy to use, so you will find them agreeable for your slug. As stand-alone units they take care of themselves, and with more-or-less intuitive controls they are not offputting or confusing for the family.

Also, you can add inexpensive thermistor sensors to the NT20 models, giving remote temperature measurement for much less cost than most alternatives. POE is also available.

Two minor issues are that the TOD clocks have some drift and need periodic setting, and the anticipator function could be tightened up somewhat. The brown line in the chart below shows a typical measured zone temperature and pink is the zone setpoint. (Red is outdoor temperature.) There is overshoot by a couple of degrees or more in some heating situations.

anyone have a good logic routine for thermostat set back that accomodates different energy costs per hour of the day, time for the system to recover...

I am interested in this too but have supposed that one needs a good knowledge of thermal engineering. So thinking that I have also supposed that a proper analysis of a bunch of historical heating and cooling data for the subject premises would be a necessary first step?

 

[sboutros]

Hi Guys,

InThrMa solves these issues for you. We have cooling and heating anticipator functions for the Proliphix as well as a clock adjustment when the time drifts (which it does).
Our service can be found here: http://inthrma.com/

We also provide data logging, graphing, sophisticated alerting, custom programming, backups, dashboard and more.

Check it out and let us know what you think.

Sam
http://inthrma.com/

 

[sic0048]

Today it was almost 80 here and it is a good feeling when I am leaving work at 3 and my program is set to drop the temp from 85 to 73 starting at 3 and I know I saved that money during the day. I look forward to comparing bills from this year to last.

Got me thinking...anyone have a good logic routine for thermostat set back that accomodates different energy costs per hour of the day, time for the system to recover, weekend vs. work day (vacant), that might even consider primary (cheaper) vs. supplemental heat source (more expensive per btu)? Some formula for optimization with these constraints?

For example...my Geothermal uses geo for primary (cheap heat) and two stages of electric "toaster" heat (more expensive per btu) and then ultimately propane heat as emergency heat. If the heat drops too low below the "at home" mode, the secondary heat will kick in to catch up...that is more expensive per btu than just the geothermal catching up.

Anyone do some strategizing on these issues? ie: step the heat back up a degree at a time so seconday heat doesn't kick in? And, of course...if the heat doesn't want to recover (too cold for only the primary heat source), then kick on the secondary stages so the temp doesn't drop. The simple two state Home and Away can't be the most efficient...any ideas?

IMHO, I think only experimentation coupled with a energy measuring device can answer those questions. Some obvious answers are that you want to increase/decrease the temps slow enough that it never kicks the supplemental HVAC system on since that will lower efficiency dramatically.

I'm also not sure that a away vs home mode is going to be enough. Obviously that is the easiest method, but if the temps fluctuate too much, it may be too uncomfortable to wait for the system to recover to the correct temps upon arrive home. So you might have to build in some smarter logic basic on normal use and then have the home mode as a failsafe backup. Either that, or have remote access via a phone or something similar where you could change the temps far enough in advance of getting home that the house is comfortable upon arrival - but that takes the automation factor out and put the burdon on the users to get everything right.

There are a lot of variables IMHO and in the end the system may not be any more efficient than stock. The only real way of knowing is by comparing before and after energy usage logs to determine if the system is more cost effective with a schedule than without.

 

[twilo123]

i haven't tried these myself yet but i have been looking at www.radiothermostat.com