Who uses one? Do they require a Cat 5 cable? How many people's
schedule can you set the temps for?

My sister and her two kids moved in with me.

My nephew is in school and it would be nice to warm the house in the
morning for him, but his come home time is different. He has a smart
phone and enough sense to use it.

My niece has a pretty regular work schedule. She also has a smart
phone and also enough sense to use it.

My sister doesn't have a smart phone and wouldn't know how to turn one
on if she had one. Just kidding, but she can barely run the two
remotes for the TV. Her schedule also changes the most. It would be
nice if it had a computer interface was brain dead easy.

My schedule is pretty much open 24/7.

On 11/1/2012 3:34 PM, Metspitzer wrote:
Who uses one? Do they require a Cat 5 cable? How many people's
schedule can you set the temps for?

My sister and her two kids moved in with me.

My nephew is in school and it would be nice to warm the house in the
morning for him, but his come home time is different. He has a smart
phone and enough sense to use it.

My niece has a pretty regular work schedule. She also has a smart
phone and also enough sense to use it.

My sister doesn't have a smart phone and wouldn't know how to turn one
on if she had one. Just kidding, but she can barely run the two
remotes for the TV. Her schedule also changes the most. It would be
nice if it had a computer interface was brain dead easy.

My schedule is pretty much open 24/7.


try a timer setback thermostat

"Metspitzer" wrote in message
...
Who uses one? Do they require a Cat 5 cable? How many people's
schedule can you set the temps for?

My sister and her two kids moved in with me.

My nephew is in school and it would be nice to warm the house in the
morning for him, but his come home time is different. He has a smart
phone and enough sense to use it.

My niece has a pretty regular work schedule. She also has a smart
phone and also enough sense to use it.



Sure they make them. Do a Google search. Here is one.

http://www.vacationhomethermostats.c...ermostat.shtml

Metspitzer wrote:

Who uses one? Do they require a Cat 5 cable? How many people's
schedule can you set the temps for?

They are horrendously expensive and you will never recoup the savings
given today's low prices for natural gas.

If you heat with electricity, then your first priority should be to
change over to natural gas.

My sister and her two kids moved in with me.

My nephew is in school...

My niece has a pretty regular work schedule...

My sister - Her schedule also changes the most.

My schedule is pretty much open 24/7.

Answer:

Based on your convoluted household schedule, use an ordinary
programmable thermostat and set it to 70f at 7 am, setback to 65f at 9
am, back to 70f at 4 pm, and back down to 65f at 11 pm.

Problem solved.

Even cheap thermostats allow for 4 temperature settings per day (wake,
leave, return, sleep).

On Thu, 01 Nov 2012 19:54:51 -0400, Home Guy wrote:

Metspitzer wrote:

Who uses one? Do they require a Cat 5 cable? How many people's
schedule can you set the temps for?

They are horrendously expensive and you will never recoup the savings
given today's low prices for natural gas.

If you heat with electricity, then your first priority should be to
change over to natural gas.

The heat is gas. The thermostat is electric.

My sister and her two kids moved in with me.

My nephew is in school...

My niece has a pretty regular work schedule...

My sister - Her schedule also changes the most.

My schedule is pretty much open 24/7.

Answer:

Based on your convoluted household schedule, use an ordinary
programmable thermostat and set it to 70f at 7 am, setback to 65f at 9
am, back to 70f at 4 pm, and back down to 65f at 11 pm.

Problem solved.

Even cheap thermostats allow for 4 temperature settings per day (wake,
leave, return, sleep).

On Thu, 01 Nov 2012 18:34:18 -0400, Metspitzer
wrote:

Who uses one? Do they require a Cat 5 cable? How many people's
schedule can you set the temps for?

My sister and her two kids moved in with me.

My nephew is in school and it would be nice to warm the house in the
morning for him, but his come home time is different. He has a smart
phone and enough sense to use it.

My niece has a pretty regular work schedule. She also has a smart
phone and also enough sense to use it.

My sister doesn't have a smart phone and wouldn't know how to turn one
on if she had one. Just kidding, but she can barely run the two
remotes for the TV. Her schedule also changes the most. It would be
nice if it had a computer interface was brain dead easy.

My schedule is pretty much open 24/7.

You ought to at least look at the Nest. Wireless. Learns your
schedule. Can be adjusted over the net using your cell phone.

Buddy has one. He is in sales and travels a lot and loves being able
to return to warm (or cool) house no matter what his schedule.

http://www.nest.com/

Paul F.

Home Depot has a Filtrete 7-Day Touchscreen WiFi-Enabled Programmable
Thermostat with Backlight

Congoleum Breckenridge wrote:

Home Depot has a Filtrete 7-Day Touchscreen WiFi-Enabled Programmable
Thermostat with Backlight

I remember a few years ago I looked into internet-compatible
thermostats.

What I found is that they didn't allow for direct communication between
you and them over the local lan or the internet.

Instead what they do is communicate with a hard-coded server (owned /
operated by the company that makes them) and you have to set up an
account on that company's server in order to access and interact with
your thermostat.

If you're an iSlave fan-boi, then you would probably salivate over this:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/HA...2nd-generation

============
Nest Learning Thermostat 2nd Generation
Programs itself. Control from anywhere

$250

The Nest Learning Thermostat 2nd Generation remembers what temperatures
you like, turns itself down when you're away, and can be controlled over
Wi-Fi from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac. Nest's Energy History
shows you when your system was on and why, the Nest Leaf tells you when
you’re saving energy, and the monthly Energy Report shows you trends in
your energy use and tips to save more.
==============

Don't know why they gave it the gay name "Nest Learning Thermostat".

It was first offered for sale a few years ago - then discontinued. I
guess they brought it back with this 2'nd generation version.

On 11-01-2012 20:48, Paul Franklin wrote:
You ought to at least look at the Nest. Wireless. Learns your
schedule. Can be adjusted over the net using your cell phone.

Buddy has one. He is in sales and travels a lot and loves being able
to return to warm (or cool) house no matter what his schedule.

How long does it take to save $250 ?

If it drops my heating bill to ZERO, it would pay for itself in a year.

--
Wes Groleau

What kind of smiley is C:\ ?

In article ,
Metspitzer wrote:

Who uses one? Do they require a Cat 5 cable? How many people's
schedule can you set the temps for?

My sister and her two kids moved in with me.

My nephew is in school and it would be nice to warm the house in the
morning for him, but his come home time is different. He has a smart
phone and enough sense to use it.

My niece has a pretty regular work schedule. She also has a smart
phone and also enough sense to use it.

My sister doesn't have a smart phone and wouldn't know how to turn one
on if she had one. Just kidding, but she can barely run the two
remotes for the TV. Her schedule also changes the most. It would be
nice if it had a computer interface was brain dead easy.

My schedule is pretty much open 24/7.

Your sister, niece and nephew are probably smart enough to come home,
turn on the heat, and leave their sweaters on until the house warms up.

On Thu, 01 Nov 2012 19:54:51 -0400, Home Guy wrote:

Metspitzer wrote:

Who uses one? Do they require a Cat 5 cable? How many people's
schedule can you set the temps for?

They are horrendously expensive and you will never recoup the savings
given today's low prices for natural gas.

There are other reasons for them, other than saving a few cents. I'm
seriously thinking about buying one for our other house. It would be
nice to turn the heat on, on the few freezing days we get. This time
of year (until mid-January) it likely won't get cold enough to freeze
pipes but it's possible. It would also be nice to have the house
warmed up when we get there.

If you heat with electricity, then your first priority should be to
change over to natural gas.

Not possible. Neither house.

My sister and her two kids moved in with me.

My nephew is in school...

My niece has a pretty regular work schedule...

My sister - Her schedule also changes the most.

My schedule is pretty much open 24/7.

Answer:

Based on your convoluted household schedule, use an ordinary
programmable thermostat and set it to 70f at 7 am, setback to 65f at 9
am, back to 70f at 4 pm, and back down to 65f at 11 pm.

You really do waste energy.

Problem solved.

No, you're still here, HomoGay.

Even cheap thermostats allow for 4 temperature settings per day (wake,
leave, return, sleep).

....and aren't recommended for heat pumps.'

On Fri, 02 Nov 2012 00:06:01 -0400, Wes Groleau
wrote:

On 11-01-2012 20:48, Paul Franklin wrote:
You ought to at least look at the Nest. Wireless. Learns your
schedule. Can be adjusted over the net using your cell phone.

Buddy has one. He is in sales and travels a lot and loves being able
to return to warm (or cool) house no matter what his schedule.

How long does it take to save $250 ?

If it drops my heating bill to ZERO, it would pay for itself in a year.

Nice! ...but that's almost what I'm thinking about doing. If it drops
my heat bill for one month to zero (one of the months I'll have to
heat "just in case"), it'll pay for itself.

On Nov 1, 6:53*pm, Home Guy wrote:
Metspitzer wrote:
Who uses one? *Do they require a Cat 5 cable? *How many people's
schedule can you set the temps for?

They are horrendously expensive and you will never recoup the savings
given today's low prices for natural gas.


So, it would be cheaper to keep the vacation house at 70F
all year long, instead of being able to dial it up when you're
two hours away?





If you heat with electricity, then your first priority should be to
change over to natural gas.


Which of course has nothing to do with the issue or application.
Clueless as usual.

" wrote:

They are horrendously expensive and you will never recoup the
savings given today's low prices for natural gas.

So, it would be cheaper to keep the vacation house at 70F
all year long, instead of being able to dial it up when you're
two hours away?

What kind of boob are you?

First of all, my idea of a "vacation" house is a house that I have to
turn the AC on instead of the furnace. Because my idea of a vacation is
to go to a place that's warmer then where I am.

Second, is it really that much of a hardship to "suffer" through a few
hours of warm-up (or cool-down) at your vacation home once you get
there? I mean, how often do you go on vacation? A few times a year, or
every other week?

If you heat with electricity, then your first priority should
be to change over to natural gas.

Which of course has nothing to do with the issue or application.
Clueless as usual.

You're the clueless one.

The OP was looking for a way to control his home-heating system in the
most fuel-efficient way possible given the new configuration of his
household and the timetables of it's occupants.

If the OP wasn't concerned about fuel costs, then he would just set his
thermostat to 72F constantly and would have no interest in a new control
system.

But since he is seeking a more complicated control system, he is
therefore concerned about heating costs, and that's why I mentioned
right off the top that he would realize the most fuel savings by
converting to natural gas if he was currently using electric heat.

On Nov 7, 8:25*am, Home Guy wrote:
" wrote:
They are horrendously expensive and you will never recoup the
savings given today's low prices for natural gas.

So, it would be cheaper to keep the vacation house at 70F
all year long, instead of being able to dial it up when you're
two hours away?

What kind of boob are you?

First of all, my idea of a "vacation" house is a house that I have to
turn the AC on instead of the furnace. *Because my idea of a vacation is
to go to a place that's warmer then where I am.

Just because your idea of a vacation is limited to warm places
doesn't mean that's what everyone does. Try picking up a
copy of ski magazine for example. And I would think even
you could realize that the scenario applies just as well to a
vacation house that requires the AC to be turned on.

The OP gave a perfect example of a situation where people
come home at varying times, so it would be desirable if they
could turn up the HVAC shortly before returning. Not that
hard to grasp, at least for everyone else here.




Second, is it really that much of a hardship to "suffer" through a few
hours of warm-up (or cool-down) at your vacation home once you get
there? *I mean, how often do you go on vacation? *A few times a year, or
every other week?

Why should anyone come home to a cold house when they
don't have to? Clowns like you made similar arguments when
they moved from out houses to indoor plumbing. You still use
an outhouse up there?






If you heat with electricity, then your first priority should
be to change over to natural gas.

Which of course has nothing to do with the issue or application.
Clueless as usual.

You're the clueless one.

The OP was looking for a way to control his home-heating system in the
most fuel-efficient way possible given the new configuration of his
household and the timetables of it's occupants.


He was looking for a way to turn up the heat prior to arrival for
households where arrival time varies. Those of us in the real
world experience this all the time. For example, I arrive back at
the airport. The house has been set back to 50 for a week.
I'd prefer to push a button on my phone when the plane lands
so I have a warm house when I get home. Really simple
concept, except for jerks like you who can't comprehend
a modern lifestyle.

On Wed, 7 Nov 2012 05:15:52 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

On Nov 1, 6:53*pm, Home Guy wrote:
Metspitzer wrote:
Who uses one? *Do they require a Cat 5 cable? *How many people's
schedule can you set the temps for?

They are horrendously expensive and you will never recoup the savings
given today's low prices for natural gas.


So, it would be cheaper to keep the vacation house at 70F
all year long, instead of being able to dial it up when you're
two hours away?

It would have to be pretty expensive not to pay for itself when it
emails you that the temp in your house is falling below the margin you
set for it. So you can go to, or send someone to it to drain the
pipes before they burst-- or fix whatever is wrong with your heating
system.

Jim

" wrote:

The OP gave a perfect example of a situation where people
come home at varying times,

which does not apply to a vacation home which would not need several
temperature changes to be made each day so I don't know why you even
brought up the vacation-house example.

so it would be desirable if they could turn up the HVAC shortly
before returning. Not that hard to grasp, at least for
everyone else here.

There's desirable and there's fantasty, practicality, cost/benefit and
ergonomics.

Any house that's constantly inhabited on a daily basis will not decline
very much in temperature compared to your vacation-house example, and
wouldn't take much to reach the desired temperature upon arrival of the
inhabitants and they manually set the thermostat.

Why should anyone come home to a cold house when they don't have
to?

How much are they willing to pay for this conveinence?

And if they forget to use it 50% of the time, then your cost/benefit
really goes out of whack.

Clowns like you made similar arguments when they moved from out
houses to indoor plumbing. You still use an outhouse up there?

I never made any such claims about indoor plumbing. Stop arguing from
left field.

The OP was looking for a way to control his home-heating system
in the most fuel-efficient way possible given the new
configuration of his household and the timetables of it's occupants.

He was looking for a way to turn up the heat prior to arrival for
households where arrival time varies.

Why?

Why was he looking to do that?

Why that, instead of just setting his house to a constant 72F?

Why did you not quote that part of my last post? Why did you delete
that observation of mine and not respond directly to it?

Again, you selective-deleting coward, he wants to save as much money as
possible on heating costs. That's why I suggested he be using natural
gas if he's using electric heat.

For example, I arrive back at the airport. The house has been set
back to 50 for a week.

Most of us don't live alone.

I'd prefer to push a button on my phone when the plane lands
so I have a warm house when I get home.

Is the average person going to spend $250 for a thermostat where a few
times a year he can come home to a warm (or cool) house - assuming he's
gone either in the summer or winter?

Really simple concept, except for jerks like you who can't
comprehend a modern lifestyle.

A fool can understand the concept.

You obviously can't understand or model the typical use-case,
ergonomics, and cost/benefit for the "average" person or household.

Jim Elbrecht wrote:

So, it would be cheaper to keep the vacation house at 70F
all year long, instead of being able to dial it up when you're
two hours away?

It would have to be pretty expensive not to pay for itself when it
emails you that the temp in your house is falling below the margin
you set for it. So you can go to, or send someone to it to drain
the pipes before they burst-- or fix whatever is wrong with your
heating system.

Your point is of no consideration.

Because even the simplest, cheapest thermostats (mechanical or
electronic) have failsafe low-temp settings where the thermostat will
turn on the furnace if the temperature gets that low regardless what
your other settings are.

Anyone who has a vacation house in a cold-climate location that doesn't
have their furnace turn on at say 45F - 55F is a boob. It doesn't take
a $250 internet-enabled thermostat to keep the pipes from freezing at
your vacation property when you're not there.

On Nov 7, 9:21*am, Home Guy wrote:
Jim Elbrecht wrote:
So, it would be cheaper to keep the vacation house at 70F
all year long, instead of being able to dial it up when you're
two hours away?

It would have to be pretty expensive not to pay for itself when it
emails you that the temp in your house is falling below the margin
you set for it. *So you can go to, or send someone to it to drain
the pipes before they burst-- or fix whatever is wrong with your
heating system.

Your point is of no consideration.

Because even the simplest, cheapest thermostats (mechanical or
electronic) have failsafe low-temp settings where the thermostat will
turn on the furnace if the temperature gets that low regardless what
your other settings are.


Anyone who has a vacation house in a cold-climate location that doesn't
have their furnace turn on at say 45F - 55F is a boob. *It doesn't take
a $250 internet-enabled thermostat to keep the pipes from freezing at
your vacation property when you're not there.

Clueless as ever. How about the more likely scenario, which is
that the furnace has failed to start up because it has run out of
fuel or has a clogged nozzle? Will the simplest, cheapest thermostat
connect via the internet or phone and alert you?

On Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:21:02 -0500, Home Guy wrote:

Jim Elbrecht wrote:

So, it would be cheaper to keep the vacation house at 70F
all year long, instead of being able to dial it up when you're
two hours away?

It would have to be pretty expensive not to pay for itself when it
emails you that the temp in your house is falling below the margin
you set for it. So you can go to, or send someone to it to drain
the pipes before they burst-- or fix whatever is wrong with your
heating system.

Your point is of no consideration.

Because even the simplest, cheapest thermostats (mechanical or
electronic) have failsafe low-temp settings where the thermostat will
turn on the furnace if the temperature gets that low regardless what
your other settings are.

Anyone who has a vacation house in a cold-climate location that doesn't
have their furnace turn on at say 45F - 55F is a boob. It doesn't take
a $250 internet-enabled thermostat to keep the pipes from freezing at
your vacation property when you're not there.

Try reading, HomoGay.

On 11-07-2012 08:40, wrote:
Why should anyone come home to a cold house when they
don't have to?

Because I'd rather keep my coat on for an extra twenty minutes with my
ten-dollar thermostat than pay hundreds for the ability to hang it up
immediately.

(Actually, I hang it up immediately anyway. 65°F is not particularly
uncomfortable.)

--
Wes Groleau

It seems a pity that psychology should have
destroyed all our knowledge of human nature.
€” G. K. Chesterton

On 11-07-2012 08:44, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
wrote:
So, it would be cheaper to keep the vacation house at 70F
all year long, instead of being able to dial it up when you're
two hours away?

It would have to be pretty expensive not to pay for itself when it
emails you that the temp in your house is falling below the margin you
set for it. So you can go to, or send someone to it to drain the
pipes before they burst-- or fix whatever is wrong with your heating
system.

Huh? A malfunctioning thermostat is not likely to be sending me an
e-mail. A non-malfunctioning thermostat is not going to drop the temp
below what I told it.

--
Wes Groleau

€œBrigham Young agrees to confine himself to one woman,
if every member of Congress will do the same.€�
€” Weekly Republican, 1869

On 11-06-2012 13:00, z wrote:
wrote:
How long does it take to save $250 ?

If it drops my heating bill to ZERO, it would pay for itself in a year.

Nice! ...but that's almost what I'm thinking about doing. If it drops
my heat bill for one month to zero (one of the months I'll have to
heat "just in case"), it'll pay for itself.

My ten-dollar thermostat handles those months just fine.

--
Wes Groleau

Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for which
the only specification is that it should run noiselessly.
€” unknown

Home Guy wrote:
Jim Elbrecht wrote:

So, it would be cheaper to keep the vacation house at 70F
all year long, instead of being able to dial it up when you're
two hours away?

It would have to be pretty expensive not to pay for itself when it
emails you that the temp in your house is falling below the margin
you set for it. So you can go to, or send someone to it to drain
the pipes before they burst-- or fix whatever is wrong with your
heating system.

Your point is of no consideration.

Because even the simplest, cheapest thermostats (mechanical or
electronic) have failsafe low-temp settings where the thermostat will
turn on the furnace if the temperature gets that low regardless what
your other settings are.

Anyone who has a vacation house in a cold-climate location that doesn't
have their furnace turn on at say 45F - 55F is a boob. It doesn't take
a $250 internet-enabled thermostat to keep the pipes from freezing at
your vacation property when you're not there.

Not many have fail safe over temp. I think I saw at least one.

Greg

On Nov 7, 9:01*pm, Wes Groleau wrote:
On 11-07-2012 08:40, wrote:

Why should anyone come home to a cold house when they
don't have to?

Because I'd rather keep my coat on for an extra twenty minutes with my
ten-dollar thermostat than pay hundreds for the ability to hang it up
immediately.

(Actually, I hang it up immediately anyway. *65°F is not particularly
uncomfortable.)

--
Wes Groleau

* * *It seems a pity that psychology should have
destroyed all our knowledge of human nature.
* * * * * * * * * * *— G. K. Chesterton

If it takes just 20 mins to warm your house up from
50 to 65 you're furnace is way over-sized.

On Nov 7, 9:05*pm, Wes Groleau wrote:
On 11-07-2012 08:44, Jim Elbrecht wrote:

wrote:
So, it would be cheaper to keep the vacation house at 70F
all year long, instead of being able to dial it up when you're
two hours away?

It would have to be pretty expensive not to pay for itself when it
emails you that the temp in your house is falling below the margin you
set for it. * * *So you can go to, or send someone to it to drain the
pipes before they burst-- or fix whatever is wrong with your heating
system.

Huh? *A malfunctioning thermostat is not likely to be sending me an
e-mail. *A non-malfunctioning thermostat is not going to drop the temp
below what I told it.

--
Wes Groleau


An internet capable one will inform you that the temp
has fallen below what it's set for, ie that the furnace is
not responding because it;s out of fuel, broken, etc.

On Nov 1, 11:06*pm, Wes Groleau wrote:
On 11-01-2012 20:48, Paul Franklin wrote:

You ought to at least look at the Nest. *Wireless. *Learns your
schedule. *Can be adjusted over the net using your cell phone.

Buddy has one. *He is in sales and travels a lot and loves being able
to return to warm (or cool) house no matter what his schedule.

How long does it take to save $250 ?



If you followed the scenario, there are people who
go away for varying amounts of time. I for example,
go on ski trips, where I can be gone from a few days
to a week. Now to have the house at a reasonable
temp with a dumb thermostat, we'd have to leave it
at 65 for a week. With an internet capable one, we
could set it to 50, then change it to 65 two hours
before we return. I don't know exactly how long it
would take to recover $250, but clearly having a house
at 50F for a week when it's 20 outside is going to save
a decent amount compared to having it at 65F.
And then there is also the savings in resources, instead
of wasting energy.

" wrote:

Huh? A malfunctioning thermostat is not likely to be sending me
an e-mail. A non-malfunctioning thermostat is not going to drop
the temp below what I told it.

An internet capable one will inform you that the temp
has fallen below what it's set for, ie that the furnace is
not responding because it;s out of fuel, broken, etc.

What ever did we do before we had the internet?

Did we have an epidemic of northern and high-altitude vacation
properties that were damaged because of malfunctioning hvac systems?

Maybe people winterized these homes so it wouldn't matter if the furnace
failed?

Maybe there are less expensive telephone-connected devices (that are not
thermostats) that can call you if the ambient temperature falls below
some preset level? And such devices existed years before the internet
became popular?

In fact, it wouldn't be too difficult to wire up a temperature sensor
and add it as a separate zone of a security system (which presumably
most vacation properties would already have). If the temp falls below a
threshold, the zone opens and triggers the security system to call the
pre-programmed phone number and communicate the trouble-code. You can
do the same with a smoke alarm.

" wrote:

If you followed the scenario, there are people who go away for
varying amounts of time. I for example, go on ski trips, where
I can be gone from a few days to a week. Now to have the house
at a reasonable temp with a dumb thermostat, we'd have to leave
it at 65 for a week. With an internet capable one, we could set
it to 50, then change it to 65 two hours before we return.

Even cheap electronic thermostats have the ability to program different
settings for each day of the week.

So in your example, you set the temperature for 6 days of the week to
50F, and set the 7'th day (the day you return) to 65. This works almost
equally well if you're gone for 7 days (or less) or any multiple of 7
days.

At worst, you've got one day out of 7 where the temp is 65 instead of
50. So now factor in the savings under that scenario.

On Nov 8, 8:45*am, Home Guy wrote:
" wrote:
Huh? *A malfunctioning thermostat is not likely to be sending me
an e-mail. *A non-malfunctioning thermostat is not going to drop
the temp below what I told it.

An internet capable one will inform you that the temp
has fallen below what it's set for, ie that the furnace is
not responding because it;s out of fuel, broken, etc.

What ever did we do before we had the internet?

Same argument could be made for every other modern
convenience as well.




Did we have an epidemic of northern and high-altitude vacation
properties that were damaged because of malfunctioning hvac systems?

Maybe people winterized these homes so it wouldn't matter if the furnace
failed?


Maybe there are less expensive telephone-connected devices (that are not
thermostats) that can call you if the ambient temperature falls below
some preset level? *And such devices existed years before the internet
became popular?

Sure, remote dialers and such that report temperatures
out of range have existed for 50+ years. So what? The
reporting capability is just one feature that you can get
with an internet capable thermostat. It was not the main
point. Being able to turn up the temp when you're two
hours away from home was the application. There
are crude devices available that will do that too, via dialup.
But few people would choose one of those over an
internet capable thermostat. You are probably the exception.



In fact, it wouldn't be too difficult to wire up a temperature sensor
and add it as a separate zone of a security system (which presumably
most vacation properties would already have). *If the temp falls below a
threshold, the zone opens and triggers the security system to call the
pre-programmed phone number and communicate the trouble-code. *You can
do the same with a smoke alarm.

Sure you could do that if you have a monitored security system.
A lot of people don't. And again, the thread was about warming up
a house when you are going to be going there, not about temp
warning specifically. Being able to monitor temp is just a side
benefit
of an internet thermostat.

How about this scenario. You leave on a two week trip. After
leaving,
you can't remember if you turned down the thermostat and set it on
hold. With the internet system, you can do it via the internet.

On Nov 8, 8:51*am, Home Guy wrote:
" wrote:
If you followed the scenario, there are people who go away for
varying amounts of time. *I for example, go on ski trips, where
I can be gone from a few days to a week. * Now to have the house
at a reasonable temp with a dumb thermostat, we'd have to leave
it at 65 for a week. * With an internet capable one, we could set
it to 50, then change it to 65 two hours before we return.

Even cheap electronic thermostats have the ability to program different
settings for each day of the week.

Wow, you figure that out? If you've ever tried to program them,
most are a real pain in the ass. It's bad enough to do it once and
most people are not going to want to program it with a new
program just because they are going away for a week. And then
have to re-program it on their return.




So in your example, you set the temperature for 6 days of the week to
50F, and set the 7'th day (the day you return) to 65. *This works almost
equally well if you're gone for 7 days (or less) or any multiple of 7
days.

At worst, you've got one day out of 7 where the temp is 65 instead of
50. *So now factor in the savings under that scenario.

Factor in that it's been explained to you many times now that
some of us don't know if we're going to be away for 4 days or
7 days when we leave. Say you have a vacation home. When
you leave, you think you know for sure that you'll be back in 5 days
or
7 days? How about if you think you'll probably be back in
10 days or 3 weeks? The internet thermostat fits that
purpose perfectly. You can have the house up to temp for
your arrival.

You probably argued that cell phones were a waste too,
didn't you? Why, people could just wait to the next
available phone booth.

On Thu, 8 Nov 2012 05:09:09 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

On Nov 7, 9:01*pm, Wes Groleau wrote:
On 11-07-2012 08:40, wrote:

Why should anyone come home to a cold house when they
don't have to?

Because I'd rather keep my coat on for an extra twenty minutes with my
ten-dollar thermostat than pay hundreds for the ability to hang it up
immediately.

(Actually, I hang it up immediately anyway. *65°F is not particularly
uncomfortable.)

Crap. I warm my house up *TO* 65F. I generally don't touch it
anymore but when I was in Vermont the thermostat was set to 58F night
and weekdays and 65 in the morning and evening. Here I just set it to
65F and leave it (heat pump). Actually, I think the upstairs is set
to 62. My fingers are getting cold. ;-)

Wes Groleau

* * *It seems a pity that psychology should have
destroyed all our knowledge of human nature.
* * * * * * * * * * *— G. K. Chesterton

If it takes just 20 mins to warm your house up from
50 to 65 you're furnace is way over-sized.

Absolutely. It would cost me a fortune, too, because the resistive
heat would kick on.

I'm seriously thinking about one of the WiFi thermostats for the house
we're selling.

On Wed, 07 Nov 2012 21:07:53 -0500, Wes Groleau
wrote:

On 11-06-2012 13:00, z wrote:
wrote:
How long does it take to save $250 ?

If it drops my heating bill to ZERO, it would pay for itself in a year.

Nice! ...but that's almost what I'm thinking about doing. If it drops
my heat bill for one month to zero (one of the months I'll have to
heat "just in case"), it'll pay for itself.

My ten-dollar thermostat handles those months just fine.

When you're not there? How does that work?

On 11-08-2012 15:02, wrote:
But few people would choose one of those over an
internet capable thermostat. You are probably the exception.

I think "few" is better used to describe the proportion of people who
would pay as much as those things cost.

--
Wes Groleau

Why does everyone call it a €œfanny pack" ?
When was the last time you saw one on a fanny?

On 11-08-2012 20:34, z wrote:
wrote:
On 11-06-2012 13:00, z wrote:
wrote:
How long does it take to save $250 ?

If it drops my heating bill to ZERO, it would pay for itself in a year.

Nice! ...but that's almost what I'm thinking about doing. If it drops
my heat bill for one month to zero (one of the months I'll have to
heat "just in case"), it'll pay for itself.

My ten-dollar thermostat handles those months just fine.

When you're not there? How does that work?

If I am not there and cold weather occurs, the thermostat does exactly
the sme thing it does when I am the keeps the temperature from going
below where I set it. Only when things actually get cold.

I never have to heat "just in case" it might get cold. I just heat if
it DOES get cold.

--
Wes Groleau

A pessimist says the glass is half empty.
An optimist says the glass is half full.
An engineer says somebody made the glass
twice as big as it needed to be.

On 11-08-2012 08:53, Home Guy wrote:
So in your example, you set the temperature for 6 days of the week to
50F, and set the 7'th day (the day you return) to 65. This works almost
equally well if you're gone for 7 days (or less) or any multiple of 7
days.

Actually, now that you mention it, some of the moderate-priced items
have a mode that holds a particular temperature for some number of days
and then goes back to th regular program.

--
Wes Groleau

Even if you do learn to speak correct English,
whom are you going to speak it to?
€” Clarence Darrow

On Nov 9, 1:47*am, Wes Groleau wrote:
On 11-08-2012 15:02, wrote:

But few people would choose one of those over an
internet capable thermostat. * You are probably the exception.

I think "few" is better used to describe the proportion of people who
would pay as much as those things cost.

--
Wes Groleau

* *Why does everyone call it a “fanny pack" ?
* *When was the last time you saw one on a fanny?

Yeah, some people think that few people would pay
$3 for a coffee or $300 for a cell phone, but people
are lining up for them all the time.

On Nov 9, 1:54*am, Wes Groleau wrote:
On 11-08-2012 08:53, Home Guy wrote:

So in your example, you set the temperature for 6 days of the week to
50F, and set the 7'th day (the day you return) to 65. *This works almost
equally well if you're gone for 7 days (or less) or any multiple of 7
days.

Actually, now that you mention it, some of the moderate-priced items
have a mode that holds a particular temperature for some number of days
and then goes back to th regular program.

--
Wes Groleau


Again, that's nice if you know that you'll be returning
in X days. Which is an entirely different situation then
when you go on trips of varying duration and don't know
exactly how long they will be. Or have that vacation home
that you might go back to in 1 week or maybe not for 3 weeks.
Everyone does not live like you do and some of us are
willing to pay a little more for convenience.

" wrote:

How about this scenario. You leave on a two week trip. After
leaving, you can't remember if you turned down the thermostat and
set it on hold.

So I call my (friend, relative, neighbor, co-worker, etc) who I've
already arranged for them to check on my house every once in a while (or
at least gave them a spare key) and ask them to check on the thermostat
setting.

With the internet system, you can do it via the internet.

I suppose - if you're a loner, have no relatives or friends, etc.

" wrote:

You probably argued that cell phones were a waste too, didn't you?

Cell phones are an addiction. Not sure if you'd call that a waste.

I don't have one.

Why, people could just wait to the next available phone booth.

The world has been doing that for what - 50-60 years before the cell
phone arrived?

Seemed to work OK then.