Advice Needed: Remote Control Thermostats

[4Q Basket Case]

Mrs. Basket Case and I have recently bought a second home. We'll be in it probably 40 - 60 nights a year.

While we're in occupancy, we'll want it at normal temps -- 75 or so. The ideal strategy would be to adjust the HVAC to the desired temp about 4 - 5 hours ahead of our arrival. That way, it's nice and comfortable when we get there, but we don't spend a lot of money between visits heating and cooling an unoccupied home.

Remote-control thermostats that require Wi-Fi and can be controlled from a smart phone have been out for some time. Recently, I've heard of thermostats that are controlled by phone alone. As in, you place a phone call to your thermostat, and an app controls it from there. I think this setup requires a land line, but no Wi-Fi. Though I could be wrong on that.

Right now, the house has a traditional thermostat, so either option would represent replacement of an existing setup.

Does anybody out there have any thoughts on which is better, and why? How about manufacturers? Any thoughts on desirable features vs. wastes of money? I'm at the beginning, so there's exactly $0 investment so far, and no vested interest in either approach.

Finally, while money is certainly a consideration, I don't want to be penny wise and pound foolish. I don't mind spending money...I just don't want to throw it away.

 

[2003TIDE]

I've been thinking about getting one of these. Question though. Were you just not interested in getting internet? There are a few internet plans out there that are as cheap as a landline. Landlines are pointless in the day of cell phones IMO. AT&T has FastAccess DSL Lite. Comcast has one called Economy I think, but it isn't listed on their website. You'd have to call in.

 

[Jon]

I have this one in my 2nd home (it's 86 degrees at 10:13pm btw) and I love it.

http://www.amazon.com/Homewerks-The...d=1370224743&sr=8-1&keywords=radio+thermostat

Control it by browser or mobile phone via the internet, can't dial into it by phone. Love it and it's totally worth having. I believe it has saved me a great deal of money even with having to keep the internet going. I can drop the temp late at night, when it's coolest the night before I head to the house so I don't have to get to a hot house or waste much more energy trying to cool a house full of people. I have it set to alert me if thermostat is unreachable for more than 24 hours so I always know if there is an issue with power (and trust me you want to know if your power is out, I had to buy a new fridge) . It's also kind f fun to drop the temp while in the house without getting out of bed. My wife makes fun of me cause I'll walk right past the thermostat to find my phone to change the temp. Going to put them on my main house too.


To answer your specific questions I did my research 2 years ago so many things have changed. I went with cheap as it turned out at the time that a high percentage of the available brands were actually OEM'ed by the Radio Thermostat Company of America. The one in the amazon link is identical to a Filtrete branded version that is sold by home depot and lowes for ~$50 more. Identical to the point that the website I control my unit from sets Filtrete.

As far as features. I'd go internet connected. I was looking for a reason to keep the internet on anyway. Now I have this and a couple of webcams where I can always check in on the house and the temp control. Nice piece of mind.

 

[CharminTide]

I want one of these:

 

[Jon]

I want one of these:

I did too until I saw the price $249, no thanks

 

[Bamaro]

Some power companies provide and install remote thermostats free of charge. They are tied into an energy manager program where the power company can cycle your A/C compressor at a predetermined level from 25-100 during extremely high system wide peak demands. They will usually give you a discount on your bill during the summer months as an incentive to sign up. You can control it remotely through the internet. I have had one installed in my home for 3 or 4 years now have another being installed this week at another place. Check with your power company.
http://peakrewards.bgesmartenergy.com/programs/ac
https://energywiserewards.delmarva.com/de/technology/

 

[uafan4life]

I want one of these:

I did too until I saw the price $249, no thanks

Yeah, and that doesn't do what you want it to do anyway.

I have this one in my 2nd home (it's 86 degrees at 10:13pm btw) and I love it.

http://www.amazon.com/Homewerks-The...d=1370224743&sr=8-1&keywords=radio+thermostat

Control it by browser or mobile phone via the internet, can't dial into it by phone. Love it and it's totally worth having. I believe it has saved me a great deal of money even with having to keep the internet going. I can drop the temp late at night, when it's coolest the night before I head to the house so I don't have to get to a hot house or waste much more energy trying to cool a house full of people. I have it set to alert me if thermostat is unreachable for more than 24 hours so I always know if there is an issue with power (and trust me you want to know if your power is out, I had to buy a new fridge) . It's also kind f fun to drop the temp while in the house without getting out of bed. My wife makes fun of me cause I'll walk right past the thermostat to find my phone to change the temp. Going to put them on my main house too.


To answer your specific questions I did my research 2 years ago so many things have changed. I went with cheap as it turned out at the time that a high percentage of the available brands were actually OEM'ed by the Radio Thermostat Company of America. The one in the amazon link is identical to a Filtrete branded version that is sold by home depot and lowes for ~$50 more. Identical to the point that the website I control my unit from sets Filtrete.

As far as features. I'd go internet connected. I was looking for a reason to keep the internet on anyway. Now I have this and a couple of webcams where I can always check in on the house and the temp control. Nice piece of mind.

I have a couple of the Filtrete branded versions of this thermostat and they work perfectly. They have both Android and iOS versions of a remote control app that connects both through the internet (with a delay of up to a few minutes for communication) or directly with the thermostat over the local area network (instantaneous communication). There's also a REST API in case you want to write your own interface to the thermostat for advanced logging and control.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Thanks to my fellow Tidefans members for the thoughtful advice and the benefit of your experience.

This is a perfect example of why TF is the best board on the net.

Thanks again, and Roll Tide!