may need a new thermostat - smart or stupid model in multi-zone house?

[twd000]

Tried to turn on the A/C for the first time this year and something seems to be wrong with my Zone 2 cooling. While I'm running down that problem, I'm also researching new thermostats in case it needs to be replaced. I'm looking for advice on which type to buy, in case it comes to that.

I have a two-story house with finished basement, so three independent zones with three traditional programmable thermostats. I confess to not programming them, just set them in "HOLD" mode since my wife stays at home with the kids and is in-and-out of the house at various times during the day. Propane furnace and central air used sparingly in summer, usually a few days at a time until the New England heatwave breaks

I'm planning on installing a Blaze King freestanding stove on the main floor (incidentally adjacent to the faulty thermostat) to do the majority of space heating, but I plan to leave the propane furnace at 67 in case I get lazy with reloading the stove or just need a break.

 

[Babaganoosh]

I've only got one zone but I have a smart thermostat. Being able to program from my tablet or phone makes is great. Plus there's times when I kicked the ac or heat on when I was coming home unexpectedly.

I also love to periodically check the temp of the house during the winter to see how the stove is holding temperature.

 

[begreen]

Considering you lock the temp on hold I would go for simple. Without knowing the exact system setup it's hard to say which would work best but I would start with the Lux DMH110.
(broken link removed to http://luxproducts.com/Manual-Thermostats.html)

 

[twd000]

Well I'm interested in at least researching the smart thermostats for the potential fuel savings - I'm sure my simple hold programming is wasting heat conditioning unoccupied space at times.

So how does the logic work in the smart thermostats? I understand most of them have motion sensors which tell the thermostat if the house is occupied? I was looking at the Ecobee3.

Does a smart thermostat get confused by a woodstove - you're adding a bunch of heat that it didn't call for. Does it try to figure out the PID time constant of your furnace?

Would I need to get smart thermostats for all three zones/floors? If I mixed a smart thermostat downstairs with a simple thermostat upstairs, wouldn't they end up fighting each other to maintain temperatures?

 

[semipro]

You might look back at some of Woodgeek's comments on the Ecobee.

 

[jeffesonm]

Last year I replaced my analog thermostats with $25 Honeywell programmable thermostats. I basically just program it to warm up the house first thing in the AM, as the stove usually dies out overnight and temps drop and then do nothing all day as the stove keeps it warm.

I considered a fancy wifi smart thermostat but didn't see the point in spending an extra $150. Sure it would be neat to check things from my phone, but not $150 neat.

 

[jeffesonm]

Last year I replaced my analog thermostats with $25 Honeywell programmable thermostats. I basically just program it to run the boiler for about an hour to warm up the house first thing in the AM, as the stove usually dies out overnight. House is warm at the start of the day and the morning load in the wood stove keeps it warm all day long. I refill it after work and again before bed. It is a cold start boiler so it seems dumb to have it cycle on in the middle of the day and heat itself back up if the temp drops from 65 to 64.

I considered a fancy wifi smart thermostat but didn't see the point in spending an extra $150. Sure it would be neat to check things from my phone, but not $150 neat.

 

[Hogwildz]

I went with the Ecobee, and I love it. I only use it for single zone, but it is awesome. I can control it with my phone and have the place as I want it when I return home. Check the temps while away, especially in winter, to make sure the furnace is running and keeping the pipes from freezing.

 

[lml999]

I'm a big fan of the Nest smart thermostats. Nice to be able to check on the heat situation while we're away (and make changes). The Nest supposedly learns your schedule...I've just programmed what I want. We moved from a three zone house last month to one with five zones...in the fall I will be buying two more Nests.

From a functionality standpoint they are mostly eye candy versus others (previously mentioned) at 10-25% of the cost of the Nest.

 

[cableman]

Didn't wanna start another thread.....
But how do these wifi learning thermastats behave if most of the house heat is made from a wood insert/stove when we are home?

Am i better off just getting a 7 day wifi stat instead of a learning stat?

In the A.m. i have heat kick on to 65 but stove keeps house above that alot, drops to 63 when last person leaves and back to 66 just before 1st kid gets home. Then i get home a few hours later and load stove again.

I have 2 zones but really just want something wifi for 1st floor. I was thinking ecobee light if it doesnt spaz out from the excess heat the insert provides.

 

[Chimney Smoke]

I'm a simpleton I guess. I prefer the old round Honeywell. In the winter my upstairs is set at 61 and downstairs is set at 63. The woodstove does most of the work but occasionally the furnace will kick on on cold overnights or during the day when I'm at work.

 

[cableman]

My wife just went back to work after 12years so the house was always warm from wood burning. Thermastats were just set on 63, heat only coming on at night if really cold out.
I find myself wanting the house warmer every year! Im not use to coming home to a 66-67* home

 

[velvetfoot]

I have a couple of Ecobees which I like. I tried checking things when we were out of town a few weeks ago and I couldn't get through to them. The modem/router was off line and needed rebooting. I wound up getting a ResetPlug http://resetplug.com/ .

 

[Dobish]

i have a honeywell programmable one that allows me to do 5 days, then 2 days, so i can change it on the weekends. i don't care what the temp is in the house during the day because i'm not there, and i set it low enough that if it has to kick on,it is probably needed (62). I load up the stove and it will warm up pretty quick. my stove is in the basement, and the thermostat is upstairs...

I have talked to a few HVAC guys who are totally against the nest systems because they say they do terrible things to the blower motors, etc due to the power cycles. I haven't looked too much into it, but my big reason for not going that way is because I don't need to look at my phone or computer any more than I have to.

 

[woodgeek]

The Ecobee3 'lite' is available for $150 is you shop around. Best deal around on a smart stat is you ask me. I have an older ecobee (the 'Si') which I might replace just to update the look and (I think) the online app.

 

[velvetfoot]

I have 2 Si's and I think the online app was updated at some point - it's a jazzy black now and things work well.

How about the Ecobee3's that use multiple sensors? I haven't looked at that yet. Not sure how it works.

One fun thing about the Ecobees is the email warnings. I got one the other day when I was experimenting saying something like 'the heat has been on for 2 hours but the house temperature hasn't increased" It'll also give you an adjustable low temp. warning-thank God I never got one of those.

 

[Hogwildz]

The Ecobee3 'lite' is available for $150 is you shop around. Best deal around on a smart stat is you ask me. I have an older ecobee (the 'Si') which I might replace just to update the look and (I think) the online app.

I have the SI also, love it. Love being able to monitor the house temps when I am across the country. And also have it fire up the furnace so it is warm when I get home, and get the insert fired up to take over.
That is cheap! I paid more than that for my SI a few years ago. Any new features? Or just different looks?

 

[Ashful]

Last year I replaced my analog thermostats with $25 Honeywell programmable thermostats. I basically just program it to warm up the house first thing in the AM, as the stove usually dies out overnight and temps drop and then do nothing all day as the stove keeps it warm.

I considered a fancy wifi smart thermostat but didn't see the point in spending an extra $150. Sure it would be neat to check things from my phone, but not $150 neat.

Ditto. I'm running 10 zones on 10 separate t'stats... imagine the cost of buying Nest thermostats in that quantity, and really, what's the point? House is programmed to be warm and/or cool, where and when we need it, with simple Honeywell and Mitsubishi programmables. Wood stoves run as desired, and t'stats pick up any slack.

 

[woodgeek]

I have the SI also, love it. Love being able to monitor the house temps when I am across the country. And also have it fire up the furnace so it is warm when I get home, and get the insert fired up to take over.
That is cheap! I paid more than that for my SI a few years ago. Any new features? Or just different looks?

The ecobee3 lite has similar function to the Si, but looks like the ecobee3 (which has remote sensors and an additional circuit for humidity control).

The 3 lite may also have some home automation and alexa hub function, I don't recall or much care.

 

[Hogwildz]

The ecobee3 lite has similar function to the Si, but looks like the ecobee3 (which has remote sensors and an additional circuit for humidity control).

The 3 lite may also have some home automation and alexa hub function, I don't recall or much care.

I'll stick with the SI, don't need any more bells & whistles, and don't plan on using Alexa. Thanks for the info.

 

[cableman]

Im prolly gonna get one of these honeywells, not a learning stat but good enough. Price keeps dropping
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Y6M2OUC/?tag=hearthamazon-20