Smart thermostat for analog cheapskates

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pybyr

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
Jun 3, 2008
2,300
Adamant, VT 05640
I recently bought and installed a Cyberstat 1201 which cost me roughly $80 and was pretty simple to wire in, connect via my WiFi, and is really wonderfully easy to control with my smartphone.

I'm a pretty thoroughly analog guy, so if it went smoothly for me, it's not rocket science

I had one question during install about powering it and sent an email and had a very informative response in less than an hour.

I've wanted this functionality for years but been unwilling to pay for a 'Nest' or some glitzy ubercomplicated device.

I have no commercial affiliation whatsoever with this company, merely want to spread the word about an affordable product that works well.

Google Cyberstat 1201 and you will find it.
 
I had one but it wouldn't work with my router. Support was very good as you said and I would've stuck with it if it wouldn've worked. I will say that I got the impression that it's a startup-type company and I was talking with one of the prinicpals of the company. In other words, it may not be around forever, or it might. Thing is, for the wifi thing to work, the remote server has to be working, and if that goes away, I think in this case you don't even have a programmable thermostat, cause I think you have to program it over the web. That's what I recall anyway. As I said, I would've stuck with it if it would've worked for me, because of the price, but it didn't.
 
velvetfoot said:
I had one but it wouldn't work with my router. Support was very good as you said and I would've stuck with it if it wouldn've worked. I will say that I got the impression that it's a startup-type company and I was talking with one of the prinicpals of the company. In other words, it may not be around forever, or it might. Thing is, for the wifi thing to work, the remote server has to be working, and if that goes away, I think in this case you don't even have a programmable thermostat, cause I think you have to program it over the web. That's what I recall anyway. As I said, I would've stuck with it if it would've worked for me, because of the price, but it didn't.
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I realize the gamble, as you say, that if the company/ server goes away, so does the functionality; but then again, over the years, I haven't had the best luck with even mainstream companies supporting their products beyond the very short horizon before they want you to buy something else, so I am willing to take that gamble.
 
So was I, but alas, it didn't work out. You're right about the big outfits cutting off support for their older products. I'm not sure all this is an improvement over the old days when a thermostat would last 30 years.
 
velvetfoot said:
So was I, but alas, it didn't work out. You're right about the big outfits cutting off support for their older products. I'm not sure all this is an improvement over the old days when a thermostat would last 30 years.
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I've never gotten rid of my round Honeywell; as long as no one drops it and breaks the ampule of mercury, it should last millenia, so I keep it as the ultimate backup...
 
dougand3 said:
Amazon isn't selling it now because it's under review.
http://www.amazon.com/CyberStat-CY1201-Connected-Programmable-Thermostat/dp/B00EUSB4H6
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Curious. I bought it direct from the MFR a couple of weeks ago and just got it connected last week. I hope it does not join the list of superb products from slightly off the beaten track that I have bought over the years and that have gone by the wayside due to an absence of uber-glitz and marketing... it'd really stink because this does appear to depend on the MFR's web server.
 
pybyr said:
Curious. I bought it direct from the MFR a couple of weeks ago and just got it connected last week. I hope it does not join the list of superb products from slightly off the beaten track that I have bought over the years and that have gone by the wayside due to an absence of uber-glitz and marketing... it'd really stink because this does appear to depend on the MFR's web server.
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Hold the press on my enthusiasm for this product. Some snafus with the web server while I was away from home. Came home to a too-warm house (not extreme, but it will be a fuel ouch, better than the opposite extreme of inadequate heat and resulting damage). Time will tell whether the company is ready for prime time on the robustness of the systems that this thing depends on...
 
This is the outfit that is in the Carolinas? I got the feeling it was part of some university business incubator thingy, not that there's anything wrong with that.
 
velvetfoot said:
This is the outfit that is in the Carolinas? I got the feeling it was part of some university business incubator thingy, not that there's anything wrong with that.
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They're in Kentucky, I think, and yes, they seem to be along the lines you describe. Here's hoping that it comes around.
 
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