In case any of you want a great smart thermostat
- Thread starter Guard Dad
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The Sound Guy
Pursuit Driver
I love the idea of remote sensors, I screwed up big time an put the thermostat in the hallway for the North unit and it is very slow in reacting to temp changes in the rooms. However I don't want anything with voice recognition.
The ecobee3lite doesn't seem to have the voice, is it's features about the same otherwise?
The ecobee3lite doesn't seem to have the voice, is it's features about the same otherwise?
Think so. I believe @rolltidega has a couple of them.
cptlo
Pursuit Driver
Yep, pretty much. I don't think it comes with room sensors so you'd have to buy them seperately if needed. I had a 3 Lite in my old condo that worked great. I bought a new 3 Lite for my new condo but it's still sitting in the box (I really should get it installed).
Also, your local power company may sell them even cheaper. I got my latest 3 Lite from GA Power (https://www.georgiapowermarketplace.com/collections/wi-fi-thermostats) for $94.
The Ecobee3 Lite has all the features I need. The 4 adds Alexa to it which I honestly don't need but if you like Amazon Echo devices, the Ecobee4 can be that device for you, kinda an all in one if you will. The Ecobee3 Lite does not come with any room sensors but you can add them as it does support them. All in all, the lite does all that I need. I have 2 of them, one for each unit in my home.
Perv
The Sound Guy
Pursuit Driver
Good suggestion! Looks like Greystone will rebate $100 for a smart thermostat install. I have to purchase and install it, then submit the form for them to confirm it's installed and running. At $169 on the ecobee site, that gives me < $100 for base thermostat and then $80 for the remote in our bedroom.
Yep you have to fill out the form on Greystone's site, they come out and take a picture of the installed working thermostat and they take a copy of the purchase receipt. You will get a $100 check in the mail in 2-3 weeks.
The Sound Guy
Pursuit Driver
Hmmmmm... Found that Home depot has the 3 lite for $152 and Two pack of the room sensors for $79. I'm tempted, at least for the North Unit, though the South unit could use a remote sensor itself, since I put it in the dining room, where we never are.. 
If I split the sensors between the two, I could get them both wired for around $200. I only have a 4 wire system, so I'd have to put in the power thingie or run new wires. Course, if I'm running new wires, I could move the thermostats too.
If I split the sensors between the two, I could get them both wired for around $200. I only have a 4 wire system, so I'd have to put in the power thingie or run new wires. Course, if I'm running new wires, I could move the thermostats too.
JawJa
Driving Instructor
Thermostats should be mounted with the draft of a return going across them...
That way, they read the mixed air just before it goes back into the system.
NOT in the sunlight,
NOT on an outside wall,
NOT close to moisture (across the hall from the bathroom door),
NOT in the kitchen,
And try to close the hole the wires come through behind the stat, as much as reasonably possible.
We had bad experiences with EcoBee 3's with a zone system a few months ago...
We prefer Honeywell T6PRO's... similar stat, Honeywell dependability.
And NO... NO squawk boxes listening in, in my home, PERIOD!
That way, they read the mixed air just before it goes back into the system.
NOT in the sunlight,
NOT on an outside wall,
NOT close to moisture (across the hall from the bathroom door),
NOT in the kitchen,
And try to close the hole the wires come through behind the stat, as much as reasonably possible.
We had bad experiences with EcoBee 3's with a zone system a few months ago...
We prefer Honeywell T6PRO's... similar stat, Honeywell dependability.
And NO... NO squawk boxes listening in, in my home, PERIOD!
I love Ecobees!
The Sound Guy
Pursuit Driver
I was reading up on thermostat wiring and coding and found a very detailed page on it.
Got a laugh when I read the Disclaimer at the bottom, I may have to add this to my posts...
*********************************************************************************************************************
This information may have errors; It is not permissible to be read by anyone who has ever met a lawyer.
Use is confined to Engineers with more than 370 course hours of electronic engineering for theoretical studies.
Got a laugh when I read the Disclaimer at the bottom, I may have to add this to my posts...
*********************************************************************************************************************
This information may have errors; It is not permissible to be read by anyone who has ever met a lawyer.
Use is confined to Engineers with more than 370 course hours of electronic engineering for theoretical studies.
That's awesome!
lotstodo
aka "The Jackal"
You can also see if there is a "swing" adjustment on your existing thermostat. Ours upstairs had the same problem and I adjusted the swing from the factory standard 1° to 0.2° and presto, problem solved.
Just be careful or that can make the unit short cycle, which is not really good for them and can also impact humidity removal. Many electronic thermostats also have a temperature offset feature to correct for when the occupied space stays at a slightly different temp than the point at which the thermostat reads.
That can help, but it's an imperfect solution. As Jawja mentioned above, the thermostat or remote sensor needs to be in the flow of the air returning to the unit to properly read the room temp and respond quickly to changes. These thermostats can use multiple sensors for "averaging" as well, which can be helpful in some circumstances.
The Sound Guy
Pursuit Driver
I have *almost* all the returns in the hallway, so I thought that a good place for the thermostat. However, as the kids got older, they slept with the doors closed, which leaves just our room and the laundry room as "access" for heat to move from the rooms to the thermostat. We also have a return in our room, which gives us more delta without the thermostat detecting it.
The rooms get really cold before the furnace kicks on, then gets really warm before the thermostat can detect the heat and shut it off.
If it's really bad, I push the fan to "ON" and it keeps the air moving and the temperatures more balanced, but costs $$ to run the fan 24/7.
The rooms get really cold before the furnace kicks on, then gets really warm before the thermostat can detect the heat and shut it off.
If it's really bad, I push the fan to "ON" and it keeps the air moving and the temperatures more balanced, but costs $$ to run the fan 24/7.
is this the unit you just replaced. Some of the newer furnaces with ECM motors have a recirculate feature which runs the blower on a very low speed to keep air moving. That might be your solution.
The Sound Guy
Pursuit Driver
I'll have to look into that. haven't read the specs on the unit yet.
lotstodo
aka "The Jackal"
Yeah, it's not short cycling. It runs an average of 20 minutes or so on a cycle if it's warm outside, longer on really hot days. The temperature swing in the bedrooms is about 1.2 degrees.
Before I changed it the AC wouldn't come out all until about 3pm and ran until after midnight with the 2° setback at 10pm. It could be 82 in the bedrooms and 77 in the hall, since the thermostat is near the stairs.
Moving it into the bedroom would be ideal, but the way the walls are (offset, not one above the other) I would have to do some sheetrock work to run new wiring. Ain't nobody got time for that and this works quite well with the poor placement.