Talk of The Villages Florida

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- - Thermostats (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/contractors-services-91/thermostats-311111/)

I have a Nest in one house and an Ecobee in the other. Love them both. Easy to install if you are somewhat handy. Good support before, during, and after installation from both companies if you have any problems/issues. Both have apps that will walk you through the installation. I have sensors installed in different rooms throughout the house so I can read what the temperature is in each room (including garage). Sensors just sit somewhere in the room (nightstand, dresser, etc) and require no installation. I have both thermostats hooked up to Alexa, so all I have to say is "Alexa, set living room to 76 degrees" and it is done. Can also set up routines so that when you are going to sleep it will lower the temperature to whatever you set it at. I monitor them via my smartphone and I have it set to change the temperature at different times of the day. You can adjust the temperature from anywhere in the world as long as you have access to the internet. They are usually on sale somewhere (Best Buy, Amazon, Home Depot, Lowes, etc.)

We have a humidistat (sp) when we would go up north. Once humidity (not temp) goes up, a/c goes on.

A wifi enabled thermostat gives you the flexibility to set/change the temp & humidity from your phone while you are elsewhere

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC (Post 1833271)

Our house is about 11 years old and has a very simple thermostat set it and forget it.

Some day when we can travel again will set it to a temperature in accordance with the season adjust humidity and off we go.

We like to be comfortable and getting up in the middle of the night would rather not be to hot or to cold.

Based on that is there a reason to purchase and install a smart thermostat?

Install a google nest then set it up or down with your smartphone

Problem solved

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malsua (Post 1833273)

I installed a honeywell wifi thermostat so that if we are not at our home in TV, I can be alerted if the interior temperature exceeds 82 degrees for more than an hour. I would hate to return after being away for weeks and find mold everywhere.

If you are never away for long, it probably doesn't make a ton of difference. I have heard that the NEST smart thermostats modify the temp based on your activity. That would help people who leave during the day for jobs and such, but not such a big deal for retired persons.

A side bonus is that I get an alert if the thermostat has lost connection. This happens when the power is off.

I have these thermostats in both houses. I find it more important for the NJ house because if the house gets to ambient in February(sub 32 often for weeks), burst pipes would be very expensive.

Mold does not appear or start til humidity reaches 68% unfortunately humidistat can be off by 10%. I have used a plain humidistat wired at thermostat and set it around 60% temp set at 80 degrees. Your home could be 90 degrees but humidistat will not come on til it senses 60%. Temperature does not effect mold HUMIDITY is the issue. If we are in The Villages in summer daytime temp is set at 75 degrees at night for sleeping it is lowered to 72. For 10 years we have done this and no mold.

If you are going to install a thermostat yourself, detach the old one from the wall and pull it out. Then, take a photo of the attached wires before you completely remove it. The wires are color coded.