Thermostat question
 

Hello all. We have recently purchased our home and have a bulky Honeywell humidifier control and a Carrier thermostat installed. We want to upgrade to an "all in one". We are away for a few months at a time, so if we have a Smart thermostat like Ecobee what happens if wifi goes down and we can't control it remotely, so do we go with a new non-smart thermostat? We like to know about these things in advance of calling Munns or SunKool, as we don't want them selling us a thermostat we don't want.
Many thanks in advance for any comments.

A friend put in a nest -- Humidity control was still separate -- I went over a bunch of times because it wasn't working well with the OLD HVAC system. Capability is the #1 question to the HVAC equipment

I have a Carrier thermostat like yours, but I never turn on the dehumidify control. This control will overcool your house to about 3 degrees below the temperature setting, which will make the house too cold. I have never had an issue with high humidity. I have no idea what the Honeywell device is controlling. Hopefully, it is not adding moisture to your house which will work against the dehumidify setting on the Carrier thermostat.

I have the same Carrier thermostat and the issue on replacement to a "smart" one is likely the wiring. This thermostat uses only two wires and it is my understanding that the Ecobee will require additional wires (C wire at a minimum) connected to your HVAC system. Otherwise, a smart thermostat will be WiFi capable and will work as any other WiFi device in that if power goes down it will obviously NOT be connected. However, when power returns, unless something is amiss, the WiFi will also return and you will regain access and control.

I think in this particular case you probably want to call your HVAC company and have them give you an estimate for a new smart thermostat unless you can find a homeowner who has actually replaced theirs successfully. I would suggest the Ecobee thermostat.

Just installed Ecobee Premium on the same system with Control Board/EIM. I had to call Ecobee tech support to assist me in reprogramming system to OB connection. In the end it was easy for an experience do it your-selfer like myself. PM or post here if you want help or more details. Ecobee with WiFi control is amazing especially for ownerbirds like me.

No one answered your “what if WiFi goes down” question. If that happens it most likely due to the electric being off so nothing to control, LOL. I did have an issue with a non Spectrum router that needed reset while I was away and I could not control my house remotely. For that situatation, I should have had the router connected to a smart plug in order to reset it (like pulling the plug out and in to reset the electric and router). If I had the Spectrum router they could have reset the router remotely. Rare that would happen but just fyi

Honeywell thermostat I had installed by Sunkool. Dual control heat and air, outside temp, inside humidity and easily set up. Power and internet outages are rare.

I’ve had a smart thermometer (NEST) for 5 years. I have not had a problem with my internet going down.

You set a max and min temp, and if the house hits that, the AC or heat kicks on, when you’re away.

I have never seen the need for a smart thermostat.

model?
 

what model?

If you want to be sure of your wifi thermostat working all of the time, you need a "smart plug".

I run Nest Thermostats in my homes. Last winter, I lost the connection with my Nest in NH ... the outside temperature was below zero. I called a handyman friend, to check on things. He had to reset the modem (simply un-plug it and re-plug it in). No problem, Wifi & Nest came right back up.

2 things:

1) If your smart thermostat loses power or Wifi, it should maintain the same equipment settings that were in place when the connection was lost (other than sensors that may now be non-operational).

2) If your Wifi needs to be reset remotely, it can't always be done by your provider and dealing with Tech Support at any Internet provider, isn't an experience you want to have when you're worried about your home.

WIFI thermostat is a must for me. I love being able to check it online when I'm away. Whenever there's been a power outage, it resets itself when power comes back on.

Something is not right. Dehumidification mode should always maintain temperature at setpoint. The duct heaters should cycle to maintain constant temperature.

Cooling only will not help since relative humidity is based on two factors. The amount of vapor in the air and the dry bulb temperature. The cooling stays on longer so that water vapor is removed in the chill water coil. It also lowers the dry bulb temperature. Reheat brings the dry bulb temperature back to setpoint.

There are several different definitions of humidity. RH is it is the amount of water vapor present in air expressed as a percentage (%RH) of the amount needed to achieve saturation at the same temperature.

Saturation is when the air can not hold any more water vapor at a given temperature and pressure and condensation on surfaces begins.

I’m looking for someone to install a Honeywell Smart thermometer. Anyone?

There are only 2 smart thermostats: ecobee and nest. Looks like you bought an older house so the wiring could be an issue.
Why would you worry about the wifi signal going out? You buy a nest or ecobee to run themselves, you don’t touch them unless you want the windows open. Who cares if you can’t see the thermostat for hours or days. Keep your hands off of the controls. I’ve owned ecobee thermostats in my last 3 houses and I prefer ecobee over the others.

My system, and many others in The Villages, do not have a reheat function. So, they are not true dehumidifiers. They reduce humidity by "overcooling" the house to reduce humidity. So, if you set the temperature at 78 degrees, and the humidity at 60 percent, the system will cool the house down to about 75 degrees when the humidity rises above 60 percent. This is a compromise that works fine for snowbirds who want to save a few dollars on electricity by controlling the humidity with a higher than desired temperature. But, if you are living in the house, you want to maintain a comfortable temperature that stays at the setpoint. That is why I turn off the dehumidify feature on the thermostat. It is an optional feature. If you want to control both the temperature and the humidity, you need a true dehumidifier with a reheat function.

Is it possible you have 2 units, the main furnace/ac combo and maybe an AC unit for an enclosed lanai that just does demunidifying??? People put in these split units and permit them as dehumidification only as adding AC is building an addition to the house… or something like that.

Just had an ecobee installed. I gought it and good guys installed for $150. I would have done it myself but you are correct. Carrier had just 2 wires. HVAC guy had to go to ait handler and allatch other wires. I just didn't have the skills. Love the ecobee and yes, if you lose power, wifi will come back on as will ecobee

Have used Sun Kool in both homes we have owned and they have done an excellent job for us - I would suggest a Lennox system as we have had no problems when the wireless goes down and then comes back up - the system re connects and away we go - back to normal!!

Thermostat question
 

I had installed a Honeywell thermostat model TH9302 0WF 5003 when we bought our property. it is a Wi-Fi thermostat so you can look at your settings and also temperature and humidity when you’re away using your app. When I’m not there, I typically keep my house between 80 and 82° and my humidity is around 35 to 40% inside the house. if your Wi-Fi should go off, I am pretty sure the thermostat will stay at the current settings and maintain temperature. I have had my Wi-Fi off a few times and everything came back on the way it should. I’m not sure what the Honeywell humidistat is on your wall, I would not think you’d have a Humidifier that you would have used in the winter time but not sure. Typically, that is what that humidistat would be used for. These thermostats are typically not hard to install and also not hard to set up but that depends on your comfort level. Good luck with your search.

My husband is an electrician. We use the humidistat while we are in NE for the summer. We sent it at 85, the air will only come on if the humidity is high, not the temperature. We like Munn’s the best.

If you are a seasonal resident, one of the best things you can have is a reliable handyman or neighbor who has access to your house when you are not there. If there were an extended power outage, or any other potentially harmful event, there are many other things besides rebooting your wifi that may need eyes-on attention.

Inside climate control
 

I have the same set up that you have and are also away for six months every year and it works perfectly, A/C hardly if ever comes on. I also have a separate humidistat which is battery powered and a WiFi camera focussed on that for monitoring. If the WiFi goes out the cameras are the only ones affected.

Running the compressor more by lowering your temperature setpoint will remove more water vapor and send it down the drain but may or may not lower relative humidity. (both the numerator and denominator are lowered).

Does it lower your relative humidity as measured by the thermostat or HVAC controller?

I have programmed commercial controls for HVAC. Heater controls are based on temperature and relative humidity. No dehumidifiers needed for human comfort in most regions. They are needed for controlling the environment in sensitive areas such as a laboratory or computer/server rooms.

I assume that it lowers the relative humidity or the AC would never shut off. As I said, I never use the dehumidify feature because the relative humidity in my house is always below 60 percent, and usually below 50 percent. The only advantage I can see for using the dehumidify feature is to raise the thermostat setting to 80 degrees or higher while the house is unoccupied to save money on electricity. But ideally, to control both the temperature and the humidity, you need a reheat function, which many HVAC units do not have.

I have an Ecobee 3 Lite. It is wifi, Alexa, and Google enabled. It also has a humidity control built in, letting you set a max humidity allowed before the AC turns on to remove it. It also have the rest of what you expect in a thermostat (vacation mode and such).

It keeps its setting after a power loss. For my Internet router, I have a UPS to keep it running for 2 hours worth of power loss.

https://a.co/d/9ckyc1R

I agree. Most homes are well insulated and do not need reheat.

interesting, but doesn't explain why my unit rarely shuts off even though it shows the temp to match what it's set for for hours on end.

What you have is very old technology. We had one in our house from 2014. Now with the new Smart thermostats it is a much better and easier process. For years we had a Honeywell Smart thermostat and liked it. When we replaced our AC unit this year they installed the Ecobee thermostat. I like it better than the Honeywell for many reasons and it has a lot more features and is very easy to use. So yes update it. Also we have been using Kalos AC company for many years and the always provide excellent service. When we replaced our AC unit we got quotes from all the major venders in the area. Mounds and SunKool were a lot higher. Kalos and Sunshine AC were very close in price.

Check to see if the dehumidify feature is turned on. If so, turn it off and see if that makes a difference.

Note the photo in Post No. 1. The Carrier thermostat indicates that the dehumidify feature is turned on by looking at the lower left corner of the thermostat screen.

Whole Home Dehumidifier
 

Another option would be a whole home dehumidifier. It handles the humidity and leaves the AC to handle the cooling. Our thermostat at 80-82, as the relative humidity is 35-40%…anything below 80, and it is way too cool. That uses 110V to dehumidify vs the 220V on the AC. When we’re gone, we set the AC at 86, as the humidity is still at 35-40.

If you wanted to test this out, you could just use a smaller, portable dehumidifier in a central location of your house, set on 35-40%. Yes, it’s noisy, but give it about 2 days to equalize the houses humidity, then see what temp, on the thermostat, feels good. Would expect it to be a much higher setting than before, now with the dehumidified air.

The whole house unit is virtually quiet, as mine is in the attic. There is a good This Old House video on YouTube regarding whole house dehumidifiers.

I have NEST thermostats controlling the zones in my home and have found them to be very convenient since we are away from the home a lot. Everything I read suggests that the Ecobee may be better but since I have other NEST devices I have so far not switched over. I do worry about outages. I've noticed that when power outages have occurred the system fully reboots. However, sometimes it's not a power outage but a cable outage. This often requires a modem and/or router reboot which is done by using a reset button on the unit or pulling the plug and re-plugging. Some posters have suggested that a smart plug could accomplish this. I must be missing something. How can a smart plug be used to reset a modem or router if the in-house wifi has been lost? From what I can see they require wifi to work. Is there a WiFi independent variety? Thanks

Yes, all of the ones I have used keep working even when connectivity to the mother ship is lost, so BrianL was right - a smart plug could be powered Off & On remotely. (You do need connectivity when setting them up).

That sounds very useful. If I understand you correctly, if you pulled the plug on your modem/router you could turn the smart plug on and off provided it was set up properly when the wifi was working. I assume this is all through a smart phone app. How does it communicate? Can you recommend a brand? Thanks

Smart Thermostat for sale
 

I have a Honeywell RTH9580WF 1005 that I have used successfully for about 3 years (I switched because I wanted Alexa compatibility). It works great, is easy to install and program and can be controlled manually and/or remotely very easily. We lost wi-go connectivity many times over those years and the thermostat came back online as soon as the Wi-do did. No issues there. I will send pics if wanted and the thermostat sells on Amazon for $150+. I will take $50 for mine.

I have had an ecobee thermostat for 6 years. If wifi goes down the thermostat continues to function as programmed. But while the wifi is down you will not be able to access it remotely.

My previous thermostat had a separate humidity control also. I chose not to use it. The Ecobee has a built-in humidity sensor and I control my home humidity with the ecobee setting and the AC

Just an FYI to those who may be interested. Sams Club online appears to be closing out the Ecobee 3 Lite with sensors for $99.00. NOTE: this is the price ONLINE (in club it was $149.00), but can be picked up at the Lady Lake club. Purchased one yesterday and will have it installed on Monday!