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  1. #1
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    Default Smart Thermostats?

    Moving into an old house that hasn't been updated in about a hundred years...would like to put a smart thermostat in. Recommendations? I don't trust google so hoping not a nest, but if its the only device at a lower price point that meets my criteria I'll do it.

    Cheaper is better
    Humidifier control
    Don't need room sensors
    Should be eligible for the Enbridge rebate (https://smartrebate.enbridge.com/sto...rt-thermostats)
    Homekit good, all that other smart stuff is wasted on me (one of them has spotify?? wtf)

    Are there any other rebates or tricks to getting a deal?

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    Ive been very happy with our non-learning, but smart, Honeywell systems. Easy remote access and programmability.

    Humidity is easy to manage - off in the summer and on in the winter. Just keep an eye on the RH% on the screen.

    https://www.aartech.ca/th9320wf5003-...0aAif-EALw_wcB

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    I'm using the Nest-E. It's not as smart as the normal one (which is why I bought it), but has all the features I need. I don't even have the apps installed on my phone.

    I did need to rewire my old furnace a bit to get it to work though. While lots of people need to use a 24v transformer to get a regular nest to work, the E doesn't have the same wiring on it, so had to splice into the gas valve wiring to make sure it gets a constant supply. Which is an issue you may run into as well with any smart thermostat on an old furnace.

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    I've got an Ecobee 2. It does what I need it to do, which is manage the heat, A/C and humidifier. I only have one furnace so the extra sensors it came with are interesting to see the difference between upstairs and downstairs, but I don't have it influencing the temperature.

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    I got a Lyric T5 on Boxing Day and it was cheaper than the rebate cheque I got from Auntie Rachel.
    Profit.
    Works great and it even alerts when your house drops to 12°C. (Maybe they all do that).

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    I hate our lyric T5. Setup process was painful, and connection is occasionally unreliable. In hindsight I would have spent some more money and gotten an HAI Omnistat 2. If you have/want to do more automation, it Leviton and works well with their system.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ThePenIsMightier View Post
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    I got a Lyric T5 on Boxing Day and it was cheaper than the rebate cheque I got from Auntie Rachel.
    Profit.
    Same, for what i need it for (which is to change temp on my phone and check temp when i'm away) it works great. Only got disconnected once.

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    Ecobee are the best IMO, mostly because of the room sensors. You will need either a 4 or the latest gen (non-Lite) to control an accessory like a humidifier. I have two of them in my house (one for each furnace), but since only one of them has a humidifier i run a 4 and a 3 lite.

    However they do require a common wire for power, so make sure you have extra wire going from furnace to thermostat otherwise you will need to fish a new one. If you do fish a new one, i recommend fishing a 5 or 7 wire bundle in case you want to add a/c or other HVAC stuff later.

    HOw new is the furnace?

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    Quote Originally Posted by cjblair View Post
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    I hate our lyric T5. Setup process was painful, and connection is occasionally unreliable. In hindsight I would have spent some more money and gotten an HAI Omnistat 2. If you have/want to do more automation, it Leviton and works well with their system.
    That reminded me, I had a tiny hiccup during setup and maybe once every six months I get a notification that it's having trouble connecting, but it still does its job and I think it's more likely Shaw.

    I think smart thermostats are a solution to a non-existent problem. I wouldn't have bought one without the insane rebate. People need a basic t-stat that can be programmed to turn down while you're at work and asleep. Those have existed forever. Phone connection is "handy" but holy fuck, how lazy can I be. I caught myself using it this morning and I feel a level of shame like I got turned on by a 12yo girl... It's not like I live in that house Tobias and Lindsey got on a NINJA mortgage in Arrested Development...
    If I can't meander down from the third floor, through my butler's kitchen, passed the second wine cellar and out to the porte-cochère to kick it up to 21.5 then really, what am I doing wrong in life.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ThePenIsMightier View Post
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    That reminded me, I had a tiny hiccup during setup and maybe once every six months I get a notification that it's having trouble connecting, but it still does its job and I think it's more likely Shaw.

    I think smart thermostats are a solution to a non-existent problem. I wouldn't have bought one without the insane rebate. People need a basic t-stat that can be programmed to turn down while you're at work and asleep. Those have existed forever. Phone connection is "handy" but holy fuck, how lazy can I be. I caught myself using it this morning and I feel a level of shame like I got turned on by a 12yo girl... It's not like I live in that house Tobias and Lindsey got on a NINJA mortgage in Arrested Development...
    If I can't meander down from the third floor, through my butler's kitchen, passed the second wine cellar and out to the porte-cochère to kick it up to 21.5 then really, what am I doing wrong in life.
    That's a good point... especially without AC I probably touch the programmable thermostat in my current place once a season maybe. Also turns out the house is on a local gas provider, not enbridge, and they're a lot cheaper...but no rebate. Maybe reevaluating this idea.

    Edit: Notifications at 12 degrees would be really nice though
    Last edited by birdman86; 03-30-2020 at 10:23 AM.

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    moved to our new place that has a really old Lennox furnace.
    was looking forward replacing the panel with a smart panel but checking the back of the old Lennox panel with mercury, I see only 2 wires, white and black.

    anyone been successful on rewiring an old furnace with a smart thermostat? otherwise I will be calling a furnace repair but not sure what their protocol is with covid19 at the moment. (ADT cant come onsite to install our alarm system either)

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    We have an old Lennox Furnace with 2 wires which would not work with the Ecobee. I actually already bought the Ecobee too and it's just collecting dust here ( if anyone wants to buy it off me shoot me a PM!)

    After alot of research someone told me the Nest-E *might* work, so I bought one and it did! Been ~ a year now and still working great with no issues.

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    Quote Originally Posted by taemo View Post
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    moved to our new place that has a really old Lennox furnace.
    was looking forward replacing the panel with a smart panel but checking the back of the old Lennox panel with mercury, I see only 2 wires, white and black.

    anyone been successful on rewiring an old furnace with a smart thermostat? otherwise I will be calling a furnace repair but not sure what their protocol is with covid19 at the moment. (ADT cant come onsite to install our alarm system either)
    Yep, wired 2 old school gas-valve (no control board) furnaces with Ecobees. Previously they were just mercury thermostats as well. The biggest issue you will probably have is the wiring as you will need at least 3 conductors to make a smart thermostat work on an old furnace.

    pull off the mercury thermostat and see if you have any extra conductors coming up. If it's just 2 wires inside the bundle then you will either need to pull a new one through or use a fast-stat common maker as a workaround. At my place i decided to pull new wire as i was lucky and the wire was loose along its path. I used this 18/7 wire which leaves you extra conductors for futureproofing:
    https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0069F4HEU/..._bnHGEbZZ6A6JP

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    Quote Originally Posted by birdman86 View Post
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    That's a good point... especially without AC I probably touch the programmable thermostat in my current place once a season maybe. Also turns out the house is on a local gas provider, not enbridge, and they're a lot cheaper...but no rebate. Maybe reevaluating this idea.
    I haven't heard of an Enbridge rebate. I thought it was all that govt one "Alberta Energy Efficiency" or something.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RX_EVOLV View Post
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    We have an old Lennox Furnace with 2 wires which would not work with the Ecobee. I actually already bought the Ecobee too and it's just collecting dust here ( if anyone wants to buy it off me shoot me a PM!)

    After alot of research someone told me the Nest-E *might* work, so I bought one and it did! Been ~ a year now and still working great with no issues.
    thanks, will look into this as well.
    for how long have you had it?
    saw this article
    https://smartthermostatguide.com/no-...your-own-risk/



    Quote Originally Posted by sabad66 View Post
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    Yep, wired 2 old school gas-valve (no control board) furnaces with Ecobees. Previously they were just mercury thermostats as well. The biggest issue you will probably have is the wiring as you will need at least 3 conductors to make a smart thermostat work on an old furnace.

    pull off the mercury thermostat and see if you have any extra conductors coming up. If it's just 2 wires inside the bundle then you will either need to pull a new one through or use a fast-stat common maker as a workaround. At my place i decided to pull new wire as i was lucky and the wire was loose along its path. I used this 18/7 wire which leaves you extra conductors for futureproofing:
    https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0069F4HEU/..._bnHGEbZZ6A6JP
    i'll double check again how many wires are on the bundle, hopefully there's a 3rd wire otherwise I'll be more comfortable having a pro come on site.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ThePenIsMightier View Post
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    I haven't heard of an Enbridge rebate. I thought it was all that govt one "Alberta Energy Efficiency" or something.
    It was, until the UCP took over.

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    Quote Originally Posted by taemo View Post
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    thanks, will look into this as well.
    for how long have you had it?
    saw this article
    https://smartthermostatguide.com/no-...your-own-risk/





    i'll double check again how many wires are on the bundle, hopefully there's a 3rd wire otherwise I'll be more comfortable having a pro come on site.
    Just over a year, so I went through 1 summer and almost 2 winters with it and did not experience any of those issues in the website but definitly YMMV.

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    My Ecobee emailed me a few weeks ago to inform me that my furnace had failed to start after 3 unsuccessful attempts.

    I'm sure others do it too but I thought it was neat...
    2011 Ram 1500 QC Sport
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    necro bump but anyone still running Honeywell Lyric T5?

    Havent touched it in a while on the mobile app until few days ago and noticed that it has been offline for over 2 months.
    It is still connected to the wifi, talks to honeywell azure IP servers but can't control the thermostat on the app, could see usage stat though (when heather/AC fires up).
    I've tried resetting wifi, connecting to a different wifi and nothing.
    Now I have deleted the device from the app and trying to connect it the app again is giving me cloud connection error.

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    ^Mine still works. Their tech support was good when I had an issue. They walked me through a reset procedure.

    Does it have usage stats?? How and where?

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