Back to a mechanical thermostat we go

[PandaBear]

Got the Nest Gen 2 with the condo for inlaws and it suddenly died, the internal li pol battery worn out I guess. Took it apart, buy one on line. There aren't any good ones and most of them have a lot of 1 star review, and Nest don't sell replacement as they just say it is not replaceable and the whole unit probably should be replaced.

The seller send us a battery that has the wrong plug. It seems like Nest use different type of plugs for different unit within the same gen. Didn't realize it when plugging in and broke the socket on the Nest side. I'm done with this and is going back to a mechanical dial based thermostat for the seniors. They likely will have some problem in the near future deal with smart stats so a mechanical dial is easier to use for them.

Life is good when things go back to where they should be. So far I don't see the charm of a smart stat when we want to decide when to turn on and off, and the way they assume you are home or not based on room sensor against a corridor with nobody walking around seems just absurd in my use case. I'm sure it works for others but not for us.

Maybe one day I will install one that has a simple wifi connection and have the sensor clipped to my shirt, or let my apple watch tell them if I feel warm or cold, but not a smart sensor facing against a wall in a corridor.

 

[fsdork]

This is one of the many use cases for Home Assistant. Scatter a few mmWave human presence sensors around the house and have it run the thermostat accordingly.

Or, go manual.

 

[2heeldrive]

Simple is better. A non-programable digital is accurate and easy to use. Either battery power or line powered.

I have had good luck with this one from Honeywell (RTH111B)
.

 

[JunkdrawerDog]

When my aging MIL moved from her old home to a newly built condo, she could never come to grips with the digital and programmable thermostat. We replaced it with an old, round Honeywell just like the one in the old house. All was right in the world again.

 

[johnmyster]

Ecobee purchased in 2016 going strong. Remote sensors are a huge bonus in this house where the hallway (where the thermostat is installed) doesn't accurately reflect room temperatures.

Presence mode turned off. Runs a 7 day schedule.

 

[JustinH]

I have been using a honeywell smart thermostat is has been more reliable than NEST.

 

[Geekhead]

Ecobee purchased in 2016 going strong. Remote sensors are a huge bonus in this house where the hallway (where the thermostat is installed) doesn't accurately reflect room temperatures.

Presence mode turned off. Runs a 7 day schedule.

I have an Ecobee with 2 remote sensors, running fine since July 2020

 

[Geekhead]

Got the Nest Gen 2 with the condo for inlaws and it suddenly died, the internal li pol battery worn out I guess. Took it apart, buy one on line. There aren't any good ones and most of them have a lot of 1 star review, and Nest don't sell replacement as they just say it is not replaceable and the whole unit probably should be replaced.

The seller send us a battery that has the wrong plug. It seems like Nest use different type of plugs for different unit within the same gen. Didn't realize it when plugging in and broke the socket on the Nest side. I'm done with this and is going back to a mechanical dial based thermostat for the seniors. They likely will have some problem in the near future deal with smart stats so a mechanical dial is easier to use for them.

Life is good when things go back to where they should be. So far I don't see the charm of a smart stat when we want to decide when to turn on and off, and the way they assume you are home or not based on room sensor against a corridor with nobody walking around seems just absurd in my use case. I'm sure it works for others but not for us.

Maybe one day I will install one that has a simple wifi connection and have the sensor clipped to my shirt, or let my apple watch tell them if I feel warm or cold, but not a smart sensor facing against a wall in a corridor.

If you browse the professional HVAC sites/forums most do not like the Nest.

 

[doitmyself]

When my aging MIL moved from her old home to a newly built condo, she could never come to grips with the digital and programmable thermostat. We replaced it with an old, round Honeywell just like the one in the old house. All was right in the world again.

Similar issue - an aging friend recently was having difficulty with her apartment unit heat. Her daughter took her in for a few days. Turns out the thermostat was switched to cooling/air conditioning mode.

 

[ripcord]

My mother in law thinks a thermostat works like an on/off switch. All the way up or all the way down. Usually all the way up... thinks the furnace works that way. It's like explaining quantum mechanics to a kindergartner.

 

[barbersurgeon]

The guy who designed the Honeywell round thermostat also had his hand in so many iconic products, quite a story.

 

[johnmyster]

My mother in law thinks a thermostat works like an on/off switch. All the way up or all the way down. Usually all the way up... thinks the furnace works that way. It's like explaining quantum mechanics to a kindergartner.

This is the perfect application for one of those cages that goes over the thermostat and has a lock on it. Or an ecobee, locked out, controlled remotely.

My grandmom was a widow for 25 years in the house where she raised kids. She was afraid to touch the thermostat. Under the thermostat there was an end table with a lamp. That lamp was what she used to heat/cool the house. Summer or winter if the house was too hot, she'd turn on the lamp. Too cold, turn off the lamp. IIRC that lamp had a 3-way bulb, so it gave her variable control as well.

 

[mk378]

Honeywell also has a model with the option to add a remote sensor. It uses a local RF network it does not connect to the Internet.

 

[PandaBear]

Honeywell also has a model with the option to add a remote sensor. It uses a local RF network it does not connect to the Internet.

That's unnecessarily complicated for people who wants a mechanical thermostat.

People know based on how they feel after a week what number to set to when they want to feel how warm and cold. It is not like they have multi-zone heating and cooling. I can see that's useful with those multi-zone system but not single zone central unit.

 

[dogememe]

This is one of the many use cases for Home Assistant. Scatter a few mmWave human presence sensors around the house and have it run the thermostat accordingly.

Or, go manual.

Home Assistant is absolutely amazing. But despite a mostly pretty UI it's not for the faint of heart to get working the way you want it, and then keep it working through updates.

 

[Nukeman7]

I would advise against switching to a old school mechanical thermostat due to the fact that they are very inaccurate compared to a newer digital version. Of the current offerings, it would be difficult to go wrong with this simple to operate and intuitive thermostat for $26. Very simple for non-tech savvy elderly parents to operate. It also has the added benefit where the in-laws could send you a photo of the face plate to remotely diagnose any issues due to accidental misplacement of the slider switch controls (e.g., inadvertently switched to "Cool" vs. "Heat" during the winter).

 

[PandaBear]

I would advise against switching to a old school mechanical thermostat due to the fact that they are very inaccurate compared to a newer digital version. Of the current offerings, it would be difficult to go wrong with this simple to operate and intuitive thermostat for $26. Very simple for non-tech savvy elderly parents to operate. It also has the added benefit where the in-laws could send you a photo of the face plate to remotely diagnose any issues due to accidental misplacement of the slider switch controls (e.g., inadvertently switched to "Cool" vs. "Heat" during the winter).

"Mechanical" is a relative term. I got this dial based but inside being electronics thermostat so it is still electrical inside. These days it is almost impossible to find a pure mechanical stat so this is close enough. I trust the electronics just not the fuzzy logics and algorithm, and those touch based interface and battery inside. I work with temp sensors all day and know they are reliable.

 

[ripcord]

"Mechanical" is a relative term. I got this dial based but inside being electronics thermostat so it is still electrical inside. These days it is almost impossible to find a pure mechanical stat so this is close enough. I trust the electronics just not the fuzzy logics and algorithm, and those touch based interface and battery inside. I work with temp sensors all day and know they are reliable.

View attachment 315171

Yeah, the old mechanical switches used a little vial of mercury which is frowned upon these days.

 

[Hohn]

My mother in law thinks a thermostat works like an on/off switch. All the way up or all the way down. Usually all the way up... thinks the furnace works that way. It's like explaining quantum mechanics to a kindergartner.

My wife adjusts every thermostat in every environment she's occupying quite regularly. A programmable thermostat is the most pointless thing in our entire house-- it has been in manual override for 18 years consecutively.

I've tried explaining to her the idea of thermal mass and that cooling or heating the entire house based on her feeling of the moment is fruitless. Alas, it matters not. Dumbo's feather really was the reason he could fly.

 

[alarmguy]

Got the Nest Gen 2 with the condo for inlaws and it suddenly died, the internal li pol battery worn out I guess. Took it apart, buy one on line. There aren't any good ones and most of them have a lot of 1 star review, and Nest don't sell replacement as they just say it is not replaceable and the whole unit probably should be replaced.

The seller send us a battery that has the wrong plug. It seems like Nest use different type of plugs for different unit within the same gen. Didn't realize it when plugging in and broke the socket on the Nest side. I'm done with this and is going back to a mechanical dial based thermostat for the seniors. They likely will have some problem in the near future deal with smart stats so a mechanical dial is easier to use for them.

Life is good when things go back to where they should be. So far I don't see the charm of a smart stat when we want to decide when to turn on and off, and the way they assume you are home or not based on room sensor against a corridor with nobody walking around seems just absurd in my use case. I'm sure it works for others but not for us.

Maybe one day I will install one that has a simple wifi connection and have the sensor clipped to my shirt, or let my apple watch tell them if I feel warm or cold, but not a smart sensor facing against a wall in a corridor.

I agree, I find some technology companies thermostats frivolous. Anything related to Amazon or any other technology company. I would prefer a company that one of their primary businesses is making thermostats and that doesn’t include Google or Amazon.

In my opinion, Ecobee and Emmerson Sensi are others worth looking into besides Honeywell

For our new home, we chose Honeywell Wi-Fi thermostat. You can control it with your phone if you want or control it on the wall if you want.
The main reason for Honeywell was there was a Z wave Honeywell provided by the builder which uses the same base that you see on the wall so we had our electric co-op come and put in the Wi-Fi version.

Easy to set programs, easy to override, no sensors to detect if you’re in the house or not.
I just wish I could set more than four set points during the day, but that goes for many others.
They’ve been around a long time, reliable and they work well.

If you want, you can set up Geo fencing. I haven’t bothered.

I took the photos as best I could, there’s some reflection. The first one is in its static state and once you touch the screen, your options come up in the second screen. Third screen is the Phone app. And I figured I would give one more picture of the third screen when you touch the run time it will tell you how much your system’s been running by the day week month, etc..
For me personally there is something to be said, knowing what your house temperature is even more so in a cold climate. It definitely saves us money.

Phone app

Run time readout on the phone app