Back to a mechanical thermostat we go

[ripcord]

 

[Nukeman7]

"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.

That White-Rodgers/Emerson thermostat is a true mechanical unit that uses bi-metallic strip technology similar to the ancient Honeywell round dial units. Not very accurate or responsive but nearly bulletproof for Luddite users who constantly tamper with settings thinking that setting it 15 degrees higher will get the temperature to increase 2 degrees faster than just setting it to the final desired temperature. The linked video shows how little "electronics" it actually contains. Similar to the old mercury bulb switched thermostats but redesigned with mercury-free sealed contacts.

White Rodgers Emerson 1F56N-444 Thermostat

 

[PandaBear]

Great, no wonder it comes with 5 years warranty. Now I am thinking about downgrading my house from a Honeywell AAA battery unit to this myself as well. Screw smart home stuff.

 

[tbm5690]

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.

Not complicated at all, and still quite useful with single zone. I have 5 remote sensors connected to my Honeywell T10 so that it heats/cools according to a particular room based on time of day. For example, at night it balances the temp between the master and my kid's room...helpful since the bedrooms tend to stay cooler than the living room where the thermostat is. Our guest room is one of the coolest rooms in the house, so when we host I can make the system hold a set point for that room so they are comfortable.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

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.

GE Cync has a smart thermostat that has a nice touchscreen, is remotely programmable and functionally, and doesn’t give your data or control over your AC to Google or the power company. About $85 IIRC

 

[PandaBear]

I do understand the usefulness of smart thermostats, but based on my understanding those 2 seniors are either already in the early stage of Alzheimer or have a tendency to break things and get the settings wrong then come ask me to "fix it" and then repeat again.

A mechanical stat with just on off, level to set temperature, auto / fan is the best things they can have. Worst came worse I can jam a piece of foam somewhere to prevent things from going too far or glue shut a certain setting.

 

[Cropduster172]

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

I've had Honeywell WiFi thermostats in our beach house for 10 years. One failed so I bought another. They are great. I've got a Nest installed now because I got it free after a gas company rebate. I don't like it and I'm going to replace it with the very same model Honeywell that bought a few months ago at Lowe's for $40.
The app is simple to use and rock solid.
https://a.co/d/h6QRIKH

 

[alarmguy]

I've had Honeywell WiFi thermostats in our beach house for 10 years. One failed so I bought another. They are great. I've got a Nest installed now because I got it free after a gas company rebate. I don't like it and I'm going to replace it with the very same model Honeywell that bought a few months ago at Lowe's for $40.
The app is simple to use and rock solid.
https://a.co/d/h6QRIKH

We had two of these (one on each floor) in the non Wi-Fi version in our last home. Still was working perfectly 16 years later when we sold our home.
New home we now have the Honeywell T5 WiFi.

 

[Dborch41]

I do understand the usefulness of smart thermostats, but based on my understanding those 2 seniors are either already in the early stage of Alzheimer or have a tendency to break things and get the settings wrong then come ask me to "fix it" and then repeat again.

A mechanical stat with just on off, level to set temperature, auto / fan is the best things they can have. Worst came worse I can jam a piece of foam somewhere to prevent things from going too far or glue shut a certain setting.

I figured that out with my mother years ago when she was visiting my family for the holidays and I tried to show her how to use the TV that was in her room. It had two remotes, one to turn the TV itself on and control the volume and the other to operate the cable box and change the channel (remember, this was some time ago). No matter how clearly I tried to explain what I thought was a pretty simple process she couldn't understand it and started to get frustrated. I wrote it down for her on an index card after she calmed down, which seemed to work enough to get by. I couldn't imagine her trying to use anything other that the simplest thermostat, fortunately that's what her house had.

This was the first sign of her oncoming dementia. It started to get worse as the years passed but she was lucid enough to know things weren't right which got her even more upset. I'm not too proud of this, but when my sister called me in the middle of the night with the obvious news I was strangely relieved. She was very unhappy and was never going to get better, to extend the suffering wasn't good for anyone.

Wow, this took a turn...sorry about that folks.