Ecobee is likely the second largest smart thermostat maker after Nest. Their special sauce is every thermostat also has a remote temperature and motion sensor and you can add more, to make a sensor network to optimize power use in your HVAC. They also make other Smarthome products.
Their special sauce is every thermostat also has a remote temperature and motion sensor and you can add more, to make a sensor network to optimize power use in your HVAC. They also make other Smarthome products.
Which is why I went with Ecobee. As with many home, the thermostats are located in teh hallway, which is probably the worst in terms of controlling temperature for occupied spaces. Ecobee’s design senses what rooms are occupied and adjusts the HVAC system’s output accordingly; which is how HVAC systems should have been designed anyway.
I think the A/C should be turned up to keep the bodies cool. Or is that just how I use hotel rooms? (It's a fucking joke, alright! Funny how I feel the need to point it out these days.)
I hope it can sense people who are asleep and not moving. I once stayed at a "green" hotel. Every few hours I had to sit up in bed and wave my arms to keep the A/C running. My "green" office light can't detect me working at my desk. If I want to keep the lights on I have to pick up my trash can and wave it around. I disabled the ceiling lights and use a floor lamp on dark days. I'm probably saving power, since I rarely turn it on.
From looking at my data it appears to register room occupied periodically while asleep; I’m guessing the normal sleep movements will trigger it as it isn’t always showing “occupied” but does so at periodic intervals.
Years ago I worked in an office with “smart” switches and would have to wave my arms periodically to keep the light on. My office had a glass wall so if someone was walking by and saw me waving they’d stop in
Which is why I went with Ecobee. As with many home, the thermostats are located in teh hallway, which is probably the worst in terms of controlling temperature for occupied spaces. Ecobeeâ(TM)s design senses what rooms are occupied and adjusts the HVAC systemâ(TM)s output accordingly; which is how HVAC systems should have been designed anyway.
I never understood what people expect to gain with this considering there is only a binary choice of the thing being on or off or high/low if you are lucky. There is no way to heat or cool individual rooms with most forced air HVAC systems.
Temperature averaging at multiple locations is helpful to avoid oscillations yet beyond that system design to account for losses and airflow is what matters not how fancy the controls are. People are more sensitive to change in temperatures rather than absolute temperat
The difference between the temperatures can be used to keep the circulation fan on until the difference is reduced to some specified level. Or, so the minimum/maximum temperature can be the setpoint for heat/AC, for instance.
I never understood what people expect to gain with this considering there is only a binary choice of the thing being on or off or high/low if you are lucky. There is no way to heat or cool individual rooms with most forced air HVAC systems.
Temperature averaging at multiple locations is helpful to avoid oscillations yet beyond that system design to account for losses and airflow is what matters not how fancy the controls are. People are more sensitive to change in temperatures rather than absolute temperature. Keeping a uniform temp throughout the structure and throughout time even at a lower setpoint is better than screwing with controls that can't accomplish jack to begin with.
For me it is the ability to keep a room warm when occupied. With doors shut the air circulation is reduced to the point where there can be a significant temperature delta, this allows the occupied rooms to be at a desired temperature rather than have the HVAC turn off when the main sensor registers the desire temperature. In addition, not all places have one signal zone for HVAC, they can have multiple separate zones of have the ability to isolate an area based on demand. With occupancy sensors, unused a
For me it is the ability to keep a room warm when occupied. With doors shut the air circulation is reduced to the point where there can be a significant temperature delta,
The problem with this is it fails to address the underlying issue. It does not address the temperature differences.
When someone leaves the occupied room with the doors closed they feel hot.
When someone enters the occupied room even at the desired temperature they feel cold.
People are uncomfortable as they move about the building.
Issues with doors closed is sometimes missing or improperly sized returns.
this allows the occupied rooms to be at a desired temperature rather than have the HVAC turn off when the main sensor registers the desire temperature.
People are far more sensitive to changes in temperature than absolute temperature. Failure to prioritize
For me it is the ability to keep a room warm when occupied. With doors shut the air circulation is reduced to the point where there can be a significant temperature delta,
The problem with this is it fails to address the underlying issue. It does not address the temperature differences.
Which is irrelevant in my situation. As long as the occupied room is comfortable the relative temperature differences are of no concern.
this allows the occupied rooms to be at a desired temperature rather than have the HVAC turn off when the main sensor registers the desire temperature.
People are far more sensitive to changes in temperature than absolute temperature. Failure to prioritize uniform temperatures leads to an uncomfortable building regardless of what the set point happens to be or how fancy the control loop of the on/off switch.
That depends on how the building is used. Not every building has people constantly moving from area to area; hence such a setup fits their needs at a cost a lot less than redoing HVAC systems.
There is no way to heat or cool individual rooms with most forced-air HVAC systems.
"Smart" heater registers are available. They have booster fans to deliver heated/cooled air to individual rooms.
They can be built-in, or you can easily add them to an existing system. Just unscrew the old register from the floor/wall and screw on the replacement.
"Smart" heater registers are available. They have booster fans to deliver heated/cooled air to individual rooms.
They can be built-in, or you can easily add them to an existing system. Just unscrew the old register from the floor/wall and screw on the replacement.
Smart is properly sizing supply and returns to provide uniform coverage throughout the structure. Stupid is cutting corners by applying band aids.
Attempts to block and or force air thru HVAC system is a bad idea. Forced air heating systems are calibrated by installer and designed to operate within a specific static pressure range. Fucking around without doing appropriate TR and SP measurements will damage the equipment. Too little static pressure increases HX wet time leading to premature failure. Too
Ecobee’s design senses what rooms are occupied and adjusts the HVAC system’s output accordingly; which is how HVAC systems should have been designed anyway.
That would add a fair amount of complexity (and cost). Used to work at a small business where our location was in a small office building with one furnace. Each unit did have their own thermostat and could control their own heating and cooling but it was controlled by a (complex) damper system. Physically it wasn't that complex, but the control/electronic side of it was.
is there any sort of dumb mode with them? Like a fail-safe sort of thing? The more complicated you make something the more likely it is to fail. A thermostat is technically one of the most basic devices there is. At its origins existed a vial of mercury that you would tilt as you adjusted the set point for it to trigger. As the temperature increased the mercury expanded to close a contact. Like I said, pretty fucking simple. Lets say its 5 below on the Fahrenheit scale, and for unrelated issues your home router just shit the bed taking out your internet and your wireless, and as some consequence your thermostat just freaked the hell out. Is there some sort of primitive mode you can engage that makes it simply turn on-off based on temperature? It seems these things go WAY beyond your typical programable thermostat with its programmable temps based on blocks of time and days of weeks. None of this, and I do mean none, really need to justify a device that sends and receives data beyond the four walls of your home. They certainly dont need to be phoning home. If I buy a device, its loyalty should be to its new owner, not its manufacturer.
Sadly, there's no incentive for any of these companies to REALLY care about privacy. The fact that there are billions of people willing to have their personal data sold by Facebook, Amazon, Google, Twitter, etc is a testament to the fact that the average person doesn't give a shit or just doesn't know any better.
This is definitely about dollars, not protecting customer privacy.
I left my old mercury thermostat in the wall, and located the Nest I bought to replace it elsewhere. Reason is, the Nest requires a power wire and running that across the basement joists and up a wall would have been a nightmare. I just switched the wires at the boiler instead and wired the Nest up in the basement, so I keep my "dumb" backup in case the Nest malfunctions. I lose the Nest's motion sensing ability, but I didn't fancy it recording that anyway. Now the reason I went with Nest versus other solut
No internet needed for the Ecobee (at least the model that I have) to function. If you don't have power, your furnace won't work anyway. (ecobee unit draws power from the furnace wires, just like any other thermostat)
So your internet going out only limits your ability to control it with alexa/smartphone-app.
It works fine when the internet goes out. It just stops getting weather information and you're not able to remotely control it. It remembers the schedule you have set and you can always walk up to it and adjust it.
Ecobee is likely the second largest smart thermostat maker after Nest. Their special sauce is every thermostat also has a remote temperature and motion sensor and you can add more, to make a sensor network to optimize power use in your HVAC. They also make other Smarthome products.
Too early. I was thinking Jollibee [wikipedia.org] when I read Ecobee.
Ecobee is likely the second largest smart thermostat maker after Nest. Their special sauce is every thermostat also has a remote temperature and motion sensor and you can add more, to make a sensor network to optimize power use in your HVAC. They also make other Smarthome products.
Series parallel resistor networks date back to the 1800s and the savings claims are more marketing scam than reality.
You need substantial and sustained setbacks to see any meaningful savings and with energy efficient HVAC equipment (GSHP) such control strategies are counterproductive and will end up costing you money. Further in some climates it is dangerous to setback temperatures into the low-mid 60s with 90% as resulting condensation will literally rot out the secondary heat exchanger which is the prim
Woh? (Score:2)
It's not OK, of course but... Who?
Re: Woh? (Score:5, Informative)
Ecobee is likely the second largest smart thermostat maker after Nest. Their special sauce is every thermostat also has a remote temperature and motion sensor and you can add more, to make a sensor network to optimize power use in your HVAC. They also make other Smarthome products.
Re: Woh? (Score:5, Interesting)
Their special sauce is every thermostat also has a remote temperature and motion sensor and you can add more, to make a sensor network to optimize power use in your HVAC. They also make other Smarthome products.
Which is why I went with Ecobee. As with many home, the thermostats are located in teh hallway, which is probably the worst in terms of controlling temperature for occupied spaces. Ecobee’s design senses what rooms are occupied and adjusts the HVAC system’s output accordingly; which is how HVAC systems should have been designed anyway.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I hope it can sense people who are asleep and not moving. I once stayed at a "green" hotel. Every few hours I had to sit up in bed and wave my arms to keep the A/C running. My "green" office light can't detect me working at my desk. If I want to keep the lights on I have to pick up my trash can and wave it around. I disabled the ceiling lights and use a floor lamp on dark days. I'm probably saving power, since I rarely turn it on.
From looking at my data it appears to register room occupied periodically while asleep; I’m guessing the normal sleep movements will trigger it as it isn’t always showing “occupied” but does so at periodic intervals.
Years ago I worked in an office with “smart” switches and would have to wave my arms periodically to keep the light on. My office had a glass wall so if someone was walking by and saw me waving they’d stop in
Re: (Score:2)
Which is why I went with Ecobee. As with many home, the thermostats are located in teh hallway, which is probably the worst in terms of controlling temperature for occupied spaces. Ecobeeâ(TM)s design senses what rooms are occupied and adjusts the HVAC systemâ(TM)s output accordingly; which is how HVAC systems should have been designed anyway.
I never understood what people expect to gain with this considering there is only a binary choice of the thing being on or off or high/low if you are lucky. There is no way to heat or cool individual rooms with most forced air HVAC systems.
Temperature averaging at multiple locations is helpful to avoid oscillations yet beyond that system design to account for losses and airflow is what matters not how fancy the controls are. People are more sensitive to change in temperatures rather than absolute temperat
Re: (Score:2)
The difference between the temperatures can be used to keep the circulation fan on until the difference is reduced to some specified level. Or, so the minimum/maximum temperature can be the setpoint for heat/AC, for instance.
Re: (Score:2)
I never understood what people expect to gain with this considering there is only a binary choice of the thing being on or off or high/low if you are lucky. There is no way to heat or cool individual rooms with most forced air HVAC systems.
Temperature averaging at multiple locations is helpful to avoid oscillations yet beyond that system design to account for losses and airflow is what matters not how fancy the controls are. People are more sensitive to change in temperatures rather than absolute temperature. Keeping a uniform temp throughout the structure and throughout time even at a lower setpoint is better than screwing with controls that can't accomplish jack to begin with.
For me it is the ability to keep a room warm when occupied. With doors shut the air circulation is reduced to the point where there can be a significant temperature delta, this allows the occupied rooms to be at a desired temperature rather than have the HVAC turn off when the main sensor registers the desire temperature. In addition, not all places have one signal zone for HVAC, they can have multiple separate zones of have the ability to isolate an area based on demand. With occupancy sensors, unused a
Re: (Score:2)
For me it is the ability to keep a room warm when occupied. With doors shut the air circulation is reduced to the point where there can be a significant temperature delta,
The problem with this is it fails to address the underlying issue. It does not address the temperature differences.
When someone leaves the occupied room with the doors closed they feel hot.
When someone enters the occupied room even at the desired temperature they feel cold.
People are uncomfortable as they move about the building.
Issues with doors closed is sometimes missing or improperly sized returns.
this allows the occupied rooms to be at a desired temperature rather than have the HVAC turn off when the main sensor registers the desire temperature.
People are far more sensitive to changes in temperature than absolute temperature. Failure to prioritize
Re: (Score:2)
For me it is the ability to keep a room warm when occupied. With doors shut the air circulation is reduced to the point where there can be a significant temperature delta,
The problem with this is it fails to address the underlying issue. It does not address the temperature differences.
Which is irrelevant in my situation. As long as the occupied room is comfortable the relative temperature differences are of no concern.
this allows the occupied rooms to be at a desired temperature rather than have the HVAC turn off when the main sensor registers the desire temperature.
People are far more sensitive to changes in temperature than absolute temperature. Failure to prioritize uniform temperatures leads to an uncomfortable building regardless of what the set point happens to be or how fancy the control loop of the on/off switch.
That depends on how the building is used. Not every building has people constantly moving from area to area; hence such a setup fits their needs at a cost a lot less than redoing HVAC systems.
Re: (Score:2)
There is no way to heat or cool individual rooms with most forced-air HVAC systems.
"Smart" heater registers are available. They have booster fans to deliver heated/cooled air to individual rooms.
They can be built-in, or you can easily add them to an existing system. Just unscrew the old register from the floor/wall and screw on the replacement.
Re: (Score:2)
"Smart" heater registers are available. They have booster fans to deliver heated/cooled air to individual rooms.
They can be built-in, or you can easily add them to an existing system. Just unscrew the old register from the floor/wall and screw on the replacement.
Smart is properly sizing supply and returns to provide uniform coverage throughout the structure. Stupid is cutting corners by applying band aids.
Attempts to block and or force air thru HVAC system is a bad idea. Forced air heating systems are calibrated by installer and designed to operate within a specific static pressure range. Fucking around without doing appropriate TR and SP measurements will damage the equipment. Too little static pressure increases HX wet time leading to premature failure. Too
Re: (Score:2)
Ecobee’s design senses what rooms are occupied and adjusts the HVAC system’s output accordingly; which is how HVAC systems should have been designed anyway.
That would add a fair amount of complexity (and cost). Used to work at a small business where our location was in a small office building with one furnace. Each unit did have their own thermostat and could control their own heating and cooling but it was controlled by a (complex) damper system. Physically it wasn't that complex, but the control/electronic side of it was.
Re: Woh? (Score:2)
Re: Woh? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Sadly, there's no incentive for any of these companies to REALLY care about privacy. The fact that there are billions of people willing to have their personal data sold by Facebook, Amazon, Google, Twitter, etc is a testament to the fact that the average person doesn't give a shit or just doesn't know any better.
This is definitely about dollars, not protecting customer privacy.
Best.
Re: (Score:2)
the average person doesn't give a shit
Why should they?
What bad thing is going to happen to them if Amazon knows the temperature of their kitchen?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
So your internet going out only limits your ability to control it with alexa/smartphone-app.
Re: (Score:2)
Nest works the same way. You won't be able to use the app to set it, but you can still do everything from the thermostat itself, including scheduling.
Re: (Score:2)
It works fine when the internet goes out. It just stops getting weather information and you're not able to remotely control it. It remembers the schedule you have set and you can always walk up to it and adjust it.
Re: (Score:2)
Ecobee is likely the second largest smart thermostat maker after Nest. Their special sauce is every thermostat also has a remote temperature and motion sensor and you can add more, to make a sensor network to optimize power use in your HVAC. They also make other Smarthome products.
Too early. I was thinking Jollibee [wikipedia.org] when I read Ecobee.
Need. Coffee. Now.
Re: (Score:1)
Ecobee is likely the second largest smart thermostat maker after Nest. Their special sauce is every thermostat also has a remote temperature and motion sensor and you can add more, to make a sensor network to optimize power use in your HVAC. They also make other Smarthome products.
Series parallel resistor networks date back to the 1800s and the savings claims are more marketing scam than reality.
You need substantial and sustained setbacks to see any meaningful savings and with energy efficient HVAC equipment (GSHP) such control strategies are counterproductive and will end up costing you money. Further in some climates it is dangerous to setback temperatures into the low-mid 60s with 90% as resulting condensation will literally rot out the secondary heat exchanger which is the prim