Internet-enabled thermostats

H

Headcase_Fargone

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 25, 2010
Messages
284
So I've been considering replacing my thermostat for a while and recently decided I'd start seriously looking around and researching my options. "It's 2010," I said to myself. "Surely wifi thermostats are the standard by now."

Apparently I couldn't have been more wrong. There's precisely ONE thermostat on the market right now with built-in wifi from what I've gathered, and it costs $350 with a, get this, $35 recurring yearly fee. Seriously? One lousy, over-priced product from one company? And commanding such a premium for something that should be standard in this day and age.

So I look around a bit more thinking I must be missing something. I finally come across a few more "internet-enabled" thermostats and they require... wait for it... a CAT5 drop in the wall! Seriously? Wired ethernet? What year are these companies living in?

I guess the only point of this post was a rant about the lack of options I've found, since a lack of options always gets my goat. But Jesus, what a backwards industry. And everyone's talking about how this "green movement" is supposed to be the next big thing? Not living in the dark ages of the 1990s it isn't.
 
Headcase_Fargone said:
So I've been considering replacing my thermostat for a while and recently decided I'd start seriously looking around and researching my options. "It's 2010," I said to myself. "Surely wifi thermostats are the standard by now."

Apparently I couldn't have been more wrong. There's precisely ONE thermostat on the market right now with built-in wifi from what I've gathered, and it costs $350 with a, get this, $35 recurring yearly fee. Seriously? One lousy, over-priced product from one company? And commanding such a premium for something that should be standard in this day and age.

So I look around a bit more thinking I must be missing something. I finally come across a few more "internet-enabled" thermostats and they require... wait for it... a CAT5 drop in the wall! Seriously? Wired ethernet? What year are these companies living in?

I guess the only point of this post was a rant about the lack of options I've found, since a lack of options always gets my goat. But Jesus, what a backwards industry. And everyone's talking about how this "green movement" is supposed to be the next big thing? Not living in the dark ages of the 1990s it isn't.
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It's probably wired ethernet since you need to supply power for wifi. Usually those units are powered by a couple AA batteries, not 120 vac.
 
I'd like to see more info myself. POE would be fine by me. Actually I would prefer it to WIFI.
 
Yeah, I was looking a while back for the same thing. All of the ones I could needed Cat5 run to it. It was for "security" so someone couldn't log in, and set it to 50 I guess. But, if you have your WiFi setup right, you don't have to worry about it. Guess you could use a cat5 to wifi.. but, why bother, and it'd be a pain to have that just hanging off of it.
 
Running CAT5 is a pain for something like a thermostat, but it is so worth it. Had a new home built about 5 years ago and ran all the CAT5 myself. Knowing that at some point a programmable thermostat would be used, I went ahead and ran a line up to the box. Ended up going with a Proliphix NT10e. It's basic but does everything I need it to. It's handy that I can access it remotely so that I can adjust the temperatures or fire up the A/C before leaving work so that the house is already cooling off by the time I get home.
 
It's funny because one thing I would love to do one day is learn electronics, and USB programming (how to interface with a USB device that I create) and create a full blown home hvac automation system. Start with the main thermostat, and also dampers and other sensors around the house. Imagine the possibilities.

I too checked to see if anything like this is available and was dissapointed. I would love something that is cat5 or USB enabled and allows you to either use a web interface that has very good features, or let you code your own front end.
 
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