As I mentioned in my previous post, I got a new Ecobee thermostat, still sitting in as box, waiting for me to get off my rear and install it....
But as I read more about thermostats. I don't understand one thing, everyone gives you a rebate or recommends you get ONE, but I have two thermostats in the house. I am sure a lot of you have the same setup.... now, what good does one thermostat do for you?
To be honest, I don't know the answer to the question, and if you get two in your house, then it's a s $500 investment. You need to live in your home for years before you break even. Might as well stay with "dumb" thermostats. Well, I didn't have $500 laying around so I just purchased a Ecobee 3 thermostat. If you are reading this, I need your help, send me comments on how you are using your smart thermostat to save energy costs, what are you doing in terms of home/away scheduling etc. I don't have all the answer, would love to hear opinions.... AND how do the two talk to each other....
But as I read more about thermostats. I don't understand one thing, everyone gives you a rebate or recommends you get ONE, but I have two thermostats in the house. I am sure a lot of you have the same setup.... now, what good does one thermostat do for you?
To be honest, I don't know the answer to the question, and if you get two in your house, then it's a s $500 investment. You need to live in your home for years before you break even. Might as well stay with "dumb" thermostats. Well, I didn't have $500 laying around so I just purchased a Ecobee 3 thermostat. If you are reading this, I need your help, send me comments on how you are using your smart thermostat to save energy costs, what are you doing in terms of home/away scheduling etc. I don't have all the answer, would love to hear opinions.... AND how do the two talk to each other....
Kman - I completely understand the conundrum that u r dealing with. I think this shouldn't be looked at from a pure money point of view. If that were the case then everyone would be driving the cheapest car around. So point is about affordability. The guy that drives around a tesla likes to justify the pricetag by saying that he is more environmentally conscious by reducing emissions. But a person who cannot afford to pay for a tesla cannot worry about what his car is emitting. Also unless something is mass adopted its pricing will almost all of the time be high to account for the high R&D costs and material manufacturing costs etc. the early adopters will do so to feel that they are doing their part to go green by using the climate controls efficiently- without actually assessing the cost to benefit analysis just like the tesla example. So inorder to bring down the costs it has to become widely adopted and that will not happen unless it becomes a standard in all new homes. So untill then one has to buy 2 or more thermostats depending on how many isolated tiers the home has with the option to talk to a central phone - so that they can be set independently from anywhere. They dont have to necessarily talk to each other - they just have to be set intelligently by an intelligent human being depending on the external climate and or usage requirements. Hopefully i have made some intelligent comments to help ur connundrum.
ReplyDeleteAlso I have considered buying a Nest but decided against it just because someone was always staying in the house round the clock and I didnt feel the need yet to do efficient programmatic control of temperature through the various seasons. Once both kids start going to daycare I will look into this upgrade. I really like the option to shut the AC down when noone is at home for 8 hours and to startback up justbefore we reach home.
ReplyDeleteNash, very true. Unless everyone starts buying and getting the costs down, it won;t be affordable. Ecobee juts came out with a lower end model that is priced around $160 that should make this more appealing. $320 for a whole home solution!
DeleteI just installed the NEST thermostats in my home and they are so easy! Also got $100 rebate from our utility provider - Coserv. More details in a new post soon.....
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