Have YOU replaced your thermostat with a smart thermostat?

[benburch]

if not, what's keeping you? It's easy!

[bunny planet]

1. I would like to, don't know much about it. Maybe I'll just google 'smart

thermostat' unless you can provide some other link.

[On the Road]

4. Just Go To Home Depot, Lowes, or

a similar store. Most of the thermostats on sale will be smart thermostats. Wiring diagrams are included, depending on your existing thermostat (eg, four or five wire). All it takes is paying attention to the diagram. Less than an hour to install even if you're not handy.

[crispini]

5. Hi bunny!

:hug: It's easy, just go to Home Depot and get a programmable thermostat. They're cheap and I have saved a TON of money on heating and cooling bills.

[bunny planet]

23. Thanks Crispi, I will.

[goclark]

11. I live in Los Angeles, about how much would it save me and

how much do they cost?

[SteppingRazor]

2. I went with Option F: It never gets cold...

One of the few advantages to living in South Florida. Sure, there's hurricanes and high prices and far more crazies than just about anywhere else in the country -- but we save on heating bills! :party:

[On the Road]

6. Smart Thermostats are Useful for Air Conditioning, Too

[lonestarnot]

20. Went with option P... both sound alike "F"

And it isn't freeze your ass. But if I have to I will. Not turning on heat!

[schmuls]

3. I manually turn it down before going to bed and adjust...

during the day. Probably not very efficient, either.

[bullwinkle428]

7. I live in Iowa where I've seen actual temperatures below -20'F

on occasions. I first put one into a big drafty place I owned about 10 years ago, which was built in the early 70s (pre-energy crisis), then put one into a smaller condo which I purchased after divorcing and selling that first place, then moved into a new construction place nearly 2 years ago in which the HVAC contractor installed the smart thermostats in all of the units. I just drop the temperature to 60 at night and during the day when I'm not home and bring it up to 65 when I'm awake and in the house... For my next act regarding decreased energy consumption, I plan on buying a diesel-powered car to replace my current 4-cylinder gasoline powered Honda.

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. I also burn RW literature in the fireplace on cold winter evenings.

Double pleasure - staying warm and wasting their campaign money.

[benburch]

12. I made the LaRouchies send me a whole CASE of their pamphlets once...

They started my Mom's fireplace for three years.

[TheCowsCameHome]

13. Great, isn't it? They think we love 'em and we stay warm for free.

[Briarius]

9. Yes, I got the Energy Star 5+2 day model

at Lowes I think for around $40. Easy to set up and install, and works great!

[Mr_Spock]

10. How about "I did that 5 years ago"

Some of us knew this was coming and built a highly insulated house and installed programmable thermostats a long time ago...

[Tesha]

15. "Very logical of you." (NT)

(Me too!)

Tesha

[Walt Starr]

14. Came as part of the deal with the new house buildout

I expected it to be an upgrade, but they come standard now.

[Tesha]

16. It's probably now cheaper to build a fully-electronic unit than...

It's probably now cheaper to build a fully-electronic unit than one
that has complicated, close-tolerance bimetal mechanical parts and
the like. And it's "right out" to build thermostats with mercury
switches in them such as the millions (billions?) of Honeywell
"round" thermostats of years gone by.

And once they're electronic, making them programmable is a cinch.

Tesha

[Walt Starr]

19. Yep, now that the cold is settling in we're dependent upon the program

We dump down to about 55 degrees while we're at work and have it kick on and warm up the house about 30 minutes before we get home.

[benburch]

21. Still had mercury switch honeywells at my hardware store recently! nt

[SmokingJacket]

17. I don't see the point.

I keep the thing set as low as I can stand: 55 at night and when we're out, 62 in the day (I work at home). It hasn't come on yet this year, thanks to the woodstove.

What would a smart thermostat do for me?

[benburch]

22. Keep you from having to remember to change the setting! nt

[SmokingJacket]

24. But then if I forgot to disable it, it would come on when I wasn't home.

For example.

I hate "smart technologies" that think they know what I want.

[benburch]

28. True.

But I work at home, so most of the time the thermostat does what I want.

[Missy Vixen]

18. We were really glad

the programmable thermostat was part of the house construction. We keep our house (according to Grandma, "arctic",) at 65 degrees most of the time, and just wear more clothes.

Julie

[wildeyed]

27. We keep ours at 65 in the day

and 55 at night. We wear more clothes during the day and at night, a fluffy down comforter.

[wildeyed]

25. Smart thermostat

Love it. It turns itself waaaaaay down after we go to bed. By the time we get up, it is nice and toasty again. Makes it easier to get out of bed in the AM.

Next I want to get a small electric heater or maybe a heat lamp for the bathroom. Keep that room comfortably warm while we are showering and dressing, while keeping the rest of the house much colder.

[TimeChaser]

26. My parents installed one at home this year

(I'm living in a dorm, I have no choice). It seems our kitty is angry that she cannot spend all night pressed up against the heater any more.

[benburch]

The kitty will soon find the heat spill from the fridge.

She'll be OK! :-)

[Debbi801]

29. Yupp, 2 years ago. Then, we re-insulated last winter....

I hope it pays off this year on our oil bills.

[ProfessorGAC]

30. No. It Wouldn't Make Any Difference

My wife and i intentionally bought small. We replaced the storms a few years ago, 15 years ago had the house wrapped and resided with insulated siding (looks nice too), and have a high R roof and garage door.

With circulating hot water heat, the thermostat wouldn't save us close to $1 per month. The smaller the house, the less it matters.
The Professor

[trackfan]

31. The house came with one, and we really want to replace it

with a "dumb" thermostat. We seldom use heat or air conditioner, and just want to be able to turn the thing on and off. Our current thermostat is too smart for us, and sometimes has a mind of its own, turning things on without any manual override to turn them off.