ECOBEE thermostat- NO!

[wdfifteen]

Had a new Bryant HVAC system installed. The default thermostat is an ECOBEE “smart” unit.
All I want to do is program the damn thing to change the temp settings throughout the day.
Simple, right? A $30 Honeywell will do that easy.

Not this smartass ECOBEE POS

I gotta download an app
I gotta create an account
I gotta give it access to my WiFi
I gotta figure out why “an error occurred, contact support at our web site.”
I gotta give it my email address
I gotta reset my password because “an account with that email already exists” (how?)
I gotta give it my name and my mailing address

I finally called my installer and told him

Look YOU gotta get this gdamn effing POS thing out of my house, because THIS is what I’m finally gonna do:

Rip it out of the wall
Run over it with my truck
Shoot it with my 16 gauge
beat it with a sledgehammer
Set it on fire
And piss on the ashes.

I really miss a simple Honeywell round

He laughed and said, nobody likes that thermostat. He’s been fighting with Bryant to offer something better since it came out. He called around and found me a dumb thermostat that Bryant approves of and he’ll bring it out Monday.

[masraum]

Hahahah.

I don't want "the cloud" to have access to my stuff. Pretty much everything that's "smart" these days requires access to the cloud (and an account as you discovered). And short of a handful of places, no one out there does that much to secure your account or their "cloud."

I used to have a smart thermostat that I got from HD. It was manufactured by "radio thermostat." I liked that one. It could be controlled on the same network. If you used the app for your phone, then you had to have an account and it had to be on the Internet, but there was an app that someone had created that you could install on your computer (mine ran 24x7). And that app on your computer would talk directly to the thermostat. And because it was basically a webpage, doing the program was really, really simple. You could see all 7 days, and set the time and temperature on every day separately if that's what you wanted. You could also tell the app "run the fan X% of every hour" and it would run just the fan. So if you programmed 50%, then the fan would be off for 15 mins, on 15, off 15 and then on 15. In our 2 story house in the time of year when you didn't need the AC, but if you didn't have the fan running, upstairs would get warm and downstairs would be cool, having that feature was fantastic, because it kept the house comfy without having to run the AC.

Now I've got an old fashioned thermostat, and it's a pain in the rear because you can't really tell what temp the thing is set to because it's so vague. And on top of that, maybe because it's so old, I don't think the temp is close to correct. So I had to bump it around for a couple of days until we were comfy, and now I won't touch it, at least, not until I have to switch back to heat.

[Brian 162]

I have a 20 year old 7 day programmable thermostat. It works fine.
BTW I used to be in HVAC. I like things simple

[cabmandone]

Why in the hell did the installer put in an Ecobee? Carrier/Bryant have some good smart stat options or some really good 7 day programmable models that are easy to use.

[herr_oberst]

Programmable? Aren't WE fancy!

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by cabmando

Why in the hell did the installer put in an Ecobee? Carrier/Bryant have some good smart stat options or some really good 7 day programmable models that are easy to use.

That’s what Bryant supplied. Today I told him I wanted a thermostat just like the one he installed with my other Bryant furnace 2 years ago. Bryant says They don’t supply them anymore. He found one through Carrier and he’s installing it Monday.

I’ve just really had it with technology this week. On top of the stupid smart ECOBEE, YouTube TV thinks I’m watching TV from outside my local area, which is a no-no, and keeps warning me about it. They keep giving me local news and weather from some place in West Virginia. It’s a system wide problem that cropped up when the upgraded something. The bad thing is we are having severe weather here and I need local weather reports from HERE.
No problem, I can just go to my iPad or phone, which only works until our Frontier DSL goes down, which happens every time it rains. So as soon as Frontier takes a dump I have to set up a hot spot on my phone so I can stream weather on my iPad and by the way pay for the extra data useage - while I’m already paying for YouTube and Frontier to sit there like bricks and be useless. At least cell service is fairly robust out here.
Sometimes I long for the days when you just had to mess with the tinfoil on your rabbit ears when you needed to track the weather.

[stomachmonkey]

LOL

Topical.

Obviously y’all have heard about the ultra robust reliable TX power grid and us needing to conserve this week to prevent another system failure.

Bunch of TX residents woke up today with their Nest units, that are connected to their providers “for their benefit”, with the AC set to 85.

[GH85Carrera]

Rip it out of the wall
Run over it with my truck
Shoot it with my 16 gauge
beat it with a sledgehammer
Set it on fire
And piss on the ashes.

I am stealing that!

Our thermostat is 25 years old. It is programmable, but we are home 95% of the time, and all I have it do is back off the AC at night while we sleep with the ceiling fan running. It drops back to normal a little before we get up. Sorta the same for the heater in winter only reverse temps.

I can't not imagine one reason to hook any appliance of mine to the internet. Maybe if I was single and traveled a lot, but I am married and the house always has someone in it.

[Fischer_76_911S]

So, are you saying you’re not a fan of the Ecobee?

Actually, I’ve tested a slew of WiFi stats over the years as the demand is there and they are frequently requested. The Ecobee 3 “Lite” Pro has been a very solid stat and my customers all seem to love them. I’ve had one in my sunroom for at least 2 years. It has been the only universal WiFi stat that I can install on any brand that has properly staged the equipment and will hold off the emergency heater in the winter if the heat pump is making progress. You can even pull up monthly reports and see the run time and staging versus outside and inside temperatures. Also set up alerts for run times, temperatures and humidity levels and thresholds, which is really handy for second homes that are not always occupied.

However, they need to be set up properly and internally configured for the equipment they are attached to. Also, do NOT use the Eco+ mode. Disable that permanently. It is garbage. I’ve run into customer installed stats and they are a nightmare. This is one area where you really need to have a seasoned pro configure your stat for your particular equipment, region, and house. We do this for a living after all! Also, I don’t know how the consumer level Ecobees compare to the Pro models. They may be the same, but I’ve seen vast differences in stats that look identical on the outside, but the features and settings vary tremendously from what I buy through my channels versus big box stores. This may affect your opinion.

Just thought I’d share, your mileage obviously varies from mine, but my experience is very positive.

Bob

[billybek]

Emerson/White Rogers Big Blue has been my go to thermostat for about 20 years.
I had one fail after about 17 years and replaced it with a Honeywell programmable stat.
The Honeywell lasted about as long as it took the wholesaler to order up and receive the thermostat that I wanted. I couldn't believe how crappy that Honeywell thermostat was.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Sometimes I long for the days when you just had to mess with the tinfoil on your rabbit ears when you needed to track the weather.

Couldn't you get an antenna to stick on your TV?

I guess it will depend upon how far you are from the TV broadcast antennas, but since all TV is digital these days, at least some channels usually work really well.
You can get them for ~$20. They are about the size and shape of a sheet of paper. If get one of the $20 "amplified" units, the amplifier is probably crap and probably won't help since it will amplify the signal and the noise, but you can install them without the amplifier. My guess is that with these cheap indoor antennas, you'll probably need to be no more than 30-40 from the broadcast.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=digital+tv+antenna&page=3&qid=1624199865

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

LOL

Topical.

Obviously y’all have heard about the ultra robust reliable TX power grid and us needing to conserve this week to prevent another system failure.

Bunch of TX residents woke up today with their Nest units, that are connected to their providers “for their benefit”, with the AC set to 85.

Effe that. I had a buddy post on FB that he was watching the Astros game until his house was hit with a rolling black out.

WTF? It's not that hot right now. I've been here since 1995. I don't remember anything like this happening before except maybe if we had a days and days of 100-105º weather.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I can't not imagine one reason to hook any appliance of mine to the internet. Maybe if I was single and traveled a lot, but I am married and the house always has someone in it.

I'm happy to have some of my stuff on my local network, but I don't want or need any/much of it to be on the Internet.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by billybek

Emerson/White Rogers Big Blue has been my go to thermostat for about 20 years.
I had one fail after about 17 years and replaced it with a Honeywell programmable stat.
The Honeywell lasted about as long as it took the wholesaler to order up and receive the thermostat that I wanted. I couldn't believe how crappy that Honeywell thermostat was.

We had a Honeywell for a while at the house. I didn't like it. We were in apts for 7 years and they had Honeywell thermostats, and they were crap. I think we went through 3 or 4 in that time. Fortunately, they were the complexes problem. We'd call and say they died and they'd bring a replacement within an hour or two. The maintenance guys did say that they think they had gotten a bad batch.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by masraum

Couldn't you get an antenna to stick on your TV?

Kach22i made a good post on this.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Fischer_76_911S

Also, I don’t know how the consumer level Ecobees compare to the Pro models. They may be the same, but I’ve seen vast differences in stats that look identical on the outside, but the features and settings vary tremendously from what I buy through my channels versus big box stores.

I noticed the same thing a while back. I researched a bunch of thermostats, and the "pro" models often seemed to have some features that just were not available in the consumer models. I did find that it was possible to buy some of the pro models on Amazon.

[widebody911]

There's a darker side to "smart" thermostats. This last week in Texas, the power company was turning up people's thermostats remotely to reduce load, without telling the customer, or the customer even being aware that it was possible.

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/remote-thermostat-adjustment-texas-energy-shortage/285-5acf2bc5-54b7-4160-bffe-1f9a5ef4362a

Years ago I lived in a rental and the management company had signed up for the local electric company's "energy saver" program - it basically shut off your HVAC when you needed it most. Fuch that.

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

LOL

Topical.

Obviously y’all have heard about the ultra robust reliable TX power grid and us needing to conserve this week to prevent another system failure.

Bunch of TX residents woke up today with their Nest units, that are connected to their providers “for their benefit”, with the AC set to 85.

Originally Posted by widebody911

There's a darker side to "smart" thermostats. This last week in Texas, the power company was turning up people's thermostats remotely to reduce load, without telling the customer, or the customer even being aware that it was possible.

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/remote-thermostat-adjustment-texas-energy-shortage/285-5acf2bc5-54b7-4160-bffe-1f9a5ef4362a

Years ago I lived in a rental and the management company had signed up for the local electric company's "energy saver" program - it basically shut off your HVAC when you needed it most. Fuch that.

Holy $hit, that's crazy.

Oh and no, no 'smart' toys for me.

rjp

[masraum]

Originally Posted by widebody911

There's a darker side to "smart" thermostats. This last week in Texas, the power company was turning up people's thermostats remotely to reduce load, without telling the customer, or the customer even being aware that it was possible.

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/remote-thermostat-adjustment-texas-energy-shortage/285-5acf2bc5-54b7-4160-bffe-1f9a5ef4362a

Years ago I lived in a rental and the management company had signed up for the local electric company's "energy saver" program - it basically shut off your HVAC when you needed it most. Fuch that.

This is nothing new. I had my first smart thermostat here in Texas 12-13 years ago, and there was a thing with it to "sign up" for money savings or some such BS. I read the fine print and did not sign up because no one should be allowed to control my thermostat that doesn't have to live with the results.

The family’s smart thermostat was installed a few years ago as part of a new home security package. Many smart thermostats can be enrolled in a program called "Smart Savers Texas." It's operated by a company called EnergyHub.

The agreement states that in exchange for an entry into sweepstakes, electric customers allow them to control their thermostats during periods of high energy demand. EnergyHub’s list of its clients include TXU Energy, CenterPoint and ERCOT.

These people that are screaming now, signed up, and are now screaming because what they signed up for has occurred.

The one thing that I don't understand is that it hasn't been unusually hot. I think we had one day that got up to 97º a week or two ago. That's pretty hot, but hitting upper 90s for a day or two here and there is pretty normal. We didn't get over 100º and it didn't stay that hot for days or weeks.

I've been in Houston since 1995. We've had some REALLY hot weather over the years. I remember hearing about "rolling blackouts" a couple/few times since I've been in Houston. I'm not actually sure that I've ever had my power cut during a rolling blackout except this winter during snowmaggedon. (our apt lost power, and our recently purchased house had 1 hour off 2 hours on for about 12 hours [we got lucky]). But that was also EXTREME weather. We aren't having EXTREME weather.