Are the wi-fi thermostats useful?

Looking for input about the wi-fi thermostats.

This would be mostly to see what the temp is in the house when on the road, and maybe reset the thermostat remotely if needed.

Would be checking from a laptop, not a smart phone. Don't have a smart phone and am not interested in having one.

I am looking at this thermostat: Honeywell Wi-Fi 7-Day Programmable Thermostat
Model Number: RTH6580WF1001W

Any comments about this one or another? Can you view the indoor temp and change the settings easily when away from home? I assume you have to leave the wi-fi router on when you are gone.

 

We have a Sensi wi-fi thermostat for years and I love it. I can program it from any connected device that has the app. I can turn it up or down from any room in the house or away. You can see the inside temp as well as the set temp. It has a geofencing option but I never tried it.
I like the benefits of IoT so much that I just bought a wifi connected sprinkler system control panel.

 

That would be a good choice in thermostats. Yes..... you can view the current temp and make changes remotely. Yes.... the router would need to stay on.

Basically you are communicating thru the thermostats manufacturer server. The stat communicates with them as do you. They are the connection between the user and the stat.

Are they useful...... that's debatable. If you travel a lot and want to keep an eye on the house.... that's a good use. Depending on the system type..... like a heat pump.... you may not be making many remote changes

 

4 questions:

1. Does Honeywell charge for use of its servers? If not, how long will it be before they levy a charge or stop supporting the present model and require purchase of a new one (maybe with a charge for use of the servers)?
2. How does the thermostat determine the outdoor temperature? Does it ping the National Weather Service for the zip code or what?
3. Since these tap juice by incorporating the C wire, does this result in much added electric usage?
4. Can you adjust the brightness?

 

In this day and age...... if a company doesn't offer a free DNS service...... they're left behind.
Doubtful there will ever be a charge.

Some thermostats have a wireless outside temp sensor.
Others like Ecobee and Nest use the local weather services online

They do use power off the system via the R and C (24v) terminals.
The power they draw is very minimal.

As far as I know..... most have adjustable display brightness.

 

How much time do you spend fiddling with your current thermostat? Mine I set it and that's it' until winter when we change to heating mode. So, I think of wifi thermostats as mostly a gimmick. Also don't forget the news from a couple years ago when they were used in a major denial of service Internet attack. Their security is not the best and it has access to your home's network.

 

I can't help but agree with PD on this subject. The most efficient use of energy is not to change it from day to day. Remember what you take away one day must be made up the following day. Maintaining a constant temp is easier than making up a temp from a different one. However, if your away for long period of time I would not use A/C on an empty home. I'm with PD on this, we only change the thermostat when the seasons change.

 

If I could just monitor the inside temperature remotely, that would be the biggest thing. This way, when traveling, I could determine if the heat had gone out for some reason, and contact someone to check it out. I can learn the outdoor temps easily enough via the internet. It would be nice to find a simple monitor that creates data that can be accessed remotely from a computer and does not require paying a fee.

 

check this out

https://www.weatherstationadvisor.co...ature-monitor/