When we moved into our house in Oakland, one of the first things I did was replace the old (probably original) thermostat with a digital programmable one. I wanted to be able to control when the furnace came on so that it would only heat the house when we were going to be in it. But this was based on a schedule that I can only approximate according to our daily habits, which can more or less stay the same but are usually in some sort of flux. I have ours set so that it comes on for an hour in the morning while we get ready and then again in the evening when we come home from work. But then there are those days when we don't come home right after work, or weekends away, or vacations and the thermostat keeps following the same schedule.
I started thinking that with all this technology someone should invent a way of controlling the thermostat remotely via the wireless network in your house. But of course, someone already has invented it. I actually found two different viable devices, but that seems to about it so far. The one by Proliphix, though, needs to be hardwired to the network. The other works wirelessly, but is part of a larger system that is actually more for security. It's by a company called iControl Networks. The whole system looks pretty slick and it is all accessible via a web browser, or even a web-enabled phone. That means from practically anywhere you can turn the heat on and off or adjust the schedule to fit your current situation. The one downside, I thought, is the monthly subscription fee they charge to use the system.
I think this is just the start of something that we will see become more common. I've heard talk of smart homes, which still feels like a niche market, but I think we'll start seeing more of them within reach of the average consumer and then eventually fairly standard. I'm looking forward to when PG&E starts installing the smart meters in all the houses. Right now the meters have an indecipherable spinning wheel that shows who knows what and has to be read physically by a person who comes by. The new meters, however, will apparently be able to be read remotely by PG&E and eventually the customers will be able to monitor their energy use via the internet. I think that if people are able to see exactly how much and when they are using energy, they may make adjustments to their habits accordingly. At least I'm curious to see if it will.
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7 comments:
Nate,
Was just this week thinking about the same solution. Seraching the net I found the Fidure WT-A1Wifi, that seems to do what I want.
You did not mention that product, did you look at their solution?
With kind regards,
Arne van Balogoijen
Belgium
I just got an email from my electricity provider here in California, PG&E, about a free programmable wifi thermostat that they want to install at my house. The catch is that on hot days they can control the thermostat to let the temperature go up to 4 deg (F) higher than what I set it at. I started doing my own research and also found the the Fidure device in addition to this blog. Not much info on the Fidure website, like how it connects to power. From the two keys, it looks like you can only use the web browser to set the temperature. What happens if your wireless router goes out?
Check out www.ecobee.com they have a pretty cool interface. Available early 2009. Looks like everything you want.
The Ecobee WIFI thermostat looks very interesting but is a new product by a new company . I don't like being an early adopter ( bugs ) . Using it in remote rental unit at this point may be a very costly mistake . I don't care for their yearly $35 fee rither . There is another WIFI thermostat that will be availble soon from Residential Conservation Systems, Inc. ( www.resconys.com TW-43 ) For now , it looks like the ethernet wired Proliphix unit be my best choice
because of their established track record and no yearly fees .
I just bought a house with two furnaces, one for upstairs and one for downstairs, so now it's time to seriously consider one of these thermostats. I'm researching these previously mentioned thermostats and found that the Ecobee is no longer charging their yearly fee, which makes it more attractive. At $385 each, though, it would be a little painful to buy two. The Proliphix is not that much cheaper and not really an option since it needs to be hard wired. And I can't locate the RCS or Fidure wi-fi thermostats for sale anywhere. I'll have to research a little more to see what I come up with but in the meantime I just may get a standard programmable.
www.radiothermostat.com has a WiFi Thermostat for $99. That seems to be the best deal going. I also see that Home Depot has one as well.
Thanks for the link. When I originally wrote this post it was pre-iPhone so I'm not surprised to see that more options are now available for wifi enabled thermostats. I've been using the iPhone to control my Sonos music system and love it so the Radio Thermostat looks like a good addition.
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