Wifi Thermostat

Of all the wifi enabled gadgets and gizmos we have, the thermostat is my favorite. I feel like a lazy slug just thinking about why I love it so much but it really is terribly convenient.

When Vince worked and we had a fairly set schedule, we used the “schedule” feature the most. We pretty much always went to bed around the same time (well, one of us did!); we got up about the same time. We had a different weekend schedule. I pretty much always turned the thermostat to where it was coolest in the house during the night when we were sleeping – winter that’s 62, summer it’s 68. Then about 5:00 a.m., it was set to get to about 71. By 8, Vince was gone and I was in the sewing room so in the winter, at 8, the thermostat went to 65 and in summer it went to 78. About 4 p.m., Vince would get home, I’d be in the house cooking so I changed the setting then and that’s usually where it stayed til bed time.

Then, once Vince retired, the schedule was kinda off (in every way) but then I loved the wifi feature. If we left home for the day, I’d make it warmer or cooler, to use less energy, then about 20 minutes before we got home, we would use the phone to adjust it so it was comfy when we got there.

Also, here’s the lazy slug part . . I’ll be sitting in my chair and think . . it’s cold in here, or it’s warm in here and I can change the thermostat from my phone without getting up. The Carrier thermostat in Texas didn’t work with Google Home or Alexa but the new one will. It’s still easier most of the time to use the phone than to use Google Home because it’s set up in the kitchen and if I’m in the living room, I have to turn my music off, then talk to Google. If I’m downstairs, I have to walk to the bottom of the stairs and yell upstairs.

The thermostat that came with the house here is a programmable thermostat so we can schedule temperature changes but . . we have no schedule. Some nights we’re in bed at 10 p.m., some nights it’s 2 a.m.; some days we’re up at 5 a.m., some days we’re up at 8 a.m. If we’re sleeping in the basement or just hanging out in the basement, we don’t need air or heat so we set it to where it barely comes on.

I’ve been asking for a wifi thermostat and Vince has resisted. You know why? Two reasons: First, he’s always cold and he knows we’re not keeping the house at 80 degrees and second, he knows I’m the one who will get up and adjust the thermostat because I can’t sit and stitch if I’m wrapped up with a quilt up to my eyeballs. There’s probably a third reason – why spend money on something he thinks isn’t necessary?

But, with us not being able to walk on the wood floors for a week . . technically we can walk on them after a couple of days but . . we can’t put rugs down for a week so we won’t have tables to sit and eat. The 8 seater dining table will be in the living room (carpet) so we really won’t have any place to sit; I won’t be cooking because if I cook, I have to mop so . . we’ll just stay downstairs for a week.

I was telling Vince that no matter what program we set for the thermostat, I can’t imagine that the first week in February we aren’t going to want to make some adjustments for a whole week. He gave me one of those looks and said “OK! OK!” He wasn’t thrilled but he ordered it and it arrived today.

We looked at Nest and Ecobee and they both had great reviews but with our old eyes and fat fingers, we figured this one was a better fit for us.

Vince says he’ll install it today but he’s out working in the garage and I’ll be surprised if it happens today. I’m happy he agreed to get it and so long as it’s installed by the end of January, I’ll be happy.