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Tony Fadell: The Nest Thermostat Disrupted My Life

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Re: Tony Fadell: The Nest Thermostat Disrupted My Life

#61

Post by thebean11 »

joshstrange wrote: post #59

So I had a Nest for a year before it just stopped working and Nest told me it wasn't compatible with my system, after previously telling me it was (not sure how it worked more or less perfectly for that first year but whatever). I moved to an EcoBee and I'm happy with it but for all their "smarts" these things are still dumb as rock in my opinion. I work from home so turning up/down the temp when I'm away is rarely w…

You can't set a temperature range, like "keep my house between 65 and 70"? So when it's cold it would heat to 65, when it's hot it would cool to 70, and between 65-70 it would do nothing? That's not very smart..seems like the most basic thing they should be able to handle.

Re: Tony Fadell: The Nest Thermostat Disrupted My Life

#62

Post by joshstrange »

taylodl wrote: post #50

I want a thermostat that factors in humidity. Warmer temperatures are okay if it isn't as humid. I may only need to run the AC to knock out some of the humidity to make it comfortable. Does anyone know of a thermostat that does this?

I was just complaining about this in my comment. All of these "smart" thermostats are super dumb IMHO. I want one that takes into account outside temp/humidity as well as indoor. I want my house to always feel like 65F (and ideally 60F at night). That's it. No smarts, no "away" detection, no eco mode, none of that. It's bonkers to me that all these newer thermostats accomplished was adding the ability to remotely control the same old stupid tech (and wasting everyone's time figuring out how to turn off eco mode).

Re: Tony Fadell: The Nest Thermostat Disrupted My Life

#63

Post by function_seven »

_jal wrote: post #32
beembeem wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed on the "smart" features. When I moved into my current house we had painters working on one floor. They cranked the newly programmed Nest that was in learning mode to 90 degrees for one night to keep the paint warm while it dried. I, of course, had no idea they had done something that silly, but for weeks afterwards this smart thermostat will crank the heat to 90 and I have to manually turn it down. I'm convinc…

Am I the only one who sees "learning" features for things like this as nothing more than overcomplicated ways to engineer in unexpected, unwanted behavior? My heating/cooling desires are straightforward: unless I'm gone, stay in this range. I am not gone on a predictable schedule, any pattern it picks up will be incorrect. The only thing the "ugly beige box" doesn't do that I want is remote access, and that would onl…

My homegrown solution is Home Assistant talking to the Lennox API for my system. If my phone moves more than a mile away from the house for more than 30 minutes, then it switches to Away Mode (62℉–82℉), and when I get back within a mile of the house it switches to Home Mode (70℉–78℉).

It works flawlessly. It's been months since I manually tweaked the thermostat. When I do need to override it, it keeps that override in place until the next leave/return event.

Re: Tony Fadell: The Nest Thermostat Disrupted My Life

#64

Post by specialist »

allturtles wrote: post #20
aresant wrote: post #5

"Every time my wife and I drove up to our Lake Tahoe ski cabin on Friday nights after work, we’d have to keep our snow jackets on until the next day. The house took all night to heat up." That is first world problems hall of fame material right there! But a great origin story for the Nest regardless.

I never understood what problem smart thermostats were supposed to solve, now I do: ski home pre-heating. Cool, makes sense, but no use to me.

To transfer wealth from investors to founders.

Re: Tony Fadell: The Nest Thermostat Disrupted My Life

#65

Post by smspf »

I couldn't finish reading the article.

The first iPhone made connectors and electronic components easier to get to? Sure, it indirectly helped, as any other new, recent electronic device did. But please don't try to rewrite history.

He couldn't make things work over the phone, although he invested large sums of money and dedicated hardware? Come on, I rigged an old analog (rotary) phone to do that using a relay when I was 14 or 15 years old. After all, in that case all he needed to do was to switch on the heating and nothing more.

The whole thing just reads like a marketing fluff piece.

Re: Tony Fadell: The Nest Thermostat Disrupted My Life

#66

Post by joshstrange »

thebean11 wrote: post #61
joshstrange wrote: post #59

So I had a Nest for a year before it just stopped working and Nest told me it wasn't compatible with my system, after previously telling me it was (not sure how it worked more or less perfectly for that first year but whatever). I moved to an EcoBee and I'm happy with it but for all their "smarts" these things are still dumb as rock in my opinion. I work from home so turning up/down the temp when I'm away is rarely w…

You can't set a temperature range, like "keep my house between 65 and 70"? So when it's cold it would heat to 65, when it's hot it would cool to 70, and between 65-70 it would do nothing? That's not very smart..seems like the most basic thing they should be able to handle.

I can set a range but it's been my experience that in the "summer" I need to set it to 65 cool-only. and the in "winter" I need to set it to 65 heat-only. Fall and spring are hell and I have to check the temp to know where to set it. Ranges suck and are a carryover from the old tech, I want my house to be 65, this should be possible.

I think humidity is playing a part in it but I don't want my house to get up to 70 so setting 60-70 isn't going to work and likewise, no matter the season, I don't want it to get down to 60 unless it's at night.

Re: Tony Fadell: The Nest Thermostat Disrupted My Life

#67

Post by post_break »

taylodl wrote: post #50

I want a thermostat that factors in humidity. Warmer temperatures are okay if it isn't as humid. I may only need to run the AC to knock out some of the humidity to make it comfortable. Does anyone know of a thermostat that does this?

Newer AC systems can do this. I believe my "dumb" honeywell looks at humidity factors as well because on occasion I have caught it running the AC even though it's colder than what I have it set to because the humidity was high. Perks of living in Houston I guess.

Re: Tony Fadell: The Nest Thermostat Disrupted My Life

#68

Post by thebean11 »

joshstrange wrote: post #66
thebean11 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't set a temperature range, like "keep my house between 65 and 70"? So when it's cold it would heat to 65, when it's hot it would cool to 70, and between 65-70 it would do nothing? That's not very smart..seems like the most basic thing they should be able to handle.

I can set a range but it's been my experience that in the "summer" I need to set it to 65 cool-only. and the in "winter" I need to set it to 65 heat-only. Fall and spring are hell and I have to check the temp to know where to set it. Ranges suck and are a carryover from the old tech, I want my house to be 65, this should be possible. I think humidity is playing a part in it but I don't want my house to get up to 70 s…

Oh I see what you're saying. So you always want 65, but if you put it on auto the heat will end up turning on in the summer?

Re: Tony Fadell: The Nest Thermostat Disrupted My Life

#69

Post by bound008 »

Heads up for privacy minded people in the Apple ecosystem... if you buy a HomeKit thermostat (or generally any HomeKit compatible device), you can usually set it up without the vendors app, or making an account, or accepting the ToS or Privacy Policy. There are some well established boring HVAC thermostat makers that have HomeKit compatible devices, and they are available for under $100. If you are a renter, you may need to get a 100-240VAC -> 24 VAC power brick to supply adequate power if your HVAC is not wired up properly.

Re: Tony Fadell: The Nest Thermostat Disrupted My Life

#70

Post by joshstrange »

thebean11 wrote: post #68
joshstrange wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can set a range but it's been my experience that in the "summer" I need to set it to 65 cool-only. and the in "winter" I need to set it to 65 heat-only. Fall and spring are hell and I have to check the temp to know where to set it. Ranges suck and are a carryover from the old tech, I want my house to be 65, this should be possible. I think humidity is playing a part in it but I don't want my house to get up to 70 s…

Oh I see what you're saying. So you always want 65, but if you put it on auto the heat will end up turning on in the summer?

Yes, and it's bad in the spring/fall when one day might be in the 40's and the next in the 80's, I have to micro-manage the thermostat or deal with the house fluctuating between 60-70 which I dislike. It's subtle but I'll either constantly feel a little too warm or I'll be too chilly.

I've dialed it in so I know I love 65F, that's what I want my "smart" thermostat to facilitate.

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