Rental Property Investor · Wichita Falls, TX · Member since 2017 · 51 posts · 11 votes
Howdy - I'm here with another basic STR question as I jump into my first short term rental. I've searched the forums and seen support for Nest and Honeywell T5. What thermostat do you use and recommend? Thanks in advance for your insight and advice! :-)
Realtor · Santa Rosa Beach, FL · Member since 2019 · 14 posts · 6 votes
6y
@Brady Beshear we use nest thermostats in our short term rentals. During the summer you can put a lock on the air conditioner that will go in a range we typically have ours at the lowest 70° and that the warm is 76°. During the winter you can set the same thermostat to heat at a certain temperature range as well. It’s the only thermostat that I know that you can do that with.
I like ecobee. As I understand it, Nest utilizes patterns to automagically set different programs. I think this would be less useful in an airbnb, because it may sit vacant for days at a time. ecobee uses more standard programs, but you can adjust them from your phone (I am sure Nest can as well). ecobee also uses room sensors, so you can tell it which room is the most important. For example if your thermostat is in a cold hallway, you can tell it to use the master bedroom room sensor to set the house temperature. You can also use those sensors to trigger occupancy dependent temperature settings. Where it says, be on the away setting until I walk in the living room. Those sensors can also be used to trigger other things if you have a smart home, where if you walk in a room it turns on the lights or turns off the lights if no one is in the room.
Additionally, the newest ecobee has an added feature that has Alexa built in, which I think is not very useful, and can actually be a hindrance if you already have a Amazon Echo in that room. The previous version is otherwise the same, which means you can get a bargain on one.
All that said, the Nest is also a great thermostat, I don't know anything about the Honeywell.
Investor · Roseville, CA · Member since 2016 · 893 posts · 1k+ votes
6y
@Brady Beshear I personally use the Nest but mostly because they came with the homes I purchased and never had any issues (if it ain't broke, don't fix it mentality). That being said, as we entered the age of IoT and home smart hubs and such, you might want to really map out what the future vision of your home looks like with regards to automation. That will help you decide what kind of base framework or communication protocol it runs on and help you to not purchase something now that will not be compatible with the future version of your home. Sorry if that sounds like an overly complex answer to your question but in a nutshell you just want to be sure you buy things that will be compatible with 'themselves' in the future. : )
PS - I use the Honewell at home and have had no issues with it, other than than the mobile app is a little antiquated.
Rental Property Investor · Wichita Falls, TX · Member since 2017 · 51 posts · 11 votes
6y
@Jon Crosby - Thanks for the high-level perspective. That's one reason I decided to post my question - it's easy to get focused on the trees and forget what forest is most desirable! I'm closing on a new property in November that has a Nest installed - so I'll be going that route for that particular property - at least for now.
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
6y
Hey @Brady Beshear, the thermostat you choose will be based on your furnace. Do you know if you have a C wire at the current thermostat? Do you have A/C as well?
Most smart thermostats require a C wire to work for the power. If you don't have a C wire, that will limit your choices unless you run a new thermostat line.
If you have A/C but no C wire, you can do what I did and use the Emerson Sensi. It works without a C wire due to it's ability to use the power from the system that isn't on at the time. IE: If the furnace is going, it pulls power from the A/C side and vice versa. It is a Z Wave thermostat and works great with the Wink 2 hub I talked about in your other thread about locks.
It has been rock solid. It is very easy to use for guests as it is simple. I can set alerts with the Wink to let me know if people are setting the heat too high or even if they have the A/C set at 60 and the house is empty. I have a sound monitor going that I can check to see if things are noisy or quiet.
Michael, if the C wire is an issue, the ecobee thermostat comes with an adaptor so you don't need it. You have to connect it at the furnace end and it essentially changes what the existing wires are used for so it can use one for power.
Rental Property Investor · Wichita Falls, TX · Member since 2017 · 51 posts · 11 votes
6y
@Michael Baum - I am not sure about the wiring. My current tenant is moving out later this week, so I'll have access on Friday. It is a central AC/heating system. Thanks for mentioning the Emerson Sensi and the Wink 2 hub. It looks like I need to dive deeper into this in order to identify the best automation ecosystem for my needs!
I have not used one in a STR, but I absolutely would. Being able to turn off the a/c after the guest checks out or setting it up automatically to turn off at check out time, would be useful to me. I do have one in my house and love it. But as someone else mentioned, if you have a nest, I would not change it out.
Realtor · Santa Rosa Beach, FL · Member since 2019 · 14 posts · 6 votes
6y
@Brady Beshear we use nest thermostats in our short term rentals. During the summer you can put a lock on the air conditioner that will go in a range we typically have ours at the lowest 70° and that the warm is 76°. During the winter you can set the same thermostat to heat at a certain temperature range as well. It’s the only thermostat that I know that you can do that with.
Rental Property Investor · New Orleans, LA · Member since 2018 · 66 posts · 41 votes
6y
@Brady Beshear
Great question!
I’ve used both Nest next Gen and the latest ecobee. Both are great and convenient. The Nest is a learning thermostat that adjusts to patterns, but I turn it off and it works just like any other. The ecobee is very similar in performance, but just a different interface.
Really both are awesome and you can’t go wrong with either. Don’t forget to get keypads as well for the locks!
Lender · Tampa, FL · Member since 2018 · 149 posts · 102 votes
6y
@Brady Beshear
For the thermostats I find the ecobee the best vs nest or others as it has a few features that work great for a vacation rental that others do not. You can set the temp range and the guest cannot go outside that range. You can also adjust the temp variance range so instead of the unit kicking and off every time the temp raises 0.5 degrees you can set it to kick on at 1.5 degrees which give the hvac units a lot less wear and tear and saves a huge amount on electricity. Not sure how I feel about this feature but You can also adjust it say it 1 or 2 degree cooler or warmer then it really is. It has great reports and and when you lock it so guest can access your settings it does not look like it is in lockdown mode vs how the nest looks where you know you are in lockdown mode.
Rental Property Investor · Member since 2019 · 189 posts · 62 votes
6y
@Brady Beshear - looks like you've got some great feedback here. I've only used Nest, personally, but I love it. Once it learns your home it lets you know what temperatures put you into energy savings compared to local averages. And the "learning" schedule is an option, not a mandatory use. So you can have a default "away" and energy friendly setting, then set a typical guest setting (high in the evening, low at night and during the day), and then even still the guests can modify the temperature using the physical device.
For one step up from the old school thermostats, the Nest is a great energy saver and remote control thermostat. Sounds like ecobee is more high tech with its room-specific feedback, but for your average usage Nest is fantastic. It also has privacy settings so you can maintain master control and your guests can just modify it while in person in the home.
Rental Property Investor · Fort Collins, CO · Member since 2015 · 10 posts · 2 votes
6y
@Brady Beshear I love my Nest, managing it from states away. Nest gives you a nice report at the end of each month so you know usage, & the app is great to use remotely. Super easy to install, too. Good luck!
@Brady Beshear - I am a first time STR using Airbnb since April. I rent a condo 400 miles from where I live (town where I grew up). We use Honeywell and it works perfect for us. We can check and change the temp from our phone and keep an eye on it from a distance.
@Brady Beshear I love my Nest, managing it from states away. Nest gives you a nice report at the end of each month so you know usage, & the app is great to use remotely. Super easy to install, too. Good luck!
@Brady Beshear - I am a first time STR using Airbnb since April. I rent a condo 400 miles from where I live (town where I grew up). We use Honeywell and it works perfect for us. We can check and change the temp from our phone and keep an eye on it from a distance.
Brian Fleming - thanks for sharing your experience using Honeywell!