Thermostat with Password and Adjustable Heat Delay ?

csi123 wrote: ↑ Just want to point out that password protection is pretty useless in a rental unit. Anyone can remove your thermostat and slam one on in about 2 minutes.

A regular thermostat inside a lock box is probably just as "safe" if not more.

If you are also paying for the wifi/internet then yes with a smart thermostat you can monitor it remotely.

Phlav wrote: ↑ Might want to consider lock and key also. What's to stop a tenant from replacing your thermostat and swapping it back in when you come do an inspection

vkizzle wrote: ↑ And when the smart tstat goes offline, you pay your tenant a visit!

csi123 wrote: ↑ It is super easy to keep the smart thermostat still power up while having another thermostat actually controlling the furnace.

vkizzle wrote: ↑ See my post above

vkizzle wrote: ↑ And when the smart tstat goes offline, you pay your tenant a visit!

Phlav wrote: ↑ 24 hours notice to enter premise

vkizzle wrote: ↑ Not a problem, with the ecobee I can show the tenant a graph on the status of the tstat not working for the last 24hrs or longer

csi123 wrote: ↑ Like I said it is going to be a fruitless exercise trying to protect a thermostat. A thermostat by design has no idea whether it is actually connected to anything. To defeat what you suggested the tenant simply have to put the thermostat in a cold corner of the house or near a cold window, then power it with an adapter. The thermostat will try to turn the furnace on and off and shows a similar graph as yours.

Anyway not interested in arguing over the ins-and-outs of smart thermostat. Just want to point out to OP about the usefulness of password protection in case he doesn't understand how a thermostat works.

The best defense against tenant tinkering with thermostat is to set it to a reasonable temperature.

vkizzle wrote: ↑ No need to argue, as you are wrong about defeating a smart tstat to trigger heat/air/fan calls!
If you have a smart tstat you would know that it does detect the presence of wires that are plugged into it.

csi123 wrote: ↑ I do have a smart thermostat. Like I said I am not against smart thermostat. Just want to help out the OP to let him know some facts in case his doesn't know. That's what the forum is for, not for arguing over some moot points endlessly. If you believe your thermostat is not undefeatable that's good for you. Again not interested in arguing over that.

Anyone has some basic knowledge in circuitry can take a look at a wiring diagram and figure out how a thermostat works. Just because a thermostat is smart doesn't change how it interfaces with the furnace. It isn't like the thermostat sends SSL encrypted messages to the furnace and expects a response saying 'Yes I am your furnace and I am on'. If you think defeating a detection circuitry like you mentioned is impossible that yes your thermostat is undefeatable by you.

rosario99 wrote: ↑ I'm in the market for a replacement Thermostat. My existing one is a Honeywell FocusPRO TH5100D

I own a triplex rental property which has a single furnace (forced-air, gas) to heat all 3 units. The single thermostat is located in Unit A and so the temperature in this unit dictates how all units are heated. A quick and dirty test reveals Unit B is 0.5'c warmer than Unit A and Unit C is 1.5'c warmer than Unit A.

Ignoring the headaches of the temp differences among Units i'm looking for a replacement thermostat with the following features:

x Lockable - since the thermostat is located within a rental unit i like to have it password protected

x Heat On Cycling Limitation - I want to control how often the furnace is activated; i find my furnace is signaled 3 to 4 times an hour. I understand when it gets cold but is there a thermostat allowing me to set how low below the limit before it activates on again. I mean if i set the temp to be 22'c, it warms up to 22'c, but it wont take long before it falls to 21.9'c and signalling begins. I want to have the thermostat delay to maybe 21.5'c before signalling the furnace OR maybe heat to 22.5'c and then wait till temp falls to 22.0'c. My existing thermostat shows 10th place decimals but it heats the place to the exact value set and no more and so reactivates every 3 or 4 times per hour.

Any recommended thermostat? I'm open to Smart Thermostats. Was considering writing an app to take in wifi signalling of apartment temps and then control Unit A's thermostat appropriately.

Thanks