Does anyone use a "mobile hotspot" and a Smart Thermostat together?

[Runs With Scissors]

So up until now our cottage has been on the "Luck of the Irish" heating program.

What I mean is, that when we leave, we turn the temp down to 50 to save on gas, and we simply "hope and pray" that the furnace keeps working.

Since we don't have "real internet", I am thinking of using a "Straight Talk Mobile hotspot" in conjunction with a Sensi Smart thermostat to monitor the temperature. This way if the temp drops below 50, I will get an alert and be able to react before the pipes freeze.

Has anyone used this combination, or one similar?

I would also like to avoid a "monthly bill" since I only really need it for 3 or 4 months a year.

My concern of course, is the pipes freezing if the furnace craps out for some reason.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

As a note because I was caught unaware, if you have a high-efficiency furnace the minimum setting the secondary heat exchanger wants is 60F to avoid acidic condensation.

If you install baseboard heat and set the thermostat for the lowest setting (about 52F unless you rig an aftermarket sensor) it'll only kick on when needed, plus act as backup heat.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

If you can leave the hot spot reciver there with the T-stat then yea it will work.

 

[Donystoy]

[If you install baseboard heat and set the thermostat for the lowest setting (about 52F unless you rig an aftermarket sensor) it'll only kick on when needed, plus act as backup heat.
[/QUOTE]

This is what I have in my shop. Electric back up heat. I think it would be cheaper than paying for all the data charges for using the hotspot 24/7. I only had an issue when mice destroyed a feed wire under the transformer vault. Fortunately, it was in the spring.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: Has anyone used this combination, or one similar?

yes, 3 decades ago, designed/built/installed/monitored mostly medium sized building throughout Hamilton area. As well as saving out clients 35% fuel costs,we KNEW when 'zones' within the buildings were below 55*F,50*F as well as 45*F AND if AC power was still there. Everything was checked and sent every 15 seconds via ultra secure, hackerproof direct wire to the monitoring station. Back then our telecom bill(wire only) was $1500 a month.
So your cottage NEEDS to send 1) temperature data ( 50 might be ok....) and 2) AC power to furnace.
I say 50*F might be OK as you need to factor in 'service call time'. How long will it take you or service guy to get TO the cottage ? Good news is house usually cool slowly BUT you never want to arrive AFTER the pipes freeze !
Ideally you want a 'black box' that measure temperature and sees AC power at furnace, then call at least 2-4 times a day. Do NOT rely or 'call when alarm tripped'...you WANT a confirmation call every 12-6 hours.

 

[RCW]

I chuckle at myself as a tech idiot.

I've heard the term mobile hot spot many times.

A LONG time ago, I knew some girls that I considered mobile hot spots.

I just had to find where they were......sometimes they found me.....

Maybe better in the "Hunting" Forum?!?!?!

 

[Old Machinist]

I use a mobile hotspot for my primary internet. I have a ZTE Velocity running on AT&T through a AR300 travel router. I have 8 wifi cameras from 3 different manufactures on the network I can access remotely from anywhere and I can have them notify me if I turn on notifications. I don't imagine thermostat communications being any different.

 

[Poohbear]

Tstats that can use internet don’t know if it’s a cable , cellular, or satellite. They only talk to the WiFi connection that is broadcast thru the house
Get one that has the ability to operate if power is out for awhile. Tstats usually can do this for 72 hrs if no power

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Not only does the 'tstat' have to be battery backed, whatever it communicates to ,and the 'transmitter' HAS to be battery backed. The entire 'monitoring system' AND send data at least 2x per day to confirm it is 'up and running', or at least it was 11 hrs,59 minutes ago....

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Thanks guys.

At my "main house" I just installed a Sensi "Smart Thermostat" and it seems to work pretty good.

The only problem I might have is that the cabin loses power quite frequently.

The neighbors claim they "never lose power", but I dunno about that claim. I frequently have to reset the stove and microwave clocks when I get there, so something is "glitching out"

Since I already own the 'hot spot', it won't be much of a gamble to order a T'stat and give it a whirl.

I just wanted to see if anyone had any "great ideas" that I was overlooking.

 

[Motion]

Maybe just shut off the water and drain the pipes when you leave. At a minimum, shut the water off any time you leave winter or summer. Water bugs with a failsafe shut off valve can help save on your insurance.

 

[mikester]

Make sure you get a thermostat that doesn't REQUIRE an internet connection to work.

Recently our starlink internet went down and I couldn't watch ANY recordings or live OTA TV on my PVR because the $R%%Y& app requires an internet connection to allow me to watch my local recordings. WTF

IOT and always connected sucks

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Maybe just shut off the water and drain the pipes when you leave. At a minimum, shut the water off any time you leave winter or summer. Water bugs with a failsafe shut off valve can help save on your insurance.

Draining the pipes is probably not going to happen, but we do currently shut the breaker off for the well pump when we leave.

Make sure you get a thermostat that doesn't REQUIRE an internet connection to work.

Recently our starlink internet went down and I couldn't watch ANY recordings or live OTA TV on my PVR because the $R%%Y& app requires an internet connection to allow me to watch my local recordings. WTF

IOT and always connected sucks

The one I have at home does not "require" an internet connection to work the furnace and air. The Wi-fi is more of a convenience thing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NB1OB0I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1




I suppose the only real "thing" I have reservations about is when the power goes out and then comes back on, will my "hotspot" auto-magically link back up with the thermostat?

As I type this, I am thinking that it will be easy/cheap to test.

Just hook everything up and throw the Main breaker to simulate a power outage and then turn it back on and see what happens.

The only thing I am 'risking' is a 30 dollar Wi-Fi card at that point, cause the T'stat is returnable for 30 days and I already own the "hot spot" base.

 

[kcnsouthva]

just an idea from Amazon:

 

[D2Cat]

just an idea from Amazon:


View attachment 145742

I use those to power the light (heat) in my well house. Works excellent for that purpose.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

Draining the pipes is probably not going to happen, but we do currently shut the breaker off for the well pump when we leave.






The one I have at home does not "require" an internet connection to work the furnace and air. The Wi-fi is more of a convenience thing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NB1OB0I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1




I suppose the only real "thing" I have reservations about is when the power goes out and then comes back on, will my "hotspot" auto-magically link back up with the thermostat?

As I type this, I am thinking that it will be easy/cheap to test.

Just hook everything up and throw the Main breaker to simulate a power outage and then turn it back on and see what happens.

The only thing I am 'risking' is a 30 dollar Wi-Fi card at that point, cause the T'stat is returnable for 30 days and I already own the "hot spot" base.

I have an ecobee controlling my 2-stage heat pump with auxiliary gas heat. The only function that requires internet service is that it uses Apple Weather (I think) to get outside temperature for switching to aux heat. If that isn't available, it should switch to aux heat if the inside temperature drops a few degrees (programmable) below the setpoint.

I've had the ecobee a couple of years and it's given no problem. It has reconnected with my wifi at least a couple of times after brief power outages. Since you're familiar with the Emerson, I'd stick with it.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Put a UPS on the hot spot, it will keep running a hot spot for quite a long time without power, and you get the added benefit that it buffers all incoming power.

 

[Dustball]

I suppose the only real "thing" I have reservations about is when the power goes out and then comes back on, will my "hotspot" auto-magically link back up with the thermostat?

As I type this, I am thinking that it will be easy/cheap to test.

Just hook everything up and throw the Main breaker to simulate a power outage and then turn it back on and see what happens.

The only thing I am 'risking' is a 30 dollar Wi-Fi card at that point, cause the T'stat is returnable for 30 days and I already own the "hot spot" base.

You could test this using your existing home thermostat and the hot spot function on your cell phone. Enable your phone's hot spot, connect the t-stat to the phone, and perform your testing from there.

One thing you'll need to watch for is that there may be an inactivity period where the hot spot will turn off after a period of inactivity. You may be be able to turn off the timeout in your phone's settings for the purpose of testing extended an power off period.

Edit- I actually have two of the cheaper Sensi t-stats for my house and garage and I don't recall any issues with them reconnecting to my WiFi network after power outages. I'm in field service and travel a lot so it's nice being able to monitor my house temp when I'm away in the winter. I also have a Govee WiFi temperature sensor that I also use for temperature monitoring and it's set up to send me a phone alert if the house temp is below a certain temperature. It's helped me once already when the flame sensor failed while I was away. I was able to notify a family member to head over to my house and get the furnace going again before the house interior reached freezing.

 

[Russell King]

We have a similar situation where we use a cell phone (finally got rid of the land line) as the hotspot for internet access. We have the American Standard 1050 thermostat that conneats to the phone. The phone battery lasts for quite some time as the battery backup.

You can see the outside temperature and the inside temperature on your smartphone app.

I have no battery backup on the thermostat so you get no information if the power is down I lose all information feed.

Before we had that going the best thing that changed was the power company put in an updated meter that sends a signal back to the power company if there is not power at the meter. The power company will come fix it when they get the signal instead of when I find out about it days later. So we do occasionally see that the power was off (flashing clock on microwave) but don’t have spoiled food in the freezer.

 

[jimh406]

The power might be off just momentary when they do switchovers. You can add small ups for each or one if they are close enough.