Change Polling Frequency on Thermostat to Increase Battery Life?

I’m using the CT100 Thermostat and I’ve installed the “Better Thermostat” SmartDevice I found here: Better (different) Thermostat Device

I do not have a C wire and I’m running off batteries only. The device controls the only heating system I have in the house, which is a gas fireplace/furnace running off a millivolt system. The house in an area of freezing temperatures in the winter. As such, dead batteries could equal frozen pipes. This is for a second home that we are not always at. I love that the Better Thermostat checks battery status, but I’m wondering if I can do more. @minollo reported poor battery life (1.5 months) for his CT100 without the C wire.

Looking at the activity log, it appears the thermostat polls every 15 or so minutes to report the temperature. Is it possible to change the frequency to say once per hour (or even longer)? Would doing so conserve battery?

1 — I wouldn’t trust a ‘chipped’ product to protect your house. You might want to install a mechanical thermostat as a backup in the utility room set to an emergency temp of 43ish.

2 — are you using rechargeable batteries? If so, they’ll generally never last more than a month or two. Try using lithium batteries. Look into which ones have the most mah.