Whoa. That is hardcore. I was considering getting a few of these, but this looks bad.
Has anyone else used these for at least 6 months? How are your batteries??
Have 10 of them since March. I just replaced my hub last week and as I rejoined the vents to the new hub I also replaced the batteries in some that were at 50%. I still have 3 that are at 75%. I am also using Keenect, so the vents do get opened/closed on daily basisâŠ
I have trouble with a few of the vents reading the wrong temp with the Smartthings hub.
I have a vent that reads 57F or close to that all the time. The event isnât even on as the damper back at the air handler is off.
I have 5 of these Vents. Iâve had them for at least 6 months. They work great. But after reading this I went around and checked all the battery compartments. So far so good.
Hi, I have 16 of them working constantly for more than a year and no battery issues so far.
Regards
@zosobao, I tried to combat a temp difference of almost 6 degrees from my main floor living room to my daughters bedroom.
My issue still exists, which is very odd. Ive replaced every vent but 6 (kitchen, laundry room, bathrooms and MBR closet) in my house with these and my daughters room was still much warmer than any other room upstairs. Tried multiple configurations with similar results.
Keen vents installed as follows:
(Main)
Formal dining: Keen
Formal living: Keen
Living room: 3 Keen
Powder room: dumb
Kitchen: 2 Dumb
Laundry room: dumb
(2nd fl)
Girls room: Keen
Office: Keen
bathroom: dumb
Family room: 2 Keen
Sons room: Keen
MBR: 3 Keen
M bath: dumb
M closet: dumb
First was closing every vent downstairs. Since the HVAC is in the basement, the first floor would always be cooler than upstairs, where all my bedrooms are with a 3rd living room/family room.âNo noticeable change.
Next was (in addition to my first attempt) to close the master bedrooms 3 vents to ~25% open, set the upstairs family room vents to ~50% open, sons room to ~60% open, Office to ~40% open, and my daughters room to full open.âNo noticeable change
Third, I installed a ceiling fan in the family room and daughters room, and slightly adjusted the % open on every vent upstairs.âNoticeable change but still too warm.
Finally (too late as the cooler weather has settled into my area), I added UV tint to the windows in their room and blackout blinds.
All in all, I have 13 Keen vents ($$$$) and their bridge, 2 new ceiling fans, and window tint invested in my issue and the change isnt near what Id expect for the money invested.
My house is average sized at 2900sq ft +1700 unfinished basement, and has a rather large HVAC system (not dual zoned).
So yeahâŠcost effective.
Did you make sure all your dampers are fully open? Especially those controlling the seco d floor airflow?
Yes. Initially I went to the basement to close the dampers to my MBR, because for whatever reason thats the coldest room upstairs (and its above the garage). To my surprise, they (the dampers) dont work or are fake damper handles that do nothing. I closed it and the airflow didnt change in the MBR. Checked the other dampers to at least ensure theyre all facing the same direction and airflow is consistent in all the rooms.
The air thats coming out of them register the same across the house using a temp gun.
Ive used the temp gun on the walls, around the windows, and in the corners of the ceiling to see if there are hot spots. There are very small hot spots above the windows.
There are air returns in almost every room of the house if that matters.
Ive tried to close the dampers and nothing changes, leading me to believe the handles are just for show.
My next step will be to install a powered eve vent to see if that helps. Then a duct fan if needed.
Its really frustrating and this project of mine has plummeted my WAF towards anything SH related.
Hello everyone, what is the latest/best device handler for the vents? the published one? Is there a custom one??
Hi,
You will find the 2 best DTHs here in the 1st post. They will not drain your battery life as much as they do a poll every 5 minutes (instead of every minute).
Regards.
I was always under the impression that closing vents in your HVAC system is bad bad bad. Creates unnecessary pressure the system is not designed up work with. Causes overworking and shortened lifespan of the system.
Anytime you block off supply register openings, system static pressure goes up. Depending on of how much airflow is blocked off, the static pressure increase could be substantial.
If Keen has figured out something that circumvents this, please tell me because I do love the idea of being able to zone off parts of the house during certain types of climate.
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Regards.
OK I realized I have been using one of those (v1.01) but I like the looks of the other one. Is there one that shows the temperature on the button while on the list screen?
Thanks
Hi, No, none of the DTHs display the temperature in the list.
It is very easy for you to change any DTH to make it display anything in the list, simply replace the item displayed. Be aware that the temperature is the cold airâs blowing from the AC, not the room temperature.
As for best, you need to define what best means. I cannot help but notice that a paid DTH author is providing misleading information by uniliaterally declaring his DTH as being the best. I am using the stock DTH and about three months in I have about 90% battery left. Is it the best? I donât know, but itâs good enough for me. And free. I mean, for crying out loud, it allows me to turn on/off, adjust the level, see the blown air temperature and battery level. Whatâs missing? Maybe air pressure? But how many actually understand what that number means and the normal range?
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@ady624, you should READ first before posting false information. I never said that itâs not possible, but the current DTHs (out of the box) donât provide what he wants.
AND, no Keen Home DTHs require payment.
So, You ARE clearly mistakenâŠ
Before you become your usual acidic temperament, perhaps it would be wise to:
-
read my post again. I did not say you said itâs not doable. I said that @jefo13 can easily modify ANY DTH to make it display what he wants. Jump the gun much these days?
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I apologize if your DTH is not a paid one, your code usually is - and it leads to asking the user to pay for your app to unleash the âfull functionalityâ, since they spent so much money on the thermostat, whatâs some $20 more to it. Tell me you donât say that
Besides that, I did NOT say that this DTH is paid, I said a âpaid DTH authorâ - that is an author that makes paid DTHs. Do you not do that?
My point is, you CANNOT in all honesty tell someone your own code is the best. You CAN give your opinion on otherâs code, but I find it immoral to tell someone your code is best and leave it at that, as you are clearly highly subjective on the matter. Instead of manipulating people, try and give them the facts and let them choose. And to fend myself, I am not saying your DTH is not the best, it may be, I donât know. All I am debating is you claiming your DTH is the best. Thatâs WRONG.
Thank you
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