There’s a ton of hype around Nest and Ecobee, and I’ve been tempted to get an Ecobee but it’s just so expensive. I tried getting in on the Honeywell Wifi thermostat deal at Target but couldn’t find any, unfortunately. Since then, I’ve been trying to find something for under $100 at least. Maybe closer to $50. Seems like the PEQ thermostat, after reading around on here, would be a good option. I’m in a smallish condo so I don’t need anything super fancy with multiple zones, etc. Just have a simple/straightforward central AC/fan and furnace system setup and even then, the airflow isn’t great in all parts of the place (thanks to crowded ductwork, according to the AC tech who came out to inspect things half a year ago). That said, I’d like to have the ability to control temps remotely from the phone as well as perhaps setup some automation to turn on the heat or AC based on different things (e.g. if I’m home vs out, as well as even based on current outside temps, etc).
Can this all be accomplished with the PEQ thermostat?
No, don’t pick up the PEQ thermostat. It’s a Centralite Pearl thermostat which is not officially supported. Fidure is a good alternative at a similar price point.
When I was looking a while ago, I needed support for 2-stage heat/cool. The Fidure couldn’t do that, so I went with the Centralite. The default DTH wasn’t so great so I tweaked it, and it’s been working fine for like a year.
I added another zone and thought a fancier thermostat would be nice so I got the Zen for the other zone. The Zen DTH kinda sucks too, but in a different way. The logic for adjusting the setpoint is flawed and it’s frustrating to adjust remotely.
I’ve got to say, I’ve got a bunch of Centralite stuff and it’s generally no frills but works great.
Yea, I was reading about how a number of people here picked up the PEQ thermostats and generally had good experiences with them. Since they are not officially supported, I’m assuming people were just adding in the device handlers/smartapps via Github?
Thanks. Interesting concept - never heard about it till now. Just signed up so we’ll see. Basically, all the thermostats that SCE offers rebates for are not present on the Ohmconnect store and vice-versa. Probably to prevent double-dipping haha.
I’ve been using two PEQ thermostats for more than a year now, and they seem to be generally working ok after I wrote a smart app to keep them on temperature. They were on special at Bets Buy and did everything I needed. I use a standard device type from ST.
I can set temp remotely with the ST app and use routines to set the day / night / away temperature automatically when the house changes modes. I had one issue with the device, and that is that it sometimes seemingly randomly changed setpoints back to daytime, when at night. I tried working with ST support for a while but could never get it sorted. Since that is a big deal (results in poor sleep for us if it’s too hot), I eventually wrote a “Thermostat Nanny” app that will keep an eye on the set points and not allow them to rise above a configurable value during the night mode. Since that we have not had any issues with the thermostats.
If i buy the ecobee off ohmconnect with the promo, would i likely qualify for the electric/gas company rebates too? Sce is saying that ecobee will soon be added to the list of eligible brands qualifying for their credits/rebates ($125 worth). This seems like a crazy deal if the thermostat could be had for $119 after that $150 promo thru ohmconnect. Is there a catch or something with ohmconnect?
tgauchat
(ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)
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“likely” = no.
“possibly” = yes.
When you sign up for Ohmconnect at some point you have to provide your utility account numbers (SCE…?). Ohm coordinates with the utility co to reduce power usage. So, they may record the discounted Ecobee against your account and make you ineligible for a second rebate. But who knows, you might get lucky.
But I think you get a $20 bonus from Ohmconnect just for signing up, so you’re already saving $150 + $20.
So I reached out to the vendor running the rebate program in conjunction with my local electric/gas company and asked, if I purchased the thermostat through Ohmconnect w/ any discounts, would I still be eligible for the discounts offered by the local electric/gas company - they answered back and said YES! Discounts are pretty much available upon enrolling the device regardless of where it was purchased. So it seems like I might be eligible for all discounts. I’ll have to keep reading up on it. Still waiting for the Ohmconnect promo to come through.
I’m asking if the Ohmconnect and thermostat enrollment program through my utility company would conflict with one another in the bigger picture though. Perhaps they won’t allow this, resulting in the invalidation of one of the rebates.
EDIT: after further back and forth, it looks like they in fact will allow enrollment in only one program (at a time at least). At this rate, I’m not sure if Ohmconnect would be better (for savings) or if their program would be better… the rebate program offered between my electric & gas company could total up to $185 back in rebates, which is slightly better IMHO. What I may do is get the Ecobee via Amazon through the current Echo Dot 2nd gen promo going on.
