WIFI Thermostats Posts

Very recently, we made a post highlighting the best smart thermostats on the market today. We made it clear that smart thermostats offer huge convenience, and they can help users save money on energy bills. But just how much can a household save by using a smart thermostat? Let's find out.

The idea behind a smart thermostat is that it will allow a home's HVAC system to run only when it is needed. The HVAC system is typically the largest contributor to one's energy bill. With a traditional analogue thermostat, a user has to choose between running the HVAC system all the time (expensive) or coming home to house where the HVAC system hasn't been running all day (uncomfortable). This can be somewhat mitigated using a standard programmable thermostat set on pre-determined schedule. However, a user will still be unable to adjust their HVAC system while they are away.

A smart thermostat offers major convenience, since it allows for the HVAC System to respond automatically with certain events. For example, a smart thermostat can be "taught" to turn off the HVAC system when a user presumedly leaves their house because they set their security system to arm away. That way, the HVAC system turns off at exactly the right moment. If you ever plan on leaving your home at different times of the day, a standard programmable thermostat won't be able to achieve this same level of automatic precision.

But the real money saving ability of a smart thermostat comes from the ability to control the HVAC system remotely. This is done by accessing an interactive service platform, such as Alarm.com or Total Connect 2.0. When this setup is done using an alarm system, the command will go from the interactive servers servers to the control panel (through WIFI or cellular communication), then to the smart thermostat (usually through WIFI or Z-Wave), and finally to the HVAC system (through a wired connection). Since most interactive services have their own mobile apps, this type of control and access can be achieved from virtually anywhere in the world.

So say you're away from home, and you're running late. Instead of arriving home at your expected time, it will now be several hours or even the next day until you get back. But oh no, your home's heating and cooling system is still running! If you don't shut it off, the energy bills are going to rack up! In this situation, just pull out your smart phone, access your interactive service account, and tell your smart thermostat to shut off the HVAC system. Just like that, you have saved money. And if you want your house to be comfortable when you arrive, access your account a little bit before you come home and activate your thermostat. It's that easy.

So how much can you really save on your energy bills with a smart thermostat? Well it depends. Obviously, the savings will be largest if you had a traditional thermostat that had the HVAC system running 24/7. Once you adjust to a programmable thermostat, assuming you use it as designed, you will save money in energy costs every time you leave the home and have the HVAC system stop running. But if you had an analogue or programmable thermostat that you adjusted meticulously, or if you almost never leave your home and always run your HVAC system, the savings won't be as large.

As for actual numbers, various studies have found that a typical smart thermostat will save users on average about 10% on heating costs and 15% on cooling costs. This translates to a savings of about $130 per year, or slightly more than $10 per month. But keep in mind, these savings will be larger in certain cases. We've heard of many users saving more than $200 per year in energy costs by using a smart thermostat. For these users, a smart thermostat essentially pays for itself in just a year's time.

The best option is to consider your energy-using habits and determine whether or not a smart thermostat is a good investment for your household. Either way, it will certainly be more convenient and offer more features than a traditional thermostat. And if you're wondering which smart thermostat we recommend, we gotta say we're pretty big fans of the new Honeywell T6 Z-Wave Thermostat.

The Honeywell Lyric Thermostat is an excellent smart thermostat that is designed to connect with a user's Total Connect account and their Lyric Controller security system. The device features WIFI connectivity, allowing it to become a fully integrated part of a user's home automation setup. Once the Lyric Thermostat has been installed and programmed, the user can control the device remotely by using the Total Connect mobile app.

Many users appreciate the geofencing capability of the Lyric Thermostat. By setting up geofencing, a user can have their Lyric Thermostat automatically start heating or cooling their home when they enter within a specific range of their residence. By the time they return home, their house will already be set to the perfect temperature so that they are comfortable as soon as they walk through the door.

Not only is this super convenient, the money saving potential is absolutely tremendous, with some users saving hundreds of dollars per month on their electric bills. The Lyric Thermostat can also be set up to function with various smart devices, such as Apple HomeKit, Samsung Smartthings and Amazon Alexa. All of this makes the Lyric Thermostat an excellent addition to any home that uses the Honeywell Lyric Controller.

Before you can enjoy all of the exciting features that the Lyric Thermostat has to offer, the device must be installed and programmed with your Total Connect account. This guide will focus on the removal of your old thermostat and the installation of the the Lyric Round Thermostat.

For more information on integrating your Lyric Thermostat with Total Connect, please consult the Lyric Thermostat enrollment guide. You can also use the Lyric App to help walk you through the installation process. If you do not have the Lyric App, you can download it for free from the App Store or Google Play. You can make a Lyric account to use with your Lyric thermostat. We strongly recommend following the instructions outlined in the app as you complete the installation.

You can install the Lyric Thermostat by completing the following steps:

1. Turn off the heating and cooling system. When installing the Lyric Thermostat, you should start by shutting off the power to the building's heating and cooling system from the circuit breaker. This will help to avoid any electrical issues during the installation process. To confirm that the power for heating and cooling is shut off. Try increasing of decreasing the set temperature by several degrees. If you hear the building's heater or cooler activate, then the power to the system has not been shut off properly. It is also recommended that you feel the area around the building's air vents to make sure that no hot or cool air is coming out.

2. Remove the old thermostat from its backplate and check its wiring. With the heating and cooling system off, you can then begin removing the old thermostat. Most thermostats are attached to a backplate that is mounted to the wall. Some thermostats will be able to be gently unattached from the backplate, while others will require some screws to be removed. Once you have removed the old thermostat from its backplate, you will be able to see the connected wires and determine the type of power supply that is used for the building's heating and cooling system. If you see thick black wires with wire nuts, then the building uses a line voltage system, and the Lyric Thermostat will not be compatible. You should also check the voltage for the old thermostat. If the old thermostat that was used with the building is 110 volts or higher, then again, the Lyric Thermostat will not function with the building's heating and cooling system. These are very important aspects to check, as setting the Lyric Thermostat with an incompatible heating and cooling system could result in serious damage.

3. Note the wiring and detach the wires. Before removing the wires, take a note of the wiring coloring and what terminals they are connected to. Many users find that it is helpful to take a picture of the wires so that they can reference them later. It is also recommended that you label the wires in some way so that you can differentiate them when you go to connect them to the Lyric Thermostat. This is especially true if the wires are of the same color and no labels were previously applied. The Lyric App will also allow you to note the colors of the wires and their corresponding connections so that the app will outline the proper connections when you go to wire the Lyric Thermostat in a later step. After you have finished examining the wiring setup, you can then remove the wires from the thermostat one at a time. Make sure that the wires do not fall into the wall, as you will need them for installing the Lyric Thermostat. Wrapping the wires around a pen or a pencil can prevent this from happening. Finally, you can unscrew and remove the old mounting plate from the wall.

4. Mount the backplate to the wall. At this point, you will begin installing the Lyric Round Thermostat. Start by snapping the backplate onto the wall cover of the Lyric Thermostat. The wall cover is optional, but it can be useful for covering any marks or blemishes that are on the wall. Next, run the wires through the backplate of the Lyric Thermostat. We recommend twisting the wires together so that they can all be easily passed through the backplate at the same time. You can then screw the backplate onto the wall using the included screws that came with the Lyric Thermostat. You will want to make sure that the backplate is nice and level with the wall when doing this. The backplate comes with a built-in level for the installer's convenience. The screws that come with the Lyric Thermostat are self-anchoring, and they can often be installed in the location of the screws for the previous thermostat. If you do need to drill new holes, the drill bit size is 7/32".

5. Connect the wires to the Lyric Thermostat. You will now be able to connect the wires to the Lyric Thermostat backplate. The wires can be connected to the corresponding terminals based on the setup for the previous thermostat. When wiring the Lyric Thermostat, consult the notes or the picture that you took of the previous wiring setup. You can attach a wire by firmly pushing it into the appropriate terminal. If you accidentally misplace a wire and need to move it to a different terminal, you can use a ballpoint pen to press down on the tab for that terminal and then pull the wire out of place. Once all of the wires have been connected, make sure that they are snug and secure by gently tugging on the wires and ensuring that they remain in place. If you are using the Lyric App to assist you with the installation, it will display the connections that you need to make. Please note that the Lyric Thermostat is a 24 volt thermostat that uses power from the heating and cooling system to stay activated. This means that no common "C" wire will need to be connected to the Lyric Thermostat.

6. Activate the Lyric Thermostat. After completing the wiring process, you can then snap the Lyric Thermostat onto its backplate. A gentle press is all that is required to click the device into place. Next, go to the circuit breaker and restore power to the building's heating and cooling system. If the Lyric Thermostat was wired correctly, the device will automatically power up, and you will be prompted to connect the device a WIFI network. This process is outlined in the Lyric Thermostat enrollment guide.

One of the most common questions asked by our customers is: Can I use my Honeywell WIFI thermostat with Total Connect? For years, this question required a complicated response that ultimately resulted in the answer, "No, they do not work with Total Connect 2.0." Well, Honeywell has responded to this customer feedback by integrating WIFI thermostat control with Total Connect 2.0! Before getting into the nitty, gritty details of how this integration works, let's take a step back and review the Total Connect Comfort and Total Connect 2.0 apps. For obvious reasons, these two apps are commonly confused with one another.

Total Connect Comfort is a free app which allows users to control and view status of their HVAC system. This app requires a compatible Honeywell thermostat that communicates using WIFI or Honeywell's RedLink technology. The WIFI thermostats simply to connect to the wireless internet in your home or business and connect to the TC Comfort app. RedLink is a proprietary technology that allows HVAC components to speak to each other wirelessly. Air handlers can wirelessly control boiler and condensing units without any wiring! RedLink thermostats require a RedLink Internet Gateway (RIG). Instead of communicating directly to the WIFI router, the thermostat wirelessly pairs to the RIG. After the RIG is connected to your router with an ethernet patch cable the RedLink thermostat will also be available for interactive control via TC Comfort.

Total Connect 2.0 is technically a free app in the app store but it requires a paid subscription with a Honeywell AlarmNet dealer. This app is designed to control and trigger customizable text and email alerts with a compatible Honeywell security system. The Honeywell system will need a compatible AlarmNet internet and/or cellular communicator in order to work with TC 2.0. This app also supports remote automation control in the form of Z-Wave technology. Essentially, a customer will add a compatible Z-Wave controller to their Honeywell alarm panel and be able to control and configure alerts for Z-Wave lights, locks, thermostats, etc.

Up until late April 2016, the only way to control a thermostat through TC 2.0 was to purchase and install a compatible Z-Wave thermostat. The issue here was that some TC 2.0 customers already had TC Comfort and wanted to keep their thermostats. Other customers required HVAC technologies such as "Dual Fuel" or remote thermistors and humidistats that cannot be found in Z-Wave thermostats. Unfortunately, the Z-Wave thermostat landscape is not very diverse and the technology built into these devices are not very advanced. Also, depending on your alarm system Z-Wave controllers can be expensive. Anyways, the WIFI and RedLink tstats offer a much wider range of features. For all these reasons we are extremely excited that TC 2.0 now supports TC Comfort (TCC) thermostats!

Currently this can only be accomplished through the iOS app on your mobile apple device (i.e. iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) running iOS 7.0 or higher. The last app update on April 27, 2016 (Version 3.10.5) added the ability to add TCC thermostats through the automation section on the app. Keep in mind that you will need to be enrolled in Total Connect 2.0 service and have "remote automation" services enabled. Some dealers may charge extra for this service but it will give you the ability to integrate Z-Wave devices and just recently the TCC thermostats and August locks.

Assuming you have already setup remote automation services with your alarm company now you can integrate your TCC devices with TC 2.0. After you click into the "Automation" tab on the app, press the icon on the top right (3 horizontal bars). Then press "Add/Remove TCC Thermostat." Now you can enter your login credentials (email and password) for your TCC app. After you login, you should be able to control TCC thermostat from the TC 2.0 app. This is a brand new integration so the details around setting up scenes, rules and scheduling are still being fleshed out. The good news is that Honeywell acted on customer feedback and now you can control even more devices in your home right from TC 2.0!

Total Connect 2.0 can be offered standalone for self monitoring customers or bundled together with central station monitoring for those interested in getting phone calls and dispatching the local authorities when needed.

**Please Note**

Your Honeywell VISTA system must have a Z-Wave module installed for you to use Total Connect 2.0 Automation features. On an all-in-one LYNX Touch or Lyric wireless system, TC2 automation can be added to any TC2 account. However, if you have a traditional VISTA security system, you will need to have a Tuxedo Touch WIFI touchscreen keypad or VAM module connected to your system to take advantage of the TC2 automation features. The Tuxedo and VAM are physical Z-Wave controllers for upgrading VISTA systems to home automation features. Even if the TC2 automation you are doing doesn't require a local z-wave controller (like integrating in the Honeywell WIFI Total Connect Comfort or Redlink Thermostats or integrating in WIFI August locks for instance), the automation TC2 feature can't be enabled without a Tux or VAM MAC/CRC combination being added to the TC2 account. While these cloud based TC2 integrations are a nice way to integrate various home automation into on application, you don't need to upgrade your VISTA panel with a Tux or WIFI if you don't plan to ever do any physical Z-Wave devices as you can always continue to control your TCC/Redlink thermostats and August locks through the existing separate apps that are offered for those devices now.

Honeywell's Lyric thermostat is one of the real gems of their smart thermostat collection. While released about a year ago as a precursor to the coming Lyric security system, the familiar circular design is evocative of Google's Nest thermostat which has been out for some time now and changed the way that we think of smart thermostats. For about a century, Honeywell has been the leader in thermostat technology, and has decided to take that experience into the proverbial boxing ring where they will be taking on Nest.

Introducing features like like Geofencing make the Lyric smart thermostat a cut above the rest, as it allows users to get the most out of their technology by leveraging the now-ubiquitous smart phone. While traditional smart thermostats often "learn" the habits of their users, Honeywell has taken it to a degree of simplicity that makes the Lyric a much more practical device.

It's integration with HomeKit will make the thermostat even more powerful. According to NextWeb, HomeKit compatibility will allow users to "set scenes designed to automate functions," as well as integrate with other HomeKit compatible devices. Simply, as HomeKit becomes better used, Lyric's 2nd generation thermostat becomes a more powerful and interesting thermostat. Honeywell has indicated to us at Alarm Grid, that the Lyric will be made compatible with Total Connect as well, which will mean, very soon that the security system will have a much more powerful WIFI integration with the most advanced thermostat that Honeywell has ever released.

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