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That $400 'smart' thermostat that just made my house colder
I bought this fancy Nest thermostat for $250 last winter thinking it would save me money automatically. It kept cranking the heat down when I wasn't home but didn't account for my old drafty windows in the living room. My gas bill actually went up $60 the first month because it was fighting to reheat the place every evening. Has anyone else had a smart home gadget totally backfire on them instead of helping?
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henrycooper7d agoTop Commenter
Yeah the smart thermostat thing is kind of a scam for older houses honestly. My buddy put one in his 1920s place and same thing happened, the furnace ran way more trying to catch up. I just use a basic programmable one now and set it manually. Way less headaches.
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Oh man, I actually read something about this last month. There was this energy auditor guy who said smart thermostats work best when your home has consistent insulation and air sealing, otherwise it's like trying to cool a house with the windows open. He explained that older homes lose heat so fast that the temperature swings make the system work twice as hard to catch up. That's probably why your bill went up, it was running full blast to overcome all that heat loss every evening.
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butler.finley7d ago
Read an article saying they're designed for newer, tighter homes not old drafty ones.
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