Does anyone use the wifi controllers on their mini splits?
Hi all,
I am a bit of a gadget geek (in addition to starting to become an energy nerd). I like dabbling in technology and home automation.
At our old house, I had a nest thermostat controlling a typical 2-stage furnace and a/c unit. I really enjoyed the nest functionality… setting up schedules, tracking usage, turning things off/on while on the road. Also, we lived in an inefficient house, and paid a lot for heating and cooling, so I was always looking for ways to raise/lower temperatures when we were out or sleeping, or any other ways to adjust the usage.
Are are picking out the mini splits and accessories for our new house, and I see that there is similar functionality on some of the mini splits. The question I have is whether it would get any use? Yes, it would be nice to track historical usage, and turn the system on if I have been on vacation. However, it is my understanding the mini splits are best to “set and forget”, and that in a really insulated home, setting back the temperature at night or while you are away for short periods is actually inefficient. If that’s the case, I wonder if I really would use such a device.
Any thoughts?
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Replies
Clay,
The wifi controllers and equipment cost between $600-800 to buy and install. Not sure if that was a deterrent, but it was for me.
Clay, they are designed to pretty much set and forget. If you want to get your nerd on, the cash may be better allocated for a home energy monitor so you can see how much energy your mini-split is using. PowerWise seems to be a pretty robust product and is the only one listed on the PHIUS website under monitoring tools. There were a couple of similar products at NESEA that you could probably find by checking their website. I like having Nest products in my current house, but I am looking forward to building a house that does not need Nest.
Yikes. $600-800? I thought the nest was expensive.
Thanks for the replies, and recommendation for a home energy monitor.
Clay,
PowerWise is a product I'm considering too, it requires a bi-annual license agreement at just a bit over $300 (2015 quote). I was quoted (2015) $2,700 for the PowerWise SiteSage system and a bunch of monitors for RH, Temp, CO, CO2, and VOC's, and a water flowmeter . Maybe you don't need all that, but being in a new home soon I hope to measure VOC's and such. I also want to control my ventilation based on CO2.
I think the cheapest controller option by Mitsubishi was about $200-300 dollars.
Good Luck!
We have the MHK1 for our Mitsubishi mini split with the wireless control kit, $380 installed. Basic on/off and temperature controls are available via phone app or online. I've tried it to make sure it works, but we never use it.
Thanks Brian....maybe my installer was talking about a kit that would wire a couple mini-splits????