Stop those damn telemarketers...

Hey Everyone! You might want to read this:

This fall is the 5 year anniversary of Canada's "Do not call" list going live.

What most people don't know is that you have to re-register your number every 5 years - or you get removed from this list!

Check your registration status here:
https://www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/verins-chkreg-eng

Takes not 2 minutes to renew, and can save you some annoying telemarketing calls.

You can also rat out people who call you at the same site. Menu bar on the left!

For U.S. Readers, You also have a Do Not Call list as well, Located here:
https://www.donotcall.gov/

There's a special place in hell for companies that telemarket aggressively and irresponsibly. Putting yourself on the do not call list allows you to register complaints when you do get called, and the government can (and has) sued corporations that break the rules.

Installing The Nest!

So as a mini Recap of the last few posts:

My thermostat Broke. AC was getting stuck ON, or stuck OFF.
I looked into replacement thermostats, and found one that is super overkill, but nerdy, which I decided I must have.

Since I have an older house (1977) I had to make sure it was compatible with my furnace/AC system. (It is!)

So now, I present to you: NEST.

I went over WHY I wanted the nest in a previous post... But i'll be straight up:

This is 50% toy, 50% energy saving thermostat.

It does, however have the potential to save energy for anyone. Its just a very premium thermostat, that also looks amazing as well, rather than having a white VCR-Like LCD control system in your living room. This is a sleek little black and brushed steel circle that only lights up when you walk directly toward it.

The slick look isn't just in the wall, but also the packaging:

It includes ALL you need to install the nest:

Contents:

• Multi Tip Magnetic screw driver (Really nice! I'm keeping this for computer work!)
• 2 snazzy drywall screws 
• Back Plate
• Wall Plate
• Box Mount
• The Nest Unit itself
• The directions I completely ignored.

I didn't need the box mount, because my wires literally come out of a hole in the wall.

I did use the face-plate, so I could hide the lines caused by years of painting around the Old thermostat. I debated sanding this down (I actually DID sand it down) but realized I was going to need to some putty and a scraper, and then repaint... and then I eralized they had painted over wall paper... *facepalm*

It required a lot of work, and I've never had to do this where it really mattered (I've done it in warehouses, Homeless shelters... but not in a living room that would be under constant scrutiny) so I did touch up the paint a bit and decided to use the face-plate, which was optional. (But if you can avoid using the face-plate, It looks better without it, In my Opinion, as the nest reflects the color of your wall and blends in)

Anywho, to the installation:

Remove your old thermostat base plate, by removing the drywall screws, and loosening the screws that hold the wires down.

Make sure your wires don't fall into your wall, or you're going to have a good long session of curse words as you try and fish them out again. (thankfully I avoided this. You might want to wrap the wires around a pencil to help with this.)

Get the nest's Back-plate, feed the wires through the hole in the middle. 

Screw the back-plate onto the wall loosely.

Rotate the back plate until level (there's a baby bubble level built into the backplate! Cool!)

Tighten screws

Straighten out the ends of the wires. They were probably curved around the screws in your old thermostat.

push the into the properly labeled holes. (G for green, Rh for Red ( h is for hot, as in live power with 24 volts), etc.

The wire has been inserted far enough with the button on the outside depresses itself. (slick!)

When that's all done, tuck the wires into the wall nicely

now, the nest just pushes onto this faceplate!

Tada! Completely installed, with Minimal to no bloodshed!

When it fires up, it goes through a super simple setup, which you control by tapping the screen and rotating the dial. (the dial feels like a really expensive volume dial on a stereo system)

It asks you:

• Age of your house (for Insulation purposes)
• Type of heat/cooling (gas, Oil, Electric, etc)
• Any other Thermostats in the house?
• Wifi network and password
• and then gets you to set the temperature via a little wizard.

Its truly idiot proof!

So, over the next few weeks, it will be memorizing our living habits. When we like it warmer, when we like it cooler, when we leave the house (it has a motion sensor) and various other things.

After a few weeks, I'll post how I find it, and if it was worth it to make the leap to an overly expensive thermostat!

I leave you with the nest installation video:

Furnace wiring - Easier than you think! (Preparing for the "Nest")

Hi all,

In a previous post, I let you know that my Thermostat had died on me - It was getting stuck off, or stuck on... I took a look at my Energy bill... and could see exactly how much it cost me - A/C got stuck on for 3 hours, for a grand total of  3KwH of juice every hour it was stuck on (about 20 cents during non-peak/weekend time)

What I've also realized is that I can control the Furnace/AC by shorting out some connections.

Its all a 24 volt system... which may tingle a little bit if your fingers are wet... but generally one should be afraid of touching exposed wires in a building, let alone doing it with wet fingers. (Darwinism, Preservation instinct, are a few topics that come to mind)  

However, these wires (provided you have a "low voltage" 24volt system) are completely safe to handle.

So Depending on your setup, you'll have anywhere from 2 to 6 or even 8 wires. MOST places with A/C will have 4 or 5 wires. Heat only might just have 2.

Basically, There's a bunch of wires going to your thermostat.
In my case, "There. Are. Four. Wires!"  (we'll see who gets that reference)

I have a fairly standard setup.  (yay! something simple and straight forward for once!)

The Colors:

Red: 24 Volts - basically the power source to switch the other wires "on"

Green: Controls the fan/blower in the furnace - used for both Heat and Cooling!

White: Controls the Heating.

Black: (NORMALLY called the "Common" wire, also normally supplies 24 volts... but because my house is older, I can tell its been taken over to signal the A/C to engage, hense why its hooked into "Y" on my broken thermostat.

Yellow: (if you have it) is dedicated for Cooling. my "yellow" is being run through a repurposed Black "common" wire, which is fairly "common" practice (har har...)

More wires may exist if you have a new house with a fan-dangled high-end modern HVAC system thingofabob. (Like geothermal, Heat Pump, 2 stage, Variable Speed DC Fans, etc.)


Bottom line is, after looking at these wires, I have learned is that there is a 99% chance that the NEST Thermostat will work fine for me.

It is a mini computer, and leaches power from that 24 volt line, so ideally, That black line should have been "common" so it wouldn't weaken the red wires "signal" to the furnace - However the nest has a built in battery to help isolate itself and avoid problems - Here's hoping it works... or I'll be standing in line at the returns at Home depot in a few days!

Another trick looking into all this has taught me is that if you are ever in a bind, and your thermostat breaks down in the middle of winter - Just tie the red and white wires together, and your furnace will turn on. (or use a paperclip to bridge the connectors if you have a removeable faceplate like I do (pictured earlier on)

Because I'm a nerd, I'm actually super excited to get my hands on this Nest.

Next post: Installing the Nest!

I'm impressed!

So, a precursor to this post.  I am a computer nerd. While I did spend summers camping/working outdoors, the majority of my spare time is spent in front of the computer. Some people are flabbergasted by new technology. When I see new technology, I get excited, but I think "About time..." not "wow! its magic!"

So Last fall, I actually planted a few things: Garlic, Some Tulips, and some other random bulbs that were on sale.

This spring, they all grew up into flowers. *shock*

I find this astonishing. What looks like Plant poop, that has been sitting around home depot for god knows how long, is buried into the ground, Frozen for 4 months, and then grows and flowers just weeks after the ground thaws.

Some people think technology is amazing. It is. But so is nature!

Next year I'm going to try and make a "butterfly garden". Megan loves butterflies, so we'll see what sort of cool/beautiful bugs we can attract!

Update:  My Garlic looks like its doing really well (all 3 of them that weren't dug up by the rabbits/squirrels that is)

Some photos from a week or two ago:

Regarding my vegetable garden:

My Radishes are growing, lets hope they don't crack open this time. I've also planted 2 Pumpkin plants, and 3 pea plants to climb the fence - I haven't seen them yet - Not very hopeful, sadly. :-(

However... I'm starting to think it is no fault of my own...
I now know why some of my plants aren't growing.

RABBITS!

they are super cute (and theres more than one) but they're eating my radishes, and pruning some of my flowers!

They aren't very good at being covert...

So for next year, if I want to plant any rabbit food, I'll have to get some wire up around the garden. Pesky wabbits!

Thermostat Broken - watch for Finger

So, after I spent all that time cleaning out my AC unit, we didn't even use it until 3 days ago, When it was 32 Degrees and super humid!

So yesterday, I was watching TV in the basement (where its always cold) and I noticed that the furnace fan had been on for a long time.  I went upstairs - and it was freezing as well.

20 Degrees.

The thermostat was set to 24!

The thermostat shows that the system was off... but clearly the A/C didn't get the memo.
I did the most scientific testing to try to see if I could fix it...
Took a step back... cracked my knuckles... and pointed my finger at the unit with great authority. Like Crocidile dundee staring down a wild beast.

I moved forward, warning it not to test me... and then I tapped the unit with my finger a few times.

With the first tap, I heard an audible "click" and the the fan and A/C turned off promptly.

Success! All-powerful Finger: 1, Thermostat: 0

There is a relay in your thermostat which is basically just like an electronic switch. I'm thinking mine was stuck.

Hoping it was a one-off thing I adjusted the A/C to 23.5 (again, scientific testing) and walked away.

Apparently, The fear my index finger inspired was not long lasting.

Cunning little devil... - It waited until I was asleep to misbehave again.

This morning, it was a nice and balmy 27 degrees in my house. I woke up feeling super gross. Go downstairs - Thermostat shows 27 Degrees, with cooling "ON".

Thermostat: 1, Finger: 1. Tie game!

Again, with great authority I tap the unit with my "omnipotent" finger - "Click!"

A/C is now on. Confidant - I walked away.

Thermostat: 1, Finger: 2!

It was only 23 degrees outside and a nice breeze, so I let the A/C run for a few minutes, turned it off and opened the windows.

Later in the day, its getting hot and humid - I turn on the A/C again.

I TURN ON THE A/C.

... I TRY and turn on the A/C.

This time, I've got it down. I warm up the ol' finger and give it a good tap. Nothing.

Tie Game. 2 all.

...But a punch worked!

I take the lead again! 3-2 Good Guy

However, I can't have the A/C clicking on when I'm out and refrigerating my entire house for a weekend.

Time to look for a replacement, as I believe the internal relay is sticking.

I COULD probably take the thing apart and solder on a new one, but finding the perfect size relay which is soldered on to the main board would be pretty involved. I'd probably have to wait for shipping, and My favorite electronic component supplier (digikey) usually has a minimum order size. (these are all excuses...)

The thermostat I have isn't OLD... it is programmable 7 day, but If I'm going to replace it, I'm probably going to pick something geeky and snazzy, with an added benefit of being "green"

Right now - that's looking like the "Nest" Thermostat. 

I'll cover the Nest in a later post - as I don't have the funds to grab one right now. For the next month or two, We'll basically treat our existing thermostat as an "on/off" switch, as I don't trust it not to refrigerate our house if we go away for a weekend. This would quickly add up.

What I like about the nest is that You it does everything a "normal" programmable thermostat does... but its better at it.

I "must" have it because:

• WAY cooler and a total luxury I don't "need"
• Only about TWICE the price than one I would "need" to buy (these first two were dripping with mixture of both sarcasm/truth)
• Lets me control the house temperature from anywhere in the world
• Allows me to monitor my heat/cooling usage
• Has a motion sensor to detect when you're home/not home
• Understands how LONG it takes your house to heat/cool, also taking into account outside weather.
• Alerts you when you're being "green" and "not green" 
• Fully programmable fan control - My basement is cool all the time. Why not run 10 minutes with just the fan to see if recirculating the air around can cool the house before turning on the A/C?
• The problem with "programmable" thermostats is that Megan works every other week.
• There are none out there that accommodate this, so we find our self constantly "cranking" our A/C or heat. 
• This do-dad knows exactly when we're in or out, 
• We can send it a message with our Android phones to let know when we'll be home, so it can get the house ready for us. 
• It knows Sleeping patterns, Work schedules, when we go away for weekends,
• If only it could turn on the coffee maker. *sigh*

Cost Savings:

Most people find it lowers their heat/cooling bills by about 20%. Since the A/C is about 60 bucks a month in the summer, and the heat is about the same in the winter, I'm thinking it'll pay itself off completely in about 2 years, while keeping us more comfortable. (basement warmer, whole house cooler - Finally!)


Right now Megan and I are in savings mode to save up every penny we can for our wedding in just under 10 months - Normally my policy toward spending money to "save" money means I need a return on my investment before our wedding - This one won't pay itself off that quickly, However it will cover the extra expense of itself over a direct replacement of what we have (100 dollar thermostat) So, next pay day, I'll be picking one of these bad-boys up. With red flag deals, you can get 4% cash back at Home depot, so at least it'll be 10 dollars off. (they don't ever appear to go on sale, after many Google searches)


Research time! I need to find out more about my furnance, and what features/wires/voltage it runs on. More on that in an upcoming post!