# question for weekend lakehouse owners



## fishin_envy (Aug 13, 2010)

I know it's not really a fishing question, but anyone ever use a wifi thermostat to turn their ac on at the lake house before going up for the weekend?


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## Tahoe06 (Feb 29, 2016)

I have been looking into the same thing Fishin_envy. The previous owners of our house had one installed when we viewed the house, unfortunately they took it with them and installed a regular digital thermostat. Seems like a good idea to log in and have the house start cooling down on the ride up instead of arriving to a hot house and waiting for it to cool down.


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## Flat's Hunter (Oct 18, 2007)

I have had one on a house and a bay house. Works great. Especially in the summer. Sometimes it can take a while to get the house cool in the summer. And if your wife gets hot at night you don't even have to get up. Just open the app and turn it down. 

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## Sgrem (Oct 5, 2005)

Careful of the nest style learning thermostats. Lock out the learning on a weekend place and control manual only. The learning goes by activity and many times by motion. If you are rarely there then that is what it learns and it will turn itself off in the middle of the night or middle of the day when you go to lunch.


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## housewolf (Nov 24, 2014)

I understand a negative response is probably not what your looking for but... no.

I turn the A/C on when I get there, it usually isn't _that_ hot. It's almost always early morning or late afternoon when I arrive. Then I get the boat ready to float, fix tackle, do yard work, fire up the grill, etc... Besides, the Internet doesn't get there until I do.


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## Ducktracker (Aug 1, 2011)

Well we don't have a house but we do have a RV at the lake year round. My boy and his wife live really close to our RV. I just ask him to go turn it on. Great ideal if he wasn't close by.


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## lx22f/c (Jun 19, 2009)

I just use a programmable one. I have it set to come on friday morning at 7 and cool down to 72 so when we get there it's nice and cool. We used to just turn it on then go do our grocery shopping but in the heat of summer it never cools down till well after midnight. If you have dependable wifi i say go for it. 


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## fishin_envy (Aug 13, 2010)

house wolf said:


> I understand a negative response is probably not what your looking for but... no.
> 
> I turn the A/C on when I get there, it usually isn't _that_ hot. It's almost always early morning or late afternoon when I arrive. Then I get the boat ready to float, fix tackle, do yard work, fire up the grill, etc... Besides, the Internet doesn't get there until I do.


Actually, I welcome all input. The lack of internet also may pose a problem for some. Thanks for the comments.


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## fishin_envy (Aug 13, 2010)

lx22f/c said:


> I just use a programmable one. I have it set to come on friday morning at 7 and cool down to 72 so when we get there it's nice and cool. We used to just turn it on then go do our grocery shopping but in the heat of summer it never cools down till well after midnight. If you have dependable wifi i say go for it.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Sounds like a great excuse to go EVERY weekend. "But honey, if I don't go , we are wasting electricity."

I have heard about how long it takes to cool down and the 1st night is a bit warm.

Thanks for the input.


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## markbrumbaugh (Jul 13, 2010)

Leave it set on 85. Turn down when you arrive. No mold, muss or fuss.


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## McSpoon (May 18, 2016)

i have heard good and bad from friends and family, I always just turn it on when I get there, gives me a chance to hear it run after being off a while, but it doesn't take long to cool the house down either. I have friends with central air and they installed a window unit as well just to help cool it off faster when The house is really hot.


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## Little Mac (Apr 29, 2015)

I just leave my thermostat on 78 & turn it down when I get there which is usually about 1:30 am doesn't take very long to cool down. Bluetooth thermostat would be nice but no internet or TV @ lake house. I go to relax & fish.


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## fishin_envy (Aug 13, 2010)

Thanks for the replies. I have a bro-in-law that has a place out in the sticks that asked me about something like this and what he could do. I thought that 2coolers would be the perfect group to poll to see how they do it at their places that they go to often in the heat of summer.
He has two obstacles. 1) Currently no internet. 2)Irregular schedule to when he goes. I tried to tell him to suck it up, or leave it running, but his wife doesn't like either idea. Wife with sweat dripping off of her makes BIL not enjoy his 1st day/night there.


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## Kickapoo Duke (May 15, 2010)

Sounds like a business opportunity; for a small fee I could run around the lake area and turn people's thermostats down on Friday mornings!!!!


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## Dirt Daddy (Sep 11, 2004)

I leave my units on 78 keeps the house dehumidified and fresh.


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## Ducktracker (Aug 1, 2011)

Duke has a great ideal lol.


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## GT11 (Jan 1, 2013)

I have a programmable unit but leave it on 78 when I am not there. I use to turn it off completely but the wide temperature changes aren't good for the house (have you ever seen peanut butter separate when it keeps hitting 90 degrees?). Once we arrive, it doesn't take long for the house to cool down.

I do have an internet controller for my garage door. I can check to see if the door is closed and if someone needs something while I am away, I can let them in.


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## texwake (Aug 17, 2010)

Greatest thing ever. However you got to be sure you have a common "C" wire before you go and buy a wifi thermostat. Older A/C systems do not have them and the wifi thermostats need them to operate. There are other options to go with if you do not have that wire but they are more expensive. 
As others said, dont get a nest for a weekend place there is no point in them your going to turn it off anyways when your not there. Go with the cheaper Honeywell (ie) basic wifi thermostat.


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## housewolf (Nov 24, 2014)

GT11 said:


> I use to turn it off completely but the wide temperature changes aren't good for the house (have you ever seen peanut butter separate when it keeps hitting 90 degrees?). Once we arrive, it doesn't take long for the house to cool down.


I probably should have mentioned in my earlier post; we don't turn ours _off_. ~85* in summer & ~55* in the winter.


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## keestan31 (May 15, 2012)

We leaves ours on 80 then turn it on when we get there. It doesn't take too long to cool off. We usually always have a lot to do when we get there and it is cool by the time we finally sit down for dinner.


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## fishin_envy (Aug 13, 2010)

Eureka, I think I have come up with a solution to fix him up. It allows him to control his central air/heat by sending text messages. Does not require internet service, just cell signal, some hardware and something like $4 per month prepaid texting plan. Thanks again for the input.


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## texastkikker (Dec 24, 2008)

We don't have them at our lake house. I do on my permanent house and they are nice. actually turned the air down last night while sitting on the couch......I guess I'm lazy.. we just leave the lake at 78 and its not too bad. as other have said usually there's a bunch of stuff do to when we get there.


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## fishin_envy (Aug 13, 2010)

texastkikker said:


> We don't have them at our lake house. I do on my permanent house and they are nice. actually turned the air down last night while sitting on the couch......I guess I'm lazy.. we just leave the lake at 78 and its not too bad. as other have said usually there's a bunch of stuff do to when we get there.


If you have one at home, why wouldn't you put one at the lake house?


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