Remote Thermostat Control

aeblank · Nov 29, 2016

X10 on the wifi thermostat. I'm familiar with the honeywell, which works fine (no need to pay 4X for the nest, unless you also drink apple koolaid)
If you didn't need to monitor temps, we could come up with other kludges.

There are any number of solutions to get wifi in there, if it doesn't reach already.
If you pretend your shed is a camper, and the house is the campground wifi..........then this works....
Private RV Wi-Fi and Making a Better Park Connection for Under $1 | Outside Our Bubble

Or a pre-made kit......
http://a.co/33wefCk

Or just run a wire. I ran half a dozen to my garage. I even ran one (or two?) to my woodshed "just because".

rekees4300 · Dec 2, 2016

rekees4300 said:
I want to be able to monitor the shed's temperature, and turn the furnace on/off from the house. How can that be accomplished?

rekees4300 said:
Okay thanks, I'll do some experimenting and see what happens.

Settled for "Plan B". After weighing the alternatives, decided to drop the furnace on/off goal and just monitor the temperature. For $20 bucks got an "AcuRite 00611A3 Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer and Humidity Sensor" from Amazon. Mounted the sensor in a shed window which gave it enough range to reach the house. Will turn the furnace on/off by walking out to the shed and moving the thermostat switch with my finger.

Low tech KISS solution but it will work.

dragoneggs · Dec 2, 2016

rekees4300 said:
Settled for "Plan B". After weighing the alternatives, decided to drop the furnace on/off goal and just monitor the temperature. For $20 bucks got an "AcuRite 00611A3 Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer and Humidity Sensor" from Amazon. Mounted the sensor in a shed window which gave it enough range to reach the house. Will turn the furnace on/off by walking out to the shed and moving the thermostat switch with my finger. Low tech KISS solution but it will work.

Dang... you disappointed me.:thumbdown:

I suppose you might put in an auto switch later after kicking yourself each time you make the trek in the cold nasty weather. Actually good for you... but I was hoping to follow suit with an automated system after seeing some ideas bantered here. Way to keep it cheap and dependable though! :thumbsup:

BrokeFarmerJohn · Dec 6, 2016

rekees4300 said:
Settled for "Plan B". After weighing the alternatives, decided to drop the furnace on/off goal and just monitor the temperature. For $20 bucks got an "AcuRite 00611A3 Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer and Humidity Sensor" from Amazon. Mounted the sensor in a shed window which gave it enough range to reach the house. Will turn the furnace on/off by walking out to the shed and moving the thermostat switch with my finger. Low tech KISS solution but it will work.

I was gonna say to do that lol, a wireless thermometer is the way to go to read the temp of the barn, I do the same in my chicken coop to see what environment my birds are in, if it's a consistent 32 or under in there I bring them a little heat and open windows in the summer.

To control the temp of the barn from the house would be a totally different challenge, at a min your talking wifi or a designated phone line with software to remotely change the temp, lol.

If it's not heated all the time and I was too lazy to go out to turn the system on I would run the furnace off the house electric, run a dedicated circuit from the house breaker panel and set the Tstat to where I wanted, before I go to the barn flip a breaker and have a warm barn by the time I got out there.

There's a dozen diff ways to be lazy lol. The easiest is just to walk out, flip it on and wait to heat up.

Al 2 · Dec 7, 2016

Well, I'm also lazy and also want to turn on my furnace in the shop from my house some days but haven't come up with anything cheap yet. I have my furnace controlled by a wall switch also to over ride the thermostat and have always wondered if parts from a car remote starter kit could somehow be used in conjunction with a 12 volt relay to turn on the furnace.
Al

BrokeFarmerJohn · Dec 7, 2016

Al 2 said:
Well, I'm also lazy and also want to turn on my furnace in the shop from my house some days but haven't come up with anything cheap yet. I have my furnace controlled by a wall switch also to over ride the thermostat and have always wondered if parts from a car remote starter kit could somehow be used in conjunction with a 12 volt relay to turn on the furnace.
Al

How hot do you want it in the shop before you get in there?

How far away is the shop?

aeblank · Dec 7, 2016

This would probably replace your over-ride switch. Just get it a 12V source.
Fimco 12-Volt Remote Switch : Cabela's

I would maintain the *right* way is with a wifi thermostat, and for only $85. Toggle heat on/off and adjust temperature. No over-ride switch being left on or anything of the sort.
http://a.co/76vat5C

Al 2 · Dec 8, 2016

My shop is 200 ft from my house and I usually turn on the furnace in the morning , go and get a coffee or do an errand or plow the yard and when I return it's warmed up. It's a hobby shop type of thing so there is no real pattern to when I want the heat on and I usually keep the temp on the low side. Thanks for the replies. Just another comment. I have a small, bright LED light on the outside of the garage that is on when the furnace is on in case I forget to turn it off at night or when I finished in the shop and then have my wife remind me about it .
Al

BrokeFarmerJohn · Dec 8, 2016

Al 2 said:
My shop is 200 ft from my house and I usually turn on the furnace in the morning , go and get a coffee or do an errand or plow the yard and when I return it's warmed up. It's a hobby shop type of thing so there is no real pattern to when I want the heat on and I usually keep the temp on the low side. Thanks for the replies. Just another comment. I have a small, bright LED light on the outside of the garage that is on when the furnace is on in case I forget to turn it off at night or when I finished in the shop and then have my wife remind me about it .
Al

Lol nice idea on the light