Ecobee not shown in Mobilinc X

[smarthome_newbie]

It says "no thermostats found" when I select "temperature" in the app.  Ecobee shows up in admin console.  Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

[lilyoyo1]

It doesn't support nodeservers so I'm assuming that's why. Unless it supports ecobee you probably won't see it

[smarthome_newbie]

13 minutes ago, lilyoyo1 said:

It doesn't support nodeservers so I'm assuming that's why. Unless it supports ecobee you probably won't see it

That answers my question.  Thanks.  On another note, why is it beneficial to link a smart thermostat to ISY?  Since the smart thermostat is programmed to know when you're home, etc., what additional automation can be achieved with ISY?

[lilyoyo1]

13 minutes ago, smarthome_newbie said:

That answers my question.  Thanks.  On another note, why is it beneficial to link a smart thermostat to ISY?  Since the smart thermostat is programmed to know when you're home, etc., what additional automation can be achieved with ISY?

That depends on the person. Some want to program from 1 location vs multiple. Others feel the isy allows you to customize much more than the thermostat. 

Me personally, I program from the app and let it run naturally. It is added to my isy for additional functions such as controllingy ceiling fans. If it starts getting too hot, the fans kick on (in occupied rooms). Once the AC kicks in, the fans will help circulate the air until it cools back down and automatically turn off.

The thermostat also goes into the home/away modes faster since the isy will trigger those setting based on different requirements. 

Lastly, if a door or window is open too long, the unit for that zone will turn off and turn back on once closed.

 

[mwester]

That's an excellent question, and one everyone should ask themselves before embarking on an automation journey.  To refine the question a bit, one should also ask if the ISY will be used to merely monitor the HVAC, or if it is the intention to control it.

I can provide only one data point, the one for my specific house.  Given my house, the nature of the weather here, and the type of heating/cooling that we have installed (geothermal with both forced air and radiant heat, with heated concrete slab in the basement, and 2+ inches of heated (light-weight) concrete and tile floors on the first level), it turns out that I merely monitor the HVAC, and lately I haven't even looked at that data.  It took a couple years to get everything adjusted (the most finicky bit was the setpoints for the Geo and the holding tank to keep from unnecessarily heating water on one extreme vs forcing the system to fire up the propane backup on the other extreme).

The point being that for my case, the HVAC controls are best left alone, and there's nothing, absolutely nothing, to be gained by having anything attempt set-backs or other temporary adjustments.  Hence, I've really no need to control this with the ISY, and any wiring I'd do that would add that ability (relays, etc) would probably just lower the reliability and that, given where I live (and how fast the house would freeze in the winter here!), that's just not permitted to happen.

[Bumbershoot]

11 hours ago, lilyoyo1 said:

That depends on the person. Some want to program from 1 location vs multiple. Others feel the isy allows you to customize much more than the thermostat. 

Me personally, I program from the app and let it run naturally. It is added to my isy for additional functions such as controllingy ceiling fans. If it starts getting too hot, the fans kick on (in occupied rooms). Once the AC kicks in, the fans will help circulate the air until it cools back down and automatically turn off.

The thermostat also goes into the home/away modes faster since the isy will trigger those setting based on different requirements. 

Lastly, if a door or window is open too long, the unit for that zone will turn off and turn back on once closed.

 

Exactly the same here.  In colder months, the ISY only controls the thermostat when a geofence is crossed, which is not very often.  In warmer months, it's about controlling the air conditioning and ceiling fans and my endeavor to not air condition the great outdoors through open doors and windows. 

[larryllix]

12 hours ago, smarthome_newbie said:

That answers my question.  Thanks.  On another note, why is it beneficial to link a smart thermostat to ISY?  Since the smart thermostat is programmed to know when you're home, etc., what additional automation can be achieved with ISY?

I am using my ISY to achieve Automatic Intelligent Setback. This to assist not wasting a lot of energy heating my home and then having to open my windows to cool it down again every night before bedtime.

Many thermostats offer Automatic Intelligent Recovery but none the opposite. I also use my ISY for Automatic Intelligent Recovery as no thermostat has a long enough advance on the schedules to accommodate the thermal mass of my home. Like @mwester(above) I have concrete slab heating and if you want some heat, you better turn it on about 12 hours ahead and off again  just before you need it. I cannot use occupancy features due to fact the house would be warm when I want it cool, and cool when I want it warm.

Beautifully even heat though.

[Michel Kohanim]

All,

In alignment with @larryllix, just another data point: in our existing pilot with Southern California Edison, we manage the thermostats (Ecobee) based on time of use prices. In short, there's a baseline and a configurable set of offsets depending on the price (comfort vs. savings setting). ISY monitors the price and, if the thermostat is set to something that defeats the savings, ISY will automatically adjusts it based on the offsets. Now, the customer does have a choice to change the settings back to whatever he/she wants. And, of course, ISY will honor the customer's wishes but it will also send a notification to them letting them know the dire consequences of their actions!

With kind regards,
Michel