Remote Thermostat for the Shop

[Matt Meiser]

I'm looking for a way to remotely control the heat in my shop from the house. So far I've come up with the following options:

- BayWeb IP enabled thermostat. Expensive ($200) and requires communication to their server. They've been around a while but in this day and age that doesn't mean much and it would render the hardware worthless if they went away. Nice system but I can't get over that dependency.
- Proliphix IP enabled thermostat. Expensive ($300), especially after adding the separately sold but required PoE adapter.
- Home Automation controled thermostats. Fairly expensive since I'd need to buy everything and there's the question of whether they would even work between the house and shop. I know X10 does not but have never experimented with the newer systems. I haven't done much research on these.
- Thermostat mounted in the house with a remote sensor in the shop. Only control would be in the house and I'd have to pull 2 pair through the conduit. Plus the 24VAC for the furnace would run all the way back to the house and I'm concerned about introducing noise on the phone wiring in the conduit.
- Low tech: 2 thermostats in the shop, one on the low temp and one on the high temp with a DPST switch between them. I actually already have this and would just need to extend it into the house. Same problems as above.

What I've really expected to find but can't is a thermostat that has a wired remote control. Anyone know of such an animal? Or another option?

[Thomas Bank]

If I'm reading between the lines correctly, you don't really need a remote thermostat - you don't really want to control the temperature from the house, do you? You want the thermostat in the shop to sense the temperature and then a way to turn the HVAC on or off from the house. You could add a remote thermometer in the house to be able to see what the temperature is in the shop.

[Matt Meiser]

I do want to remotely control and read the setting from the house. I never shut it off, only turn it down to 40 since I have water out there.

[Mitchell Andrus]

I do want to remotely control and read the setting from the house. I never shut it off, only turn it down to 40 since I have water out there.

I know of a fella that kit-bashed a remote control from an RC car to control the switch(es) in the shop, and 3 small lights that showed in a window to indicate the shops' thermostat's setting. Off, low, high.

Gotta be a pretty small market for that kind of setup. Remote controls usually exist to save a many-mile drive, not a walk across the lawn.
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[Dan Johnson]

Remote controls usually exist to save a many-mile drive, not a walk across the lawn.
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Most remotes I use save me a walk across the living room.

I have the same situation. My shop is about 150 feet from my house and in the winter, it is a pain to turn the thermostat up then go home and wait for it to warm up. I hope someone has a solution.

[Greg Coleman]

Just sorta brainstorming.
I have a remote for a ceiling fan. It controls the speed and the light.
Could you wire the receiver in series between the thermostat and the heater using the light control. If the thermostat is calling for heat and you activated the receiver with the remote it would complete the circuit and allow the heater to run. It would continue to run until the thermostat were satisfied or you activated the remote to turn off the light. The range might be a problem though.

[Matt Meiser]

Yes, range is definitely a problem.

I found this from Venstar today. It is exactly what I want but is wireless. They claim a 500' range even through walls. But the price for the thermostat and remote ($272) is so close to the Proliphix ($308), I might as well go with that.

[Greg Coleman]

[QUOTE=Matt Meiser;1506194]Yes, range is definitely a problem.


How about a switch that uses your garage door opener remote? $20 plus I am sure you can find a extra remote on line as well

http://www.chamberlain-diy.com/doity...x?modelId=1515

[Matt Meiser]

Range might be OK, but there would be no way of knowing if it "took" or which setting it was on.

[Jim O'Dell]

Matt, this is out of my league, so I'm asking questions here to understand. Are the 2 expensive options personal computer controlled? If so, I would think that would be a great option. Not only could you control it from the computer in the house, but also from another site all together. You could conceivably control it from one of the new phones on your way home. But I do understand controlling costs too. But not sure a wired remote would be available. Just no call for it. Wireless would seem to be something that might have been tried at one time. (thinking out loud here...) Wonder what 2 identical thermostats wired in parallel would do? One in the shop, one in the house. You would still have the 24 volt issue, but only one set of wires. It would probably confuse the heck out of the unit, not knowing which command to follow. May be worth looking into thermostat systems to see if any have that capability, for say a 2 story house. Jim.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Two thermostats located in the shop, wired in parallel. One has a relay (110 volt coil) in one of the leads, which is controlled by one of those "Christmas Tree Remotes." Relay controlled one has higher setting for temperature. Hit the "on" switch, and heat comes on until desired temp is reached. You could also mount a light to remote control, so you could tell if heat came on. Plus after you get back to house and taking off shoes, you could turn the heat down without having to go back to the shop. Total cost, less than $50

[Todd Franks]

Matt, Here are a couple of ideas from the SmartHome website.

Insteon remote temp control
IP thermostat

I've purchased several Insteon switches and controllers from SmartHome and have them on outdoor lights, lamps, etc. Insteon uses the same PLC technology that X10 uses but I've found it to be way more reliable. I don't know if it works at the distances between your house and shop and don't have any experience with their Thermostats. If you poke around their website you may find some other possible ideas. These ideas may not be any cheaper however than what you've already found.

[Kent A Bathurst]

..... a remote control from an RC car to control the switch(es) in the shop, and 3 small lights ........

Mitchell - Please, please, please tell me that the three lights are set up like the starting "christmas tree" at the drag strip.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Mitchell - Please, please, please tell me that the three lights are set up like the starting "christmas tree" at the drag strip.

Yea.... I'm with you. Don't know.
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[Matt Meiser]

A creeker pm'd me about finding some Proliphix thermostats on Ebay for a good price. They are "pro" models and get their power from the furnace's 24VAC. I'll just need to run a CAT5 cable over to the shop's ethernet switch and I'll be able to control from the house, or anywhere in the world if I connect to my home VPN. With a little router config work I can probably even get to it with my phone. Not cheap, but over time I suspect it will pay for itself since I won't be tempted to leave the heat on working temp because its cold and snowy and I don't want to make the trek out there.

Edit: Just realized that Proliphix has a free remote access service you can subscribe to so you can reach your thermostat from the general internet in addition to the on-board web server. Looks like it will work from my phone.