Dropped $150 on a smart thermostat and now I'm back to using a twist timer

I put a Nest thermostat in my old Amarillo house last spring thinking it would save me money on energy bills, but it kept fighting with my ancient HVAC system and cycling on and off wrong. After 8 months of fiddling with settings and calling the electrician twice I yanked it out and put in a $15 mechanical timer from Ace Hardware. Has anyone else here dumped money on smart home stuff that just wouldn't play nice with older houses?

3 comments

3 Comments

emery2901mo ago

Oh man, my buddy Mike dropped like $200 on smart bulbs and switches for his 1970s duplex and the wiring was so bad the wifi kept dropping out. He ended up just using manual dimmers and a couple of plugin timers from Target.

jana8811mo ago

Was that electrician any help figuring out why the Nest fought with your system?

christopherh791mo ago

@emery290 hit the nail on the head. Old wiring and smart home stuff don't mix. Most electricians just swap out a switch and move on, they don't want to trace a 50 year old circuit that's half cloth wrapped. The Nest fight is usually a C wire issue or a non compatible system, not something a standard electrician is gonna troubleshoot for cheap. They'll just say "get a pro HVAC guy" and hand you a bill. You basically need someone who understands both low voltage controls and old school wiring, which is a rare combo.