Tip for landlords who provide heating and cooling with rent

[MMM98]

OK I expect some haters but its posted for those who might actually need this info.  I have a vacation rental but this may work for conventional landlords as well.

For my vacation rental I let my guests set the temp to meet their comfort needs.  Some people have some really strange ideas like sleeping at 45 degrees or sleeping at 71, cooling to 65 when you wake up realizing its too cold and heating it back up to 75.  My competitors deal with this by installing thermostats that limit the range that the thermostat can be adjusted or lock the thermostat remotely using a Wi-Fi enabled thermostat.

I have used the temp offset function on my thermostat.  What they see is not the actual temp.  It can be used  set the temp to 5 degrees either way.  Since the property is in Florida I usually use a -3 degree offset.  They set it for 68 and it is actually 71.  The savings, while not dramatic, makes up for the occasional nut who sleeps at 45.  The model I use is the Sensi  https://www.amazon.com/Sensi-Smart-Thermostat-UP500W-Amazon/dp/B00HHE6CW2/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1493046941&sr=8-6&keywords=sensei

I have not noticed that the offset results in anyone lowering the temp even lower.  I think people are accustom to a certain number because that makes them happy, not because that is the number that they really need.  There are more sophisticated energy saving thermostats such as the ecobee which has an multi occupancy (motion) detectors, however it is more prone to tampering by guests.  A slightly less sophisticated model is the Nest, which has a single point occupancy sensor, again by its nature not as landlord friendly, IMO.

[ketchup]

I'll have to try this out on my girlfriend.

[yachi]

My tenants pay for their usage, so I'm not much help.  In college our apartment thermostat had several mercury bulbs for different temperatures. Essentially you could only switch from 'high' to 'low' temperatures.  Winter was sometimes cold due to drafty windows, so we would tape a cold can of soda (pop) to the thermostat to bring it up to comfort.  Worked a charm!

[HipGnosis]

When I lived in the Air Force dorm, the thermostat for each room was locked.
In the summer; I put a small lamp on a small table right under my thermostat, without a shade on the lamp so the bulb was right under it.  I had the coolest room.
I just realized that won't work any more - with LED bulbs.

[Zikoris]

From the other side, as a renter, if I was cold at home and couldn't make it warm with the thermostat, I'd get a space heater. It's happened at a couple of places - I always just assumed the heating system or thermostat was shit, but not I wonder if it was my landlords doing something sneaky on purpose.

 I don't use air conditioning at all in the summer, but I'm very cold sensitive.

[MMM98]

Is anyone under the slightest impression that the hotel/resort industry does not do this already? 

The systems the hotel chains use are tied to occupancy of the room, when you enter, if the television is on, movement, door opening etc.  It is either sneaky, devious, evil, smart, intelligent or good business. 

Try this the next time you are in the next hotel of your choosing, bring your digital meat thermometer from home and check the temp.    Before I mentioned this did you ever give it a second thought that the temp of the hotel room was not precisely the same temp as the posted temp?

[Sibley]

Is anyone under the slightest impression that the hotel/resort industry does not do this already? 

The systems the hotel chains use are tied to occupancy of the room, when you enter, if the television is on, movement, door opening etc.  It is either sneaky, devious, evil, smart, intelligent or good business. 

Try this the next time you are in the next hotel of your choosing, bring your digital meat thermometer from home and check the temp.    Before I mentioned this did you ever give it a second thought that the temp of the hotel room was not precisely the same temp as the posted temp?

I'm always freezing in hotel rooms. I end up turning the heat on in the summer.

[yachi]

Is anyone under the slightest impression that the hotel/resort industry does not do this already? 

The systems the hotel chains use are tied to occupancy of the room, when you enter, if the television is on, movement, door opening etc.  It is either sneaky, devious, evil, smart, intelligent or good business. 

Try this the next time you are in the next hotel of your choosing, bring your digital meat thermometer from home and check the temp.    Before I mentioned this did you ever give it a second thought that the temp of the hotel room was not precisely the same temp as the posted temp?

I'm happy if the hotel provides a consistent temperature +/- 1 or 2 degrees of whatever they want to call the temperature.  Blankets on/blankets off/sheets off/change the heater setting/blankets on sucks when you're trying to get sleep.  To that end, I make sure to sleep furthest from the room's heater.

[Mtngrl]

This is commonly done in office buildings. HVAC systems are computer controlled and one of my husband's jobs when he had his HVAC business was to set the minimum and maximum temps for each office -- it didn't matter what people set the temperature on the themostat.

[Dicey]

When I lived in the Air Force dorm, the thermostat for each room was locked.
In the summer; I put a small lamp on a small table right under my thermostat, without a shade on the lamp so the bulb was right under it.  I had the coolest room.
I just realized that won't work any more - with LED bulbs.

That's one reason why we're hoarding a few incandescent bulbs for potential future use. They could come in handy one day.

[Scottfree]

I too have a vacation rental in Florida and will seriously consider your idea! Have you set the minimum to 65? I am contemplating that. What I really want is the sensor on the sliding doors that will cut off the a/c when guests sit on the balcony in 95 degrees with the doors open to "cool" the patio. If anyone knows of a wireless solution like that please advise.

[MMM98]

I too have a vacation rental in Florida and will seriously consider your idea! Have you set the minimum to 65? I am contemplating that. What I really want is the sensor on the sliding doors that will cut off the a/c when guests sit on the balcony in 95 degrees with the doors open to "cool" the patio. If anyone knows of a wireless solution like that please advise.

I was losing faith that anyone was interested in this information for the posted purposes.  The referenced thermostat, Sensi, does support a 'if this than that' IFTT protocol within wink system using the sensor built into the thermostat that will IFTT like change the thermostat, temp, text you, email you, and so forth.  If you can get a wink friendly door sensor then the IFTT protocol will work for you.  You may also install a standalone temp sensor, but here again it is prone to tampering and battery powered.

[MMM98]

Another advantage of Wink is the hub is wireless (not all hubs are) so it can be hidden and is less likely to be tampered with.  This is important for a vacation rental owner.  As some have posted here people will go to great lengths to get comfort.

It is amazing how things change depending upon your perspective.

[MMM98]

I too have a vacation rental in Florida and will seriously consider your idea! Have you set the minimum to 65? I am contemplating that. What I really want is the sensor on the sliding doors that will cut off the a/c when guests sit on the balcony in 95 degrees with the doors open to "cool" the patio. If anyone knows of a wireless solution like that please advise.

Use IFTT (robot) and this sensor, Sensi thermostat along with wink hub https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5HB4U5/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I2HRB27FUCCFSU&colid=3JS3V6RSY9L29 and you should be good.  Put notice in your lease agreement that the AC will shut off when the door to patio is open and post it near the patio door and you should be good to go!