Forum Discussion

sean4fsu's avatar
sean4fsu
Explorer
Aug 28, 2019

Buy Remote Thermostat For AC (controlled by Android app) ?

I am thinking about buying a remote thermostat that is controlled by an app on my phone for the AC.

My wife and I live in a travel trailer in North Florida. And we are going to be living in it for the rest of this summer until late October. And for 3 more years (three more years from mid March through mid October), and I am thinking about buying a remote thermostat so that we can turn the AC on about 20-30 minutes minutes before we get there, and I am trying to decide if running it all day long (about 8 hours a day). and during the night if it would be worth it to buy an aftermarket remote thermostat to save money by not running it all day.

The total cost of the aftermarket remote controlled by an Android phone would be about $100. And if anyone knows about a lower cost option, please let me know.
  • philh's avatar
    philh
    Explorer II
    Aug 29, 2019
    I do that with my park model... but it has a real AC system. I also leave it on at 80 when we are not there.

    You are going to need to be able to access the system on the wifi system you connect to. I use a neighbors wifi as it's more stable than the parks wifi. I had to have him log on to his system with my computer to allow me to connect the thermostat to the wifi.
  • Edd505's avatar
    Edd505
    Explorer
    Aug 28, 2019
    You can get that in a new RV. LCI has come out with some new electronics that remotely control A/C. lights, slides, leveling, awnings etc. Right now the system is not backward compatible, just toured one of their factories.
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Aug 28, 2019
    OK you will save some money. And first verify the replacement is compatible with your heating/cooling system. Many are digital and are not compatible. If you have a fairly regular schedule, a programmable may also work well for you.
  • WayneAt63044's avatar
    WayneAt63044
    Explorer
    Aug 28, 2019
    neschultz is right on. The RV thermostats are not the same as residential and are not directly interchangeable. I have rewired my AC/furnace control boxes in all my RVs to use a better t-stat with less temp difference between on & off. Thus I could use a residential t-stat. I've not searched on-line for a product that will work; maybe someday someone will make one.
  • pianotuna's avatar
    pianotuna
    Nomad III
    Aug 28, 2019
    X2 on 20 to 30 minutes being useless.

    The idea of air conditioning is to keep the RV from warming up in the first place.

    If it is hot--it may take hours to cool it down.
  • Dick_B's avatar
    Dick_B
    Explorer
    Aug 28, 2019
    IMHO 30 minutes of cooling won't buy you much. Better to set it up a degree or two, ie. 78 instead of 76 and let the A/C keep things inside at a reasonable temperature. If you shut off the A/C completely everything inside will warm up and you will have to undo all of that to be comfortable again.
    One problem I have with internet t/s is that if you can access it so can a hacker. I wouldn't want someone to reset it for heat at 100 degrees while we were out.
    Like I said IMHO.
  • neschultz's avatar
    neschultz
    Explorer
    Aug 28, 2019
    Make sure that your new one can replace your current thermostat before you buy. Dometic uses a proprietary serial data connection between the thermostat and AC/furnace. I’ve been looking for a WiFi, programmable replacement for years.

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