About mid-winter last year the thermostat died.
No biggie, as in the NG bill from Nicor there was an offer for a free programmable one from "Ecofactor".
Free is good and they install it. Which beats the hell out of me trying to figure out if I have the three, four, five or 17 wire installation, as explained in the instructions google translated from Mandarin Chinese via Sanskrit.
Guy comes and hooks it up. Plugs a Digi-port X2 into my modem/router so that I can program it from my computer (or anywhere I can log into My.Ecofactor) Which came in a handy a few times as I was able to turn down the heat when I went to my parents and forgot to re-program it into "Away mode".
Anywho. The last month it's been acting up. Not going to the temps I set (70F at 6:45-8am, then 62, then back to 70 at 3-9pm, then back to 62), but acting like it was stuck in away mode, and picking it's own temps.
Send e-mail "Hey, my thermostat is stuck in away mode and not changing the settings I'm entering/programming".
I get a phone call from Ecofactor
Them: "Well the reason it's not going to the temps you set is because we/it has analyzed your usage and have optimized the settings to produce the maximum savings and energy efficiency."
Me: "No. I do dialysis. I have set the temps to the levels I need to do my treatments in comfort. I don't want some G-dDamn box on the wall trying to outthink me. I set the temps to what
I need. I get plenty of savings with my setting and my fireplace. Hell, I don't even turn on my A/C until it gets to be over 95F at night. Make it do what
I want it to do, our I will rip it out of the wall and go get one from the hardware store."
Them: "Ummm...err....sorry, we'll just let it run on your settings."
Me: " Thank you." Click.
I don't need NiCor and ComEd trying run my heat/cooling. I get $10 a month off my bill in the summer because there's a box on my AC so that they can "cycle" it, when demand is high in the summer. I hope they have fun "cycling" something that isn't even running.