Assume you were asking me, since I think I was the only one to mention it upthread.
I think it has promise, but it wasn't the right product for me. Their implementation of door lock control was the biggest obstacle--they only support Z-Wave hubs, and I've invested about equally in Z-Wave+Schlage Connect and Schlage Encode, and they were not able to support the Encode. As well, I think I overestimated the amount of integration between the various components, and there was a lot more manual programming required (e.g. from the initial presentation, I thought that my cleaning company owner would be able to assign which of her cleaners would be cleaning the property that day and then the system would automatically program a code for that cleaner into the door lock that only works for the duration of the cleaning window, but AFAICT, not only does the system really not work that way, but I actually had to manually put my cleaner's code in each individual door (whereas with Remotelock, I can easily create a group called "Cleaning Company X" and add all the properties that cleaner cleans and the code automatically gets propagated to all the doors). The control panel was also a bit clunky (very Web 1.0-ish, like OR itself :P, instead of clean and Web 2.0ish like Breezeway appears to be).
Between the clunkiness and the prospect of having to drop $1K just to re-outfit all my properties with compatible door locks, I bailed and decided to stick with RemoteLock+TouchStay and then add Breezeway to help manage cleanings/maintenance. (I'm in the process of getting set up with Breezeway now.) I do lose the other bits of smart home automation (I don't really have any other smart home devices anyway) and integrated thermostat control, but I'm not sure that would have worked as seamlessly as I'd expected anyway.
I just did this using IFTTT. It was super easy; I have an Ecobee thermostadt.
I set up a template and a trigger in OR that sends an email to IFTTT, based on certain conditions (summer season and no one stayed in the place the night before).
This email triggers IFTTT to turn the Ecobee thermostadt to a certain temperature and Hold until the next scheduled transition.
This way, I can set the AC to kick on a few hours prior to a guest's arrival, so they don't arrive to a hot place.
I had never heard of IFTTT before. Can you explain more about how you send an email to IFTTT? I would love to do this at multiple properties with the thermostat!
Also, I would like to put in my vote for OR to work with ecobee and nest!
Digital thermostats have become a very popular addition to rental properties. They allow owners to reduce costs when the homes are not occupied during very cold or hot days.
I would like to request a feature that would integrate with a third party controller to automatically turn thermostats up or down based on guest reservations. Ideally there would be an option to adjust it a day or two ahead of their arrival.
I have just installed Daikin AC units in Florida rentals, so would like the integration to work with the DaikinOne system.
They are running a promotion for their thermostat launch of 3 months at 50% off - use code "THERMOSTATS" at check-out and you will get a 50% discount on Thermostats for 3 months after the 14 day Free trial. They are also planning a FREE thermostat promotion with every lock automation subscription for the rest of 2023 (if you sign up for lock and thermostat the 3 month promo gives you the Thermostat for free)
I have been using their Lock automation since RBoy apps went MIA and it is great. They also have a very unique feature where you can give your guests control of your MyQ garage doors. No more lost remotes - currently the guest has to download an app to control the garage door but they are launching a web interface very shortly.
This is by FAR the most robust lock / house automation for the money (there are free things that one can cluge together but they are highly unreliable and a pain to maintain - this is coming from someone who has tried a few :-)
I have been testing one of my properties fully on the App and it has been GREAT - before I had a Centralite keypad with MyQ and RBoy which is now not possible.
I have had a couple of calls with support they have some really cool stuff coming down the pipe... like OR they launch new features monthly and sometimes more often.
They don't have Daikin integration yet but will likely come soon if the Thermostat feature takes off... they have almost every imaginable brand.
Also, they do their own direct integrations (again similar to OR) they don't use a middle layer system like most PMS and other providers so their support and ability to add new providers is excellent. Also, if you are a large property manager they are able to process new integrations quickly from requests.
I use Jervis for my door locks and have been happy. I just added my ecobee thermostat since I learned they have an offset feature where you can have it start cooling X Hrs before a guest arrives and then adjust temp again X hrs after guest leaves, (e.g., 6 hours after guest leaves it goes into vacant mode so cleaning crew is comfortable). Jervis also rolled out a new feature called "guardrails" which prevents guests from raising/lowering the temp beyond certain set levels. This is why I ultimately started using Jervis for my ecobee rather than manually adjusting temp. I had a guest unintentionally set the AC to 85 during our recent heat wave and then complained when they got home that the house was hot. For now, I use guardrails to require temps to be set between 68-78 while guests are there.
The problem with the current guardrail implementation is that it covers both heating and cooling in one range.
This is problematic since allowing a guest to set the temp to 68 deg when the outside temp is over 100 deg is both wasteful and detrimental to the HVAC unit, as is setting the heat to 78 deg when the outside is below 32 deg.
I reached out to them about this and their reply was that their mid November 2023 update should include a separate heat and cool guardrail.
Being in south Florida, I suppose I hadn't considered that (the heat & ac in same guardrail). I don't use heat function on Jervis. I added screenshots of Jervis' thermostat options for those not familiar.
Yes, in Arizona it gets cold enough in the winter and (obviously) hot enough in the summer that a combined guardrail means more manual changes as seasons change.
I haven't played enough with this yet, but if the guest sets the thermostat to permanent hold, does Jervis correctly override that to the vacancy setting after check-out?
I haven't gotten to test it out yet as we just started using Jervis w/ ecobee thermostat and we have a guest staying at property, checking out on Thanksgiving Day (yes, I missed that webinar about blocking holiday departures...)
Yes, Jervis will set the vacant mode temperature you set when the guest checks out. This is regardless of whether a guest configures a specific setting on the thermostat.
Hi Weslin,
You provided great feedback and I appreciate it.
We have a few updates planned for this month:
- We will have separate Guardrail settings for heating and cooling.
- We will have updates to the Guest Mode and Vacant Mode settings to allow you to decide when these will turn on and off. You can choose based on outdoor temperature or indoor temperature.
- Vacant Mode will include an option to turn off the system entirely. If this option is selected, all other settings in Vacant Mode will be grayed out.
If anyone else has any ideas or feature requests, let me know!
- We will have separate Guardrail settings for heating and cooling.
- We will have updates to the Guest Mode and Vacant Mode settings to allow you to decide when these will turn on and off. You can choose based on outdoor temperature or indoor temperature.
- Vacant Mode will include an option to turn off the system entirely. If this option is selected, all other settings in Vacant Mode will be grayed out.
If anyone else has any ideas or feature requests, let me know!
Thank you,
Bobby Varghese
Jervis Systems
Hi Bobby. Our properties is in such climate that you may need heat at night and AC during daytime in Spring and Fall. Moreover, we have zoned systems (i.e one HVAC unit is split in two zones - one zone for 1st floor, for example, and another zone for the 2nd floor. The caveat with those is that you cannot run 1st floor in heat mode and 2nd floor in cool mode (as it is the same unit) or vice versa, but sometimes renters try to do that - so we have to manually control/disable such attempts via the Honeywell app. We have Honeywell 9000 series thermostats and currently we have to watch settings during midseason when both heat and cool modes have to be enabled due to the weather swings during day/night. It is simpler in the mid summer (cool only mode) and mid winter (heat only mode). Will there be any guardrails to prevents 2 (or more) thermostats in one property to be set to different modes by a renter (such as heat on 1st floor and cool on 2nd floor)? Thanks
We've had a few property managers request this and we're looking at adding this feature in our next thermostat update.
What we can implement is that the same mode (heat or cool) has to be toggled on all thermostats. Just like with guardrails, Jervis can check periodically throughout the day to ensure that this hasn't been altered. If so, this will switched to the mode you have configured on all thermostats.
This should prevent abuse or misuse of the HVAC system.
Any feedback or ideas is always greatly appreciated.
By the way, we will be adding automation in the next few weeks with ST-connected, Tuya, and Philips Hue smart switches and smart lights.
If anyone is interested in trying this out, let me know. Similar to thermostats, you can schedule which lights will turn on before your guest arrives and what will turn off after your guest leaves.
Hi Dori123- would you mind sharing how you programmed the IFTTT you mentioned below? I would like to do the same thing where I can remotely adjust the thermostat after a guest leaves and a few hours prior to check-in. I currently have Honeywell thermostats so I want to see if this could work for Honeywell also or if not I may consider switching to Ecobee. Any help would be appreciated!
I just did this using IFTTT. It was super easy; I have an Ecobee thermostadt.
I set up a template and a trigger in OR that sends an email to IFTTT, based on certain conditions (summer season and no one stayed in the place the night before).
This email triggers IFTTT to turn the Ecobee thermostadt to a certain temperature and Hold until the next scheduled transition.
This way, I can set the AC to kick on a few hours prior to a guest's arrival, so they don't arrive to a hot place.
I don't think it is possible anymore, but I'm not sure. IIRC, either IFTTT or Ecobee sends a setup email to the other and expected a click confirmation in order to initiate the service. But since the email was received by a system rather than an email account, there was no way to click or verify it. My memory is a bit fuzzy on the details, but I think we concluded the setup was possible a few years ago (mine still works) but no longer works.
