Wifi Thermostat by NuHeat - Review

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JohnfrWhipple

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Hacking a WiFi Thermostat

John, stealth all your ports. Shields up.


My wifi remote for the shower niches might also be hacked. But if you need to be with-in range of the unit I would think you could only hack your neighbours unit and not across the country.

Am I missing something here? Is that not the case?

No word back from NuHeat yesterday. Maybe they are in their own cone of silence....
 

DonL

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My wifi remote for the shower niches might also be hacked. But if you need to be with-in range of the unit I would think you could only hack your neighbours unit and not across the country.

Am I missing something here? Is that not the case?

No word back from NuHeat yesterday. Maybe they are in their own cone of silence....


If You can access it over the Internet it can be hacked.

Other than that, A person would need to be near your house.

Or they could hack your neighbor, to gain access to their WiFi, to get to yours.


Have Fun.
 
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JohnfrWhipple

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Don - tell the truth....

Are you a spy? lol - Are you serious? How the hell do people figure this out. I'm still tryng to learn Spell Check...
 

Reach4

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My wifi remote for the shower niches might also be hacked. But if you need to be with-in range of the unit I would think you could only hack your neighbours unit and not across the country.

Am I missing something here? Is that not the case?

Usually it would not be your computer that talks directly to your shower, but instead the packet would go through your router. Routers have various means of keeping the outside world from connecting to things inside your network that did not start the communication to the outside first. The general term is the firewall. In home routers, that is mainly the "Network Address Translation" scheme of the router. Those vary in effectiveness. But in general, the router does not set up a "port" to/from the outside world until the inside thing initiates it. Now if your shower plays music from the internet or displays the outside temperature from a server, then that would open a port.

When they go to the newer IP address scheme where everything has its own IP address (IPV6) rather than using NAT, that could change.

The thermostat would normally open a port to the outside. That is needed to let you command and read the thermostat from outside of your house. So I suspect the thermostat could be hacked. That would be less worrisome to me than for some since my WiFi thermostat does not have a camera or a microphone AFAIK. ;-)
 
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JohnfrWhipple

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Is this why Goggle bought Nest for 3 Billion? To gain access to the mic's and the cameras in all those smoke detectors and thermostats?

The concept creeps me out. I'll stick to my $12.00 Honeywell's with the automatic slide operation. By automatic I mean you use your finger to move the little arm at the bottom....
 

DonL

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Don - tell the truth....

Are you a spy? lol - Are you serious? How the hell do people figure this out. I'm still tryng to learn Spell Check...


No, I am not a spy.

I write software to protect from spies.

I do testing to see if computers can be hacked. And write software to prevent it.


You are Funny.

Buy one so we can see if it is safe from hacking.

Does that thermostat have GPS built in ?


Have Fun.
 
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DonL

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One question that I have is why would a thermostat need to have a camera and mic in it ?

Does the instruction say that "This Device needs to be installed in a bathroom, for best operation" ?


I would not be surprised if that was required by code soon. You need to follow manufacture directions. Kerdi backing only.


Is it waterproof ?
 
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DougB

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As a pratical guy (forget I'm a computer scientist) this seems like a lot of complexity to control the floor temp in a bathroom. If you have an Iphone and can afford $250+ for a bathroom thermostat - I don't why you would be particularlly concerned about saving a few cents when heating your bathroom floor.

The idea behind these electronic T-stats (like Nest, Ecobee) is that they will control your set-back temp, cause they can sense your presence in the room. Unfortunately, many T-stats are in hallways, etc.

Also if you have one of these new fangled T-stats controlling your home heating - what happens when it fails / acts up? How do you get a new one? What do you do until the replacement arrives? Will some hammer mechanic HVAC tech know how to configure? Who will trouble shoot it?

Between the purchase price, installation, and possible service call - it could wipe out your entire energy savings :)
 

Reach4

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Also if you have one of these new fangled T-stats controlling your home heating - what happens when it fails / acts up? How do you get a new one? What do you do until the replacement arrives? Will some hammer mechanic HVAC tech know how to configure? Who will trouble shoot it?

Between the purchase price, installation, and possible service call - it could wipe out your entire energy savings :)

At least on mine, the wires are standard. It replaces a generic mechanical thermostat, and it can be replaced by a generic mechanical.

I would worry more about the proprietary systems.

As to the usefulness, they can be handy when you are away. You can turn down or turn up the system as your plans change. Regarding the bathroom floor, that's a bit specialized. I guess you could operate floor heater that via your smartphone from under the covers before making a run for the bathroom after an appropriate pause.

And then there is the toy factor. There was a thread speculating on the remote controller of a bidet seat.
 

DonL

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And then there is the toy factor. There was a thread speculating on the remote controller of a bidet seat.


I wonder if Terry Love sells them ?

I would not mind having one of them, to go with my musical toilet paper holder, and WiFi Flush Valve.

Does it have a camera also ?
 

DougB

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Well understand, there are people who heat with heat pumps - cause they are in the 'sticks'. Heat pumps are completely ineffective below 30 deg F (I'd say 40). So what happens is that, in a winter like this, they have electric duct heaters, as make-up heat. Well, some of these folks get $800 electric bills - so much for living in the country.

Some of these 'intelligent' T-Stats claim they can reduce this cost. Good luck.

The complexity of the installation and programming may not be achieved.
 

BobL43

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My wifi remote for the shower niches might also be hacked. But if you need to be with-in range of the unit I would think you could only hack your neighbours unit and not across the country.

Am I missing something here? Is that not the case?

No word back from NuHeat yesterday. Maybe they are in their own cone of silence....
John, Wi-Fi and wireless re not (necessarily) the same. A wireless remote for a shower controlling the water temp and flow, I would think, does not need to be connected or controlled by your smart phone or your PC, which are connected to the Internet one way or another. I don't know your device, but I would think that the remote for it may just be infra red like a TV remote? If this shower control connects wirelessly to your router, that is another story and can be accessed by some smart kid in Russia to make your sack shrink while trying to take a nice hot shower. That left a bad image in my head; ouch!
 

BobL43

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I wonder if Terry Love sells them ?

I would not mind having one of them, to go with my musical toilet paper holder, and WiFi Flush Valve.

Does it have a camera also ?
Don, you keep mentioning cameras in the bathroom. You know that is a no no. lol
 

DonL

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Well understand, there are people who heat with heat pumps - cause they are in the 'sticks'. Heat pumps are completely ineffective below 30 deg F (I'd say 40). So what happens is that, in a winter like this, they have electric duct heaters, as make-up heat. Well, some of these folks get $800 electric bills - so much for living in the country.

Some of these 'intelligent' T-Stats claim they can reduce this cost. Good luck.

The complexity of the installation and programming may not be achieved.


For us Rednecks here in Texas that live in the "Sticks" we Have a great thing called Firewood. No electricity or Gas required.

We use Sticks to get the Firewood started.

Another advantage of living in the Sticks, is that if we need food we can get our big guns out.


Texas_Redneck.jpg
 

BobL43

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For us Rednecks here in Texas that live in the "Sticks" we Have a great thing called Firewood. No electricity or Gas required.

We use Sticks to get the Firewood started.

Another advantage of living in the Sticks, is that if we need food we can get our big guns out.


View attachment 23315
And the picture shows the sawed off version?
 

JohnfrWhipple

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Me and my girls started fires last month at the kitchen table.

With only flint and a striker.

Not sure why we are so proud of this but it was something I have always wanted to do....

This year we will try a fire with only sticks. NO flint. No matches or lighter...
 

DonL

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Me and my girls started fires last month at the kitchen table.

With only flint and a striker.

Not sure why we are so proud of this but it was something I have always wanted to do....

This year we will try a fire with only sticks. NO flint. No matches or lighter...

That is cool.

I have a Magnesium Block Fire Starter, It is great.

Really no need to rub sticks, but it can work in a pinch.

Tracer rounds work good also, for wet log starters. (Disclaimer, Not recommended for indoor use)


Have Fun.
 
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DonL

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Yee Hah Don! The way the West was one.


I did not mean to throw the thread off course, someone else started it.

I was waiting for John to install his new T-Stat.

I have his IP and can see his router, but don't see the stat on his network yet.

I hope he gets it installed soon.


I guess I am board, and need a new challenge.
 

JohnfrWhipple

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I'm not be installing this new Thermostat. You men have freaked me out. I will wait and see what the folks at NuHeat say and will chat with some computer tech's to see how we can block the hacker if one ever try's. I love that you guys trained me up on the possibility - I will let any client know this and the other facts before installing such a device.

I'm curious how safe the Nest products are and want to learn more about this. So little time. So much to learn.

Heading out to work on my buddies bathroom now. No more time to type. See ya later men.
 
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