Just to note, with Ecobee the sensors are 100% local in that they only communicate to the thermostat. The Ecobee cloud is only used for monitoring or controlling via the app. You don't need the remote connection for the ongoing use of the thermostat.
I originally thought about building my own system using discrete sensors (zigbee) with a connected (Z-wave) thermostat, and using SmartThings to connect them. I'm really glad I didn't, because I don't want my own custom logic controlling something that important.
Yes, it's a shame they don't do remote humidity measurement. The only humidity sensor is on the thermostat itself.
However, you could use HE connected humidity sensors to control an Ecobee and, e.g., run cooling. However, that wouldn't be 100% local (since the interface to the Ecobee is via their cloud).
The sensors may only connect to the ecobee but they do show up as a device on hubitat and display a temperature. This information may be coming form the ecobee unit from the sensors.
Interesting, if I understand you correctly are you saying we wouldn’t need the cloud service for the Hubitat to communicate with the Ecobee? I was considering a Honeywell Lyric T6 Pro Zwave Plus Thermosta because I thought the Ecobee needed to use the cloud and I wanted local network communication only. I don’t mind some cloud use i.e Alexa as long as it’s not a must have and I can turn it off and maintain the ability to control and read my thermostat.
For Zigbee thermostats, this should be useful for you:
In the most recent release (2.2.4) of HE, there is a Thermostat Controller app that can be used along with sensors placed around your house to control a Zigbee or Z-Wave thermostat. Along w/the built-in Thermostat Scheduler app you can set up your preferences for heating/cooling, etc. More work for you to set up, but 100% local.
Some screen shots below:
Select Add Built in App button from Apps page, then select the Thermostat Controller and Scheduler to install them.
and all of this works well for you? I know my experience with HE is about 99% solid I have never used this type of device so am unfamiliar with how well it works.
I haven't set it up yet, too many projects in and out of Hubitat, and since this means "full family impact" (I'm playing w/their HVAC comfort) I want to be sure the switch over will go well. I had starting playing with it a while back but there were some initial issues that have been addressed since the first 2.2.4 release so I'm going to start working w/it again.
I have a new thermostat (two, actually, a Honeywell T6 and a Zen) and am going to reconfigure them to use the HE system, and observe how they function w/it. After that test I'll switch over to one of them. Assuming they both play well I'll let my wife decide which one she likes best. (She's the boss, after all.)
I believe that @AdamV is actively using it, he may have some comments on working w/it in "real life."
FWIW - Apple HomeKit can talk directly over the LAN to Ecobee thermostats that support HomeKit. There is no external cloud connection for Apple HomeKit to do this. And if you have an always on device that can act as a HomeKit controller, like an AppleTV or iPad, then you can create some simple HomeKit Automations that will run locally across your LAN.
During a Hurricane related internet outage a few months back, I recall testing to see if my iPhone could still control my pair of Ecobee 3 Lite thermostats. It worked shockingly well.
I found some cheap Tuya Zigbee humidity and temperature sensors on ebay that work well. For some reason the built-in generic zigbee drivers don't work (they detect the device but reporting doesn't work), but I was able to hack the Hubitat sample Zigbee drivers in github with a one or two line modification and have the little device reporting correctly. I'd be happy to share if interested.
If interested, here's the same one I got. I got it because of the LCD. Note: temperature is always in Celsius, but Hubitat can magically show Fahrenheit within dashboards/in the UI.
I've learned how to do C to F conversion on the fly in my head (ok, it takes me 5 seconds to do the math). They apparently also have a newer version with no display at all, but I haven't tried them.
I had starting playing with it a while back but there were some initial issues that have been addressed since the first 2.2.4 release so I'm going to start working w/it again.
