Yep, I saw that too. But I am not sure exactly what that means.
I've started controlling my Zen through Hubitat and RM for just over a month now, and so far it hasn't let me down a single time running the Thermostat rule. I do have a rule that runs parallel to the thermostat scheduler rule that runs my fan to circulate the air every hour that gets "paused" when heating, then "resumed" when not, that has gotten stuck a few times.
But I think that maybe due to my hubs rebooting twice per day and the delay scheduled time getting missed during reboots. Other than that it's been rock solid running the thermostat via rule machine.
2 Likes
My goto for those doing scheduling externally is, and remains to be, the gocontrol gc-tbz48.
Z-wave plus, in box driver (or enhanced user driver with additional capabilities), and very reliable.
The Centralite website and support is now active so I am going to see if I find out what some of the programming settings actually do. Mine should be here on Friday so I want to know what my options are.
2 Likes
Please, let me know what Centralite support says.
I decided to order the Ecobee3 Lite via my power company for $90. Worth a try. If I don’t like it, I figure I could resell it and still break even.
1 Like
I had been intending on asking a few questions, but I don't believe there was a Support section on their website as of yesterday. At any rate I will post anything I get from Centralite as hopefully it will be reference in the future.
1 Like
There's nothing useful on there, I checked several times.
@jkudave the support section is now available and I have received a conformation email to my questions, so we shall see. I don't believe the support section was available when I last looked which I think was yesterday.
What's on there now is the same that was there earlier in the week, when I first started looking into purchasing. The documentation is sparse, so hopefully you get good results with the responses they send you. I switched back to my Nests, so it's not a big deal for me at this point.
@ogiewon I hadn't ever thought about Auto when it comes to a Thermostat. I couldn't envision a season transition where I would need to one day be in heating mode and the next day being in cooling mode. In Minnesota, we have heating, then periods of off, then periods of cooling, then off then back to heating. I had never considered cold nights and hot days.
1 Like
What I remember seeing was Support coming soon. My mind being not what it was it may have longer ago. I am hoping I get some good information to report.
@ogiewon I finally got a reply from Centralite. Sadly the reply had very little as far as answering questions. It may just have been about a backlog after being closed for months but I would really have liked more convincing arguments. Also may have been fresh support people??
The one that they did answer was on the tempertature swing adjustment. There is none. These appear to have a very large swing. It is probably OK for me but maybe not for everyone. I am going to call on Monday to see if I can get more complete answers.
2 Likes
Thanks for posting the update. Sounds like I made the right decision for my needs going with the Ecobee3 Lite. So far, I have been pleased with the performance of the Ecobee3 Lite. I feel that the temperature swing within the house has been reduced significantly compared to the Nest. Now we’ll have to wait to see how much of an impact it has on energy consumption. 
2 Likes
Just the way our heating system was put together 75 years ago, the short swing doesn't work well. Although the large swing isn't necessarily ideal, and I would like some adjustment, I think it will add some overall savings.
2 Likes
One thing to consider regarding temperature swing. Now that I use rule machine to operate my thermostat and 38 temp sensors to give me an average house temp. My thermostat on/off cycle is generally only 0.5 degrees but given that it's measuring the entire house to change that house average temp instead of just at the thermostat, 0.5 degrees may seem to be alot but for me it's just right and it's cut down on the cycles per day of my hvac.
Back before smart thermostats, my previous stat operated on 0.5 degree temp swing (at the thermostat) and in the summer time my A/C would run for 8 minutes and off for 2 minutes every day cycling about 140 times per day. Now it cycles around 35-40 times per day.
Of course user preference applies other users may be fine with 1.0 degree on/off others may use 0.25 degrees.
2 Likes
In the past with other thermostats, I tried to keep tight control on the temperature. In the year I've been using the Pearl, I've realized (un-scientifically) a pretty sizable savings. My cycles run a little longer than they used to, but the total number of cycles and total run time has greatly decreased.
For my next experiment, I'm going to have the Hot Flash virtual switch control ceiling fan speed instead of thermostat setpoints. If it doesn't work out, just know I've enjoyed my time here, and I'm fine with cremation.
2 Likes
Same here, I'm saving almost $100 per month in the Summer. The biggest draw of electricity is upon start up of the outside compressor. Reducing that from 140 down to 35-40 is a big pocket book increase.
2 Likes
@waynespringer79 Thanks for pointing out using external sensors with the thermostat. So far I have just been using the internal sensor. I was just re-adding some sensors to measure various spots throughout the house to see how well heat is moving around so I will have a look at using them with the thermostat.
2 Likes
It is also going to improve compressor life significantly. The biggest in-rush current (locked rotor amps - LRA) is during compressor startup. Your approach will also really help with dehumidification, which in turn increases comfort.
@waynespringer79, @zarthan, @ogiewon, @bjcowles, @JasonJoel - you guys might like this article by John Proctor P.E. that was in Home Energy magazine a few years ago:
3 Likes
Very true, incorporated into my rule machine rule is if the humidity level is above 47% then then the shutoff temperature is decreased another 0.5 degrees making it run a bit longer bringing down the humidity.
2 Likes
