Hi everyone,
I’ve published a custom Hubitat driver for the Aqara Floor Heating Thermostat W500 (UT-A01E / lumi.airrtc.aeu001).
It pairs directly with Hubitat over Zigbee, without requiring an Aqara hub or cloud integration.
This is an AI-assisted community driver, tested on one Hubitat C-8 and W500. The current version is 0.1.1 (preview), and additional testers are welcome.
Features
- Heat/off control and heating setpoint adjustment
- Temperature and humidity reporting
- Heating/idle operating-state reporting
- Preset selection: home, away, sleep, vacation, evening, and manual
- Temperature calibration and hysteresis adjustment
- Setpoint hold and hold-duration control
- Window-detection setting
- Physical button lock/unlock
- Power-outage memory setting
- Power and accumulated energy reporting
- Celsius/Fahrenheit support according to the hub’s temperature scale
- Optional periodic polling
Installation
Available through Hubitat Package Manager (HPM).
Add this custom repository in HPM settings if you haven’t already:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/velkovb/hubitat-drivers/main/repository.json
Then install Aqara Floor Heating Thermostat W500.
Alternatively, use HPM’s Install → From a URL with this package manifest:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/velkovb/hubitat-drivers/main/drivers/aqara/floor-heating-thermostat-w500/packageManifest.json
For manual installation, add the driver source under Drivers Code.
Pairing and setup
The W500 supports both Matter over Thread and Zigbee. This driver requires Zigbee mode. If your thermostat is currently in Thread mode, switch it to Zigbee using Aqara’s protocol-selection instructions before pairing.
Start Zigbee discovery on Hubitat, then put the thermostat into pairing mode using the reset-button sequence described in its manual: press twice, holding the second press for more than five seconds.
After pairing:
- Open the device page.
- Select Aqara Floor Heating Thermostat W500 as the device type if it wasn’t selected automatically.
- Save the device and click Configure.
- Click Refresh to retrieve its current settings.
Preferences for window detection, child lock, and power-outage memory default to Keep device setting. Configure preserves existing thermostat settings unless you explicitly select a change.
Testing and limitations
Heat/off commands, setpoint changes, heating/idle reporting, all listed presets, calibration, hysteresis, hold settings, window detection, child lock, and power-outage memory settings have been tested through device readbacks. Relay clicks and the thermostat’s heating indicator have also been checked.
Testing was performed without a heater connected. Power and energy readings were therefore zero; measurement accuracy under load and actual heating performance remain unverified.
Other limitations:
- External sensor association and temperature injection are not implemented.
- Onboard weekly schedule programming and editing preset temperatures are not implemented.
- NTC sensor configuration is read-only in this preview.
- Power-outage memory settings have been read and changed successfully, but recovery after an actual mains interruption has not been tested.
- Other firmware versions and Hubitat models have not been tested.
Firmware updates
The driver includes a manual Update Firmware command using Hubitat’s Zigbee OTA mechanism.
An OTA check has been attempted, but a successful firmware transfer or completed update has not been confirmed. Firmware-image availability through Hubitat is also unverified. The driver does not initiate updates automatically.
Links
Development disclosure
This driver was developed with significant AI assistance (ChatGPT), using publicly available technical references and iterative testing with real hardware. It hasn’t undergone an independent code or security audit. Sources, limitations, and tested functionality are documented in the repository.
Feedback, bug reports, and contributions are welcome—especially results from a W500 connected to a heating load, different firmware versions, or other Hubitat models.
When reporting an issue, please include your hub model/platform version, thermostat firmware details if available, and relevant debug logs.