If you'd like to nominate a specific thermostat that works with Hubitat Elevation, and exceeded your expectations this year, in terms of reliability and ease of use (it doesn't have to be released in 2023), please drop a comment below* with the make and model of your favorite device.
The products (comments) that receive most likes will be selected for the top 5 Most Popular Thermostats in 2023.
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The Sinopé Zigbee TH1124ZB or TH1123ZB thermostat for baseboard heaters is my go-to.
It is easy to pair and stays connected. It also allows the display of outside temperature which is extremely useful.
With this thermostat, rules can be setup that will notify me of temperature changes and will also record the power usage. The version I have also allows me to turn on/off the display which can be useful when used in a dard room at night.
Becasue i don't like sharing any data at all with companies. I have wired a smart switch into the boiler. So i can turn the boiler on and off via a rule. I then use the data I get from sensors in the house to turn on the boiler when the temperature is too cold and turn off the boiler when the temp is too hot. I do the same with the air conditioning. The thermostat is not really needed at all.
In my case the boiler keeps the hot water hot all day long. after removing the thermostats and changing the way it turns on and off i also set it so that the boiler turns on at 5:30 AM and 5:30 pm for 30 minutes for showers.
my oil consumption has dropped from 4-5 fills a year to 1 fill per year.
I would be most grateful if you would share your boiler control rule and any details that might help. I can't help but wonder if thermostats could be completely replaced by smart home devices.
Why not just use a z-wave or zigbee thermostat with Hubitat?
It can’t share data with anyone, and it will always maintain its built-in controls even if something is wrong with Hubitat (unlike a smart relay wired to a boiler).
I agree with you - safety should remain paramount in automation. With that said, I imagine that @john66public's boiler has built-in a thermal cutoff switch.
For a while, I controlled two 50 gal electric water heaters the same way. With the reassurance that the built-in upper & lower thermostats remained functional if necessary.
But I wonder if the air-conditioner has a thermal cutoff? Coil freezes can kill a compressor.
Yes there is still a safety cutoff switch that overrides everything.
if i relied on any thermostat the boiler would run all day keeping the water hot. with the smart switch the boiler only runs for a few minutes right before people take showers. you cant do that with a thermostat of any kind. my method cut my oil consumption by 75%
With a Hubitat-controlled thermostat, you raise the temperature beyond an arbitrary set-point, wait xyz minutes, and then lower the temperature to be below that arbitrary set-point.
A thermostat will only control temperature. when you have a boiler you have temperature and you have hot water. the hot water is constantly kept hot no matter what temperature you set the house at. there is not a thermostat on the market that allows you to shut off the heating of the hot water.
with the automations i set a threshold. if the house gets below 50 the boiler will turn on and keep the pipes from freezing. i have been operating this way for a few years. never had an issue with the automations. in the winter i burn wood 24 hours a day so the temp of the house never goes below 75.
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