Thermostat Choices

Ok, thanks. I like the Ecobee concept as it will integrate directly with Hubitat and with Homekit. Of course, with homebridge, I don't really need Homekit integration. I also like the remote sensor concept but I am able to manage some of this using third party sensors in hubitat. My only real concern is that Hubitat uses cloud access to control/manage the Ecobee.

Not just Hubitat, everyone does...

Anyone using the Trane 624 or Trane 524? I have a Trane system, so I was thinking of going with that over the Centralite.

That is except for homekit. That integration is direct with the thermostat because that is the only way Apple would play ball.

I have a Radio Thermostat CT100. I'm so tired of having to put a 5 second delay between each command so I want to upgrade.
From reading everything I can find, it looks like the CT100 Plus is the best. It's a much faster cpu and is Zwave Plus.
Anyone find anything better?
Has to be zwave plus and have 'auto change over' with adjustable Thermostat Swing Temp.

Also: Why can't I find anyone selling them? No Amazon, Ebay, nothing.

Take a look at the GoControl GC-TBZ48.

Better/worse is subjective. But I like it, is ZWave plus, and has adjustable swing temp, so thought I would mention it.

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Wow, that's news to me, Ecobee has no local api. Do you have any information that backs this up? All other Apple homekit integrations are cloud to cloud, so I'm surprised Apple would require this of Ecobee.

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Actually I think it's the opposite in that Homekit compatible devices need to have local control like bluetooth or wifi. Yes some of them have a cloud component but it's not required to enable that in order to use them with homekit. Examples which I personally own are Hue, Lutron, iHome smart plugs. I am looking at replacing my Nest cameras with Netatmo ones. Here is something on the ecobee. TIL-Homekit control of ecobee3 works without internet : ecobee

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Wow, that was fast. :wink:
Sorry, I failed to mention the minimum swing for me was one degree. The minimum for the TBZ48 is 3 degrees.
Also, are your sure it's Zwave plus? The manual just says Zwave.
Thanks again for the quick reply.
Jim

So, here's the long and short answer... Ecobee's will work for a brief time without internet with Homekit, as they have the old support for the secure Homekit chip. However, to maintain the local connection, Apple requires a cloud authentication token to get renewed.

So, you can't use Ecobee in a truly offline capacity with Homekit, but you can continue to control it for a short time if your internet is down.

Really wish Ecobee would release 2 things, a local API and a push event model or websocket for getting updates so you don't have to poll.

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@jim1

No, the swing is configurable (separately on COOL and HEAT) from 1-6 for ON and 0-5 for OFF. The stat you are thinking of that has a minimum of 3 is the delta between cooling SP and heating SP.

And yes all 4 of the GoControl thermostats I have are definitely zwave plus. There is a non-zwave plus model, but all "GC-TBZ48L" should be zwave plus.

Again, thanks for the quick response.
The RT CT100 Plus will let me set the heat to 75 and the cool to 76. They call it the swing and it can be as low as .5F. So far, I haven't been able to find a Zwave Plus thermostat that will do that. Thus my question. And my problem.
It seems NO ONE has these in stock or knows when they will get one.
Wonder where they all went?

Really? That's weird. Those terms are pretty industry standard across manufacturers - and swing is definitely not that. But ok.

Anyway, you are correct. The GoControl (or any other thermostat I've ever owned, actually) will not let you put the cool and heat set points that close together.

Good luck!

@jim1,

I believe you misunderstand the meaning of temperature "swing" in this case.

Swing (HVAC Cycling Rate)
This feature enables you to set the acceptable variance in
temperature between the CT100’s setting and the current room
temperature before the heating or cooling system will turn on. The
Swing range can be from 0.5 to 4.0F (.25 to 2C). For example, if Swing
is set to 2.0°F and the CT100 is set to 70°F target temperature, the
heat cycle will start when the room temperature drops to 68°F.
Similarly, the cooling system will start when the room temperature
increases to 72°F. The HVAC runs until the room reaches the target
temperature, and then shuts off .
From their manual: © 2016 Radio Thermostat Company of America. All rights reserved.

I mentioned this because this type of control is not ideal for my Oil - hot water heat. There is too much lag in the system by its very nature causing even greater temperature swings in my home.

What I've done in those type of heating systems is set the ON swing large (say 2F), and the OFF swing small (as small as it goes typically). That way it turns on sooner, and off earlier to fly past the heat set point too far.

Of course that assumes the thermostat allows for separate settings for ON and OFF swing (GoControl does).

After reading your post I read through the GoControl manual. I was surprised to see the two Δ values controlled separately. But isn't the two separate delta parameters the same as a single parameter with a setpoint offset?

Only the same if both deltas are set to the same number... Otherwise you can make it bigger gap to turn on than turn off - which is good for systems with lag/latency.

Capture

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Patrick,

I returned my Nest Thermostat today and bought an Ecobee 4. I installed it from the thermostat and did not download the app or create a logon account. I then opened the Apple Home app and was able to pair the thermostat with Homekit and was able to operate the thermostat. As you stated, Ecobee did put the MFI chip in their thermostats. I just wanted to clarify that is does comply with Apple's local control requirement of homekit and I can leave the house and control the thermostat without setting up an Ecobee account. That said, I cannot do anything that requires the Ecobee app without creating an Ecobee account. I can, however pair sensors to it from the thermostat and those will make it into homekit and I can also set what sensors are part of a comfort setting etc.

I don't think this helps us in Hubitat at all though as this local control is part of the Apple Homekit spec and Ecobee's adherence to it. If homebridge worked both ways, then maybe we could control the homekit device locally.

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Sorry for responding to my own post, but...
The reason I can't find anyone selling the Radio Thermostat CT-100 Plus is that they are on nation wide backorder. But, I did find an open box unit at 'The Smartest House' at:

I ordered one and they appear to have more.

The CT100 Plus appears to be the latest, greatest, fastest zwave plus out there now that allows me to set the swing to 1 degree F and the auto changeover will insure my house stays where I want it weather the outside temp is 110 or 20 (I live in Texas).

Thanks for all the responses. Hope this helps someone.

@jim1
Hi, I would check the ability to bring the Heating and Cooling setpoint as close together as you state immediately upon receipt. My understanding of "swing" is different than you stated. I could be wrong as there seems to be no universal definition but I know I hate to be surprised, I assume you feel the same.