Thermostat recommendation to display message - Door Open A/C Disabled

Once I find a reliable "wireless" solution, I will propose this to the HOA. This is a common issue with all condos, just our (1) facility has 178 condos. The solution needs to be reliable.

The unhelpful, tongue-in-cheek side-of me says is this not the sensor and "display" you are looking for.... :wink:

I may ponder this interesting predicament... but won't promise to come up with a useful solution....

Could a raspberry pi zero (or similar) with an appropriately "professional" looking display attached, not service your needs? Looking back it sounds like it is the display you are most concerned about in terms of the aesthetic, obviously with the logical outcome you are also seeking, but the thing you need input on is the choice of display?

If you include a Zigbee sensor on the required door(s) / window(s) you need, connected to your chosen Zigbee dongle and software on a raspberry pi, with the rpi providing whatever external connectivity and security you need, plus control of the Thermostat, would this provide what you are after in terms of function?

Thinking about this in terms of HE, the likely "missing link" is the directly connected display...

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Definitely true for the aeotec gen 5 siren, which it sounds like could work for this use case. But AFAIK they’re not easy to find anymore since the gen 6 siren came out a couple years ago.

It looks kinda nice, and perhaps would meet some of your needs. But the specs clearly indicate it needs WiFi to work and uses the eWeLink app to communicate with Sonoff devices. Sonoff makes plenty of WiFi devices in addition to zigbee devices.

The specs don’t mention zigbee at all, so I’m wondering where you read that. Even if it can, the panel itself won’t function as advertised without an active WiFi connection.

I really don’t think you’re going to find an all-local smart thermostat that meets this need directly. I can’t recall ever hearing of a zigbee or z-wave based text message display either, perhaps someone else has, but it doesn’t sound like it so far.

The fact that you can’t rely on WiFi even for a LAN connection to a device like a wall-mounted Android tablet or Raspberry Pi (with a connected LED sign or LCD display) as has already been suggested, really limits your options.

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:point_up_2:

What he said....

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specs from web site

Additional information

*** |Zigbee|IEEE 802.15.4 (Zigbee 3.0)|**

| --- | --- |
|Wi-Fi|IEEE 802.11 b 2.4GHz|
|Input|100-240V AC 50/60Hz|
|Max Power Consumption|5W MAX; 150mA|
|TFT Screen Size|3.95" (Capacitive Screen)|
|Screen Resolution|480 x 480|
|MCU|PX30|
|CPU|4-cores Cortex-A35|
|GPU|Mali-G31GPU|
|RAM|2GB, DDR3|
|ROM|8GB, eMMC 5.1|
|Certifications|CE/UKCA/ SRRC/RoHS|
|Shell Materials|PC V0+CRS+Toughened Glass|
|Dimension|86x86x39.5mm|

Oh I see, it’s the Pro version.

For one thing, it doesn’t appear to be available for sale. It looks like they’re trying to crowdfund and taking pre-orders. What happens if they don’t get to their goal of 1000 pre-orders by September?

It looks like it is a zigbee coordinator that can control zigbee devices. So you could pair a zigbee thermostat to it, for example. But it still needs a wifi connection to function as intended with all of its other features.

Hubitat is also a zigbee coordinator, but that doesn’t mean you can pair this device with Hubitat and use it as a message board to receive notifications sent by the hub.

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This. So it can’t be used with any other zigbee hub.

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Have you explored a simple programmable LED sign combined with a zigbee plug? Plug turns on when the notification is required, sign turns on and displays the programmed message. Probably would be a scrolling message.

When problem has been resolved, I.e the balcony door is closed, plug turns off turning off sign.

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no, I have not