Thermostat recommendation

+1

3 Likes

+2 for the Honeywell T6 z-wave

3 Likes

I have two KONOz's and an Ecobee and I am in the market for an additional unit so will take another look at Honeywell T6 (I like the price!). I think they are all good with subtle differences. I love the KONOz's style and functionality but new units have not been available for months though they are still displayed on their website. I have had some signal issues where one of the KONOz's missed a few temperature changes from my HE and had to be reinstalled (minor glitch). My Ecobee is installed in a rental property. Here, the advantage is that (1) it is easy to use by anyone; (2) I can access the Ecobee remotely with full control via their app. For a Hubitat-only controlled KONOz, I have easy remote access through the dashboard but need to set up a VPN to connect directly with the HE; and (3) for thermostat automations it is not a major inconvenience if the internet goes down. An added bonus is that basic automations are stored locally in the Ecobee (i.e. a time of day based schedule). I shied away from the Nest's etc as Ecobee's business model is not based on selling data.

1 Like

I installed a few different types of thermostats in my home to test with my HVAC App. The favorite turned out to be the Zen thermostat. The family liked the looks of it and it integrates well with Hubitat. It has very basic functionality, relying on the hub for scheduling. I consider that a feature.

I won't argue with the people recommending Honeywell T6. I don't have one but have heard nothing but good things about them.

I have not had good luck using cloud based thermostats with my HVAC App. Ecobee and Nest pride themselves on having "intelligence" in the thermostat. As a result, they don't just do what you tell them to. They tend to interpret your inputs as suggestions.

3 Likes

There are lots of options but I have been recommending the Ecobee and their room sensors along with using Barry's excellent Ecobee suit. I have personally installed about 30 of these thermostats and my partners have done 100s. I will say that working with sensors and thermostats are great. Just remember that a thermostat is mission critical.

3 Likes

In a recent thread on Zigbee thermostats the Zen thermostat was favored by a number of people:

The Honeywell T6 (Z-wave version) is also popular. Both provide local control.

3 Likes

I've had:

Pearl Thermostat = I thought it did a poor job of controlling temperature, a lot of overshoot.

I have:
ecobee = purchased because the remote thermometer capability. I'm running exclusively on the remote thermostat located in the room. Still have significant overshoot. I don't automatically change temperatures so any internet outage (most likely from ecobee, my internet is pretty reliable). Folks have said the ecobee internet does down regularly, though I cannot verify since I don't use it).
I will say it looks nice, however changing he temperature manually is a bit if a pain. The display is difficult to read if small print is an issue with you.

Honeywell T6 pro Z-Wave.
Does a much better control of temperature that the Pearl. I've not used it in the location where the ecobee is so I can't say. The only thing I think is missing from the T6 is the minimum heating temperature limit (there is a max limit). And a maximum cooling limit (there is a min limit). I personally would prefer to only give an automated system limited authority. As well as protecting from small hands curious about the digital device on the wall.

In general I have more faith in Honeywell products to control temperature.

2 Likes

I really liked my Honeywell D6 Pro Wifi thermostat for my split system.

For my main thermostats Iā€™m using the Zen Zigbee units and they are excellent.

1 Like

Personally I prefer to keep my router out of the equation. I prefer to stay with Zigbee or Z-Wave.

2 Likes

Thanks, everyone, a lot to think about.
The only one I still have doubts about is Zen. I see a lot of variations in prizes on internet. It is something like V1 V2 that I am not able to see. I only was able that is WIFI and Zigbee versions. Aside from that, all look the same to me.

My current choices are T6 Pro ZWave and Zen

Can I use google home to set the temperature? (Google Home -> Hubitat -> Thermostat)

Also, what kind of automation you have configured. In my mind is Time, Geofence, and in the best scenario Presence. Is anything else should I consider?

I'm selling my new GoControl as it doesn't do 0.5 degree increments and switching to a T6 Honeywell. If you want granularity the Honeywell is better.

2 Likes

It's been normal for the pricing to be all over the place on the Zen, but they are all the same. The ones labeled as "Xfinity" are also the same.

You can find them very cheap on eBay, a good buy if you want the Zen. It was so inexpensive on eBay ($40-$45) that I bought a Zen off eBay just to see/try it in person.

1 Like

You can find them very cheap on eBay, a good buy if you want the Zen. It was so inexpensive on eBay ($40-$45) that I bought a Zen off eBay just to see/try it in person.

Good point. I found it for $40 on ebay, I bought it so I can test it out.

1 Like

+1 for Ecobee. Just works for me. I love the remote sensors. They don't depend on any other home automation functioning. If internet or your home network go down they still function as a perfectly good smart thermostat. I use the Hubitat built in integration app to set home and away via Life 360. Display temps and a control tile on the dashboard. Also turn on and off if doors or windows are left open. BUT, if I unplug the Hubitat the thermostat does most everything you want a thermostat to do. I ended up putting the Ecobee 4 in our new home with the intention of turning Alexa off. As it turns out, since we are an Alexa house it is actually convenient.

1 Like

I also have and like the Honeywell T6. With one exception... it sends a constant stream of log entries for the humidity. It logs every time your humidity changes by 1%.

Since the Honeywell T6 is a popular thermostat, is there any possibility that Hubitat could write a driver for it that stops the humidity reporting????

I just looked up the T6 pro manual and AFAICT, HoneyWell haven't implemented the ability to set Temp or Humidity reporting thresholds at all. As a result there is nothing Hubitat can do.

I am not a programmer, and have very little understanding of how HE actually works. But it seems like the driver is the interface between the device and HE. As such, why can't the driver simply stop forwarding that traffic to the HE?

It's not the driver, it's the Thermostat.

Z-wave devices usually have configurable parameters on the device itself for this kind of thing to prevent the z-wave network from being saturated etc, the Honeywell does not.

All Hubitat could do is give you the ability to not log the data - your Hubitat will still be receiving it.

1 Like

Just turn off the logging and you will never see the traffic :wink:

As such, why can't the driver simply stop forwarding that traffic to the HE?

The way the system works, ALL Z-Wave messages are received by the hub. The hub then sends the received message to the appropriate driver.

This means a device that sends an abnormal number of messages (commonly called a chatty device) will add to the Z-Wave traffic. Sometimes it matters most of the time it doesn't. However it annoys me because its wrong (aka needless). My guess is I'm not alone.