I recently setup a Zen Zigbee Thermostat to control my Gas Fireplace on / off switch. Setup was pretty straightforward, it paired quickly using the built-in HE Zen driver. But after a few hours of operation it drops off the network. At first I thought the distance to the hub was the issue, so I placed a zigbee wall outlet 1 metre away to act as a repeater, but it still dropped off. I took a look at the Zigbee logs while it was running and the LastHopLqi was always over 200 and the RSSI was usually in the -70 range (the older log are no longer available as it dropped off the network last night, but I can re-pair it and copy the logs here if that would be helpful).
Has anyone had success with keeping a Zen Thermostat on the network? Should I try a different driver?
I no longer have a Zen thermostat; although I had used one with no issues with a C-5 hub for a while. My thermostat was powered directly by an R/C combination from the 24VAC HVAC transformer.
I do technically have a plug available in the same wall cavity as the thermostat wires...so was thinking of something like the below to actually run inside the wall (would rather not have a wire running up the wall).
Before I pull the trigger on a 24V power supply...has anyone successfully kept a battery powered thermostat on a zigbee network?
What if I set up a rule to ping the thermostat with a refresh command every hour...might that help? I realize that is not a great solution...
I was intrigued by the thought of the power state of the thermostat being the culprit, so I pulled the battery out and put it back in and sure enough...it rejoined the Zigbee network, so it might be when the unit goes into a deeper sleep mode when battery powered that is the issue...sigh.
I can’t really speak to that other than the observation that my thermostat never fell off the network. I didn’t like the Zen thermostat for other reasons.
I installed a wired transformer (like the one you posted above) for my Honeywell Prestige stat -- long story, but I just prefer the stat head gets power independent of the furnace control board.
That transformer has been a rock star for many years - I've never had an issue with it.
I had a Zen Zigbee edition thermostat for several years. For the most part, it was reliable until it wasn't. I still have it but it is sitting unused. I replaced it with a Lux KONOz thermostat and set up rules to take care of what the Zigbee had such as auto-switchover. It has been performing well.
I'm just thinking about "sleepy" battery-powered devices like many of the SonOff motion & contact sensors. It's true that when I look at the Zigbee map, it says they're not on there, but as soon as they sense motion/contact sensor opens, then they wake up. I believe it's to conserve battery. So, at least functionality-wise, there really isn't a difference other than not seeing it on the Zigbee map when they're asleep. Are you experiencing any repurcussions of the "sleepy" device? Like, you can't change your temp through the Hub or rules don't work?
Sadly yes, for me, the thermostat no longer accepts any set commands from either the Hub or my Google Home device. At first I through of sending a Refresh command every hour, but even that did not seem to work as I not sure it woke up the battery, though I did see some zigbee traffic when I issued the Refresh command (but it still dropped off after a couple of hours).
I wonder if changing the driver might help? Maybe use a generic Zigbee Thermostat driver instead?
I don't really want to install a 24V power supply, but I can if it gets to that.
Unlike battery powered sensors, a thermostat is unlikely to be a sleepy end device, for the very reasons you mention.
Not all Zigbee end devices (non-routing) are sleepy. Most battery powered devices are end devices (since routing would consume more power) but not all are sleepy.
What driver are you using?
Does the thermostat respond to Hubitat commands after controlling it directly on the unit?
You might want to try the community Zigbee map app which has an advanced pairing option which lets you select a specific device to pair through.
Interesting...I just tried this and no...it does not. The only way I have found to have it rejoin the network and respond to commands is to re-pair it or to pull the battery and put it back in.
I would try a different driver like you said
