Best Thermostats for HS4

[fresnoboy]

ecobee

Ecobee was just bought by Generac (the generator company): https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/1/2...ome-thermostat

While the $770M sounds large, other news reports said that amount was dependent on Ecobee meeting certain sales targets, so it could be much less. As late as October, they had been in conversations with a SPAC to go public because of Amazon's backing: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...canaccord-spac , however since then Amazon announced a $60 thermostat, so clearly Amazon is now aiming to compete with them. I wonder if that was a surprise to them given the SPAC talk.

They had laid off 10% of the workforce last year, and haven't released a new product in over two years, while Nest continues to dominate the space. Amazon's low cost $60 entry will further compress the market even more, so they likely had issues raising a new investment round given Amazon's decision to compete with them rather than acquire them.

So I am not sure you would want to invest in Ecobee until their future in the new company is clarified. Hopefully they will get new capital and bring out some new products, but it could easily go the other way. We'll have to see if their existing employees were screwed by the transaction the way Eero's were when Amazon bought them. Hopefully not!

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[kellermix]

ecobee

[jgreenberg01]

I only have 8" tablets on the wall so this screen might be a bit small. I am thinking of doing something like that, though. It wouldn't be controlled by HS but programmed into the thermostat assuming my thermostat allows programming over z-wave.

I have 14", 10", and 8" tablets. That screen is totally functional on all of them.

Even our cell phones (mostly 5" screens) are usable - as long as one isn't walking and trying to hit a button at the same time

The challenging part was figuring out an efficient way to program 56 possible setpoint changes via HSTouch.

[mulu]

I only have 8" tablets on the wall so this screen might be a bit small. I am thinking of doing something like that, though. It wouldn't be controlled by HS but programmed into the thermostat assuming my thermostat allows programming over z-wave.

[jgreenberg01]

I am not quite sure I understand the problem but I don't like thermostats becoming "intelligent". My wife wants to program the thermostat just like an old manual thermostat. Time x in the morning and set the temperature to n degrees. Time y in the evening and set the temperature to m degrees. Let people override it on the panel (in my case a wall mounted tablet). The only difference is that we have home/sleep/away/vacation modes and those change the temperatures. I might add some features like don't heat/cool if the windows are open, etc. But the point is that the thermostat isn't 'smart' and I don't want it to be 'smart'.

Agreed - although my wife likes to simply hit up or down on the TStat to change the temperature, she will not venture into the schedule screen. That's why I created this for the tablets:



A "smart" TStat isn't required, just a Z-wave one. Like your idea for a Vacation setting. I may add that when I have time, not that I can recall the last time I had a vacation...

[mulu]

The Nest wants to determine when we are away/home and I have to have an event to monitor the status. This is a first or second gen device and it worked well until Google change the API. Moving on.
Barry

I am not quite sure I understand the problem but I don't like thermostats becoming "intelligent". My wife wants to program the thermostat just like an old manual thermostat. Time x in the morning and set the temperature to n degrees. Time y in the evening and set the temperature to m degrees. Let people override it on the panel (in my case a wall mounted tablet). The only difference is that we have home/sleep/away/vacation modes and those change the temperatures. I might add some features like don't heat/cool if the windows are open, etc. But the point is that the thermostat isn't 'smart' and I don't want it to be 'smart'.

[lhfarm]

I am curious why you want to replace your Nest thermostat? Initially I was thinking of getting an Ecobee because it allows remote temperature sensors and allows disabling the built-in sensor. The only reason I decided against it is because of the cost (I have my thermostats 'hidden' and I don't need all those extra features) plus I would rely on another plugin.

The Nest wants to determine when we are away/home and I have to have an event to monitor the status. This is a first or second gen device and it worked well until Google change the API. Moving on.
Barry

[rtobin]

Why do you need a proximity sensor? So the display comes on? Or to know if somebody is home?

The HAI omnistat's that I am replacing have this and it is nice to be able to walk down the hallway and glance at the temp without having to fumble on the wall to touch the screen in the dark, also makes a handy nightlight in the hallway

This is actually the one feature I will miss the most.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[mulu]

Did the OP make a decision? I'm struggling with the same decision to replace the Nest I have had for years.
Barry

I am curious why you want to replace your Nest thermostat? Initially I was thinking of getting an Ecobee because it allows remote temperature sensors and allows disabling the built-in sensor. The only reason I decided against it is because of the cost (I have my thermostats 'hidden' and I don't need all those extra features) plus I would rely on another plugin.

[mulu]

Does the TH6320ZW2003 have a proximity sensor? does it light up when you get close to it?

Why do you need a proximity sensor? So the display comes on? Or to know if somebody is home?

[lhfarm]

Did the OP make a decision? I'm struggling with the same decision to replace the Nest I have had for years.
Barry

[rtobin]

Does the TH6320ZW2003 have a proximity sensor? does it light up when you get close to it?

Thanks
Randy

[mulu]

I probably mentioned this before but many thermostats don't let you disable the internal temperature sensor. If they allow a second sensor they usually do an averaging. It might not matter to you but in my case I banned the thermostats to places where they should not measure temperature so it was important that they only work based on the external sensor.

[pcburcham]

I use the Honeywell Intrusion

Second that. I've been running two for quite some time now. Solid thermostat.

[Kigmatzomat]

FYI, the Iris zwave thermostats are rebadged ct101s. I bought a spare on Mercari a month ago.