2 HS4 Z-Wave NON C-Wire compatible thermostats.

[ppespepe]

Hello everyone,

For a while, I've been scratching my head trying to find a reasonably priced Z-Wave smart thermostat compatible with four wires HVAC (non-C-Wire), and that could work great with my HS4 environment.

There was not a lot of info to be found other than the GoControl and one called CT something. I wanted something more modern-looking and perhaps programmable. It was hard for me to find validated alternatives reason why I share my experience with two models:

- Vivint Element Thermostat (VS-ELEM02-001):



And this is how it looks from HS4:



- Honeywell Z-Wave T6 Pro:



And from HS4:



I tested both and both seems to work great with my house's HVAC. For what is worth, my house's HVAC has the following cabling:

W - G - R - Y and of course, is a typical single-stage cool/heat with a gas furnace.

I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I wanted to share this info hoping that somebody will find it helpful.

Cheers!

PP

[srodgers]

Use a regular thermostat of your choice and add a “C” wire a adapter. I just installed one in my in laws place.

Vemstar https://venstar.com/thermostats/accessories/add-a-wire/

Bought it n Amazon. Works great adding that 5th wire. Installed a Emerson wifi thermostat after getting the C wire added.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[racerfern]

Nice looking units.

I ended up dropping a single 18ga. C wire from the air handler in the attic, down two walls to the Honeywell thermostats. Not that hard really.

[rmasonjr]

Nice looking units.

I ended up dropping a single 18ga. C wire from the air handler in the attic, down two walls to the Honeywell thermostats. Not that hard really.

I did same for a church that runs Z-Wave thermostats - I found an unused wire in the thermostat bundle and connected it to the C-Wire in the unit.

[Rupp]

The Ecobee tstat comes with a C wire adapter to make this easy as well.

[ppespepe]

All valid observations. However, there are times when you don't want, or can't add either Ecobee's C-Wire adapter or add the fifth cable altogether, which happens to be my case.

Those like me who struggle to find information about which battery-operated thermostat will work flawlessly with HS4 now have two more "known-to-work" options.

[TC1]

All valid observations. However, there are times when you don't want, or can't add either Ecobee's C-Wire adapter or add the fifth cable altogether, which happens to be my case.

Yep.... my house is over 100 years old and only had a 2-wire cable going to the heat thermostat... wanted a learning thermostat... even Ecobee's adapter wouldn't work in this case... can't run any new wire without significant interior damage...

Hence why you have this

Fast-STAT Common Maker - Adds a Common"C" Popular Wi-Fi Thermostats: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

And yes, I previously had battery powered Z-wave thermostats, the Iris CT101. Have two of them for sale.

[ppespepe]

Yep.... my house is over 100 years old and only had a 2-wire cable going to the heat thermostat... wanted a learning thermostat... even Ecobee's adapter wouldn't work in this case... can't run any new wire without significant interior damage...

Hence why you have this

Fast-STAT Common Maker - Adds a Common"C" Popular Wi-Fi Thermostats: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

And yes, I previously had battery powered Z-wave thermostats, the Iris CT101. Have two of them for sale.

Agreed. Installing the Ecobee C-Wire adapter is easier since it won't require two pieces. Maybe it is just me, but I can't change any cabling on the HVAC side. If and only IF you have access only to the thermostat side like it is my case, there's a chance somebody would find the above info helpful. If you can install an adapter or have the C-Wire, you will save the battery hassle even if you choose to use one of the thermostats mentioned above.

The info I shared was only intended to show that those two thermostats work well with HS4 and the reason why I tested them is because I don't (or can) have a C-Wire with an adapter or otherwise.

Cheers!

PP

[BobSpen]

Hello everyone,

For a while, I've been scratching my head trying to find a reasonably priced Z-Wave smart thermostat compatible with four wires HVAC (non-C-Wire), and that could work great with my HS4 environment.

There was not a lot of info to be found other than the GoControl and one called CT something. I wanted something more modern-looking and perhaps programmable. It was hard for me to find validated alternatives reason why I share my experience with two models:

- Vivint Element Thermostat (VS-ELEM02-001):



And this is how it looks from HS4:




PP

A few questions:
1) Did the Vivint install/function without a plug-in--i.e. using the native Z-wave PI only?

2) I notice on the device page that the "temperature" has one decimal point. Do the setpoints allow for a single decimal point? I have been looking for a Thermostat (native Z-wave) where I can get 1/2 degree F or finer setpoint and reporting.

3) Are the non-temperature related controls easy to get to on the physical unit(I don't see them in your picture)?

4) I have a C-wire and assume it uses one so no batteries needed?

5) What is the "notification device used for?

6) Cost?

[ppespepe]

Hi Bob,

1) My setup is nothing special. My mini PC burned two weeks ago, so I replaced it with a Hometroller Plus. I use the standard 3.0.10 z-wave plugin with HS4 version 4.2.8.0. Nothing fancy.

2) I'm not using the Vivint, but since it works with batteries, I included it again to give it a test. I sent 64.5, and it went back to 64 on the HS4 side after some seconds. I'm afraid it does not support decimals. The thermostat screen won't show decimals either.

3) It isn't my picture. It is a picture taken from the internet. It looks identically to the image when in person, but it doesn't look terrific when I take the picture. It is straightforward to use because it is straightforward. Tou have a small button on the side. If you look very close to the image, it is the small bump on the right side to turn on the display or program its functions. It has Heat, Cool, and Auto (heat/cooling). If you press the upper side of the thermostat, the temperature will go up (see the arrow light) and lower if you click on the lower arrow.

4) You're right. If you have C-Wire, it will work without batteries. However, I happen to agree with some of the comments above about using a more advanced thermostat like an Ecobee 3 lite (my favorite). If using WiFi or the additional features is not your particular cup of tea, this will work very well because of its simplicity or because it won't use any cloud service. For some reason (I'm weird), I like z-waves more than WiFi when it comes to Home Automation.

5) I don't know. It only seems to have options for "Ok" and "unknown event":



6) About the price, I bought my thermostats on eBay. This one cost me about $70 with shipping and everything, and it was new. Then I decided I liked the T6 better, and I won an auction of two used ones in excellent condition for $36, including shipping. Also, on eBay.

I hope this helps!

PP

***** Update ******

Minutes after, I gave the T6 a try with the decimals, and while I'm not sure it would work with decimals, I gave it a test, and it accepted the decimal but again, after a while, it went back to 72.

However, it won't show any decimals on the thermostat screen:


PP

[BobSpen]

PP,
Thanks for your extra effort and the info.

[vasrc]

FYI, if you use a heat pump with aux heating strips, the Honeywell may not be the best choice as it doesn't give you much control of the Aux deadband so the heat strips come on when the thermostat decides they need to, not you