Trane, 2Gig, Honeywell, Ecobee & Plugins

[mulu]

I need to get a thermostat that I can control via HS. 3 popular ones (not sure exactly which model) that I see in discussions a lot of Trane, 2Gig (CT-100) and Honeywell. However, I only see a plugin for the Honeywell but not the Trane and 2Gig. How do you integrate them?

I am also considering the Ecobee3 (without Alexa integrated). This seems to be in about the same price range as the others ($150-$200). What I like most about the ecobee is that I can have multiple sensors and disable the sensor where the thermostat is located (which is not the most ideal place). It also looks more modern (though I would prefer it to be white). There is also a plugin for it. Has anybody any experience or comments about Ecobee vs Trane/2Gig/Honeywell?

[waynehead99]

I cant speak for Trane, but the 2gig is natively supported by the zwave plugin.

[Kerat]

Trane, 2Gig, Honeywell, Ecobee & Plugins

I have a Trane XR524 and I love it. I set my temps in case it needs to be managed stand alone as a regular thermostat. The thermostat integrates directly with HS3, no third party plugin necessary. The XR524 runs on a Z-wave wireless interface. And creates the following devices:


My only complaint on the XR524 is that the screen isn't color. The XR824 is a newer model, has a color screen, but appears to run Trane's named automation product.

My overall goal was to ensure I didn't need a plugin to run my thermostat, and the thermostat could run independently in the event that HS3 goes offline. This drove me away from major IOT product lines.

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[mulu]

waynehead99, Kerat, I get it now. So the 2gig and Trane are z-wave devices that integrate just like any of the other z-wave devices (dimmers, power outlets, etc). Hence, they work with the regular z-wave plugin. So I can set the "heating set point" based on regular events (time, occupancy, etc), set the mode (only heating, only cooling, heating/cooling, all off), etc. That sounds all good. These are all good advantages (no additional plugins means fewer things that can break now and in the future).

The only item that I wonder about is if these devices can work with one or more remote sensors while ignoring the sensor in the thermostat. As mentioned before, my thermostat is not in an ideal location and especially upstairs I have either one room occupied that has morning sun or another room occupied that has evening sun and the occupancy is not necessarily correlated with the time of day. So having sensors in those two rooms and having the thermostat adjust accordingly would be helpful. Of course I could do this by adding motion sensors to each room but that puts the burden of programming the logic to me rather than having the thermostat figuring this out.

[Kerat]

the only item that I wonder about is if these devices can work with one or more remote sensors while ignoring the sensor in the thermostat. As mentioned before, my thermostat is not in an ideal location and especially upstairs I have either one room occupied that has morning sun or another room occupied that has evening sun and the occupancy is not necessarily correlated with the time of day. So having sensors in those two rooms and having the thermostat adjust accordingly would be helpful. Of course I could do this by adding motion sensors to each room but that puts the burden of programming the logic to me rather than having the thermostat figuring this out.

I actually am working on configuring occupancy status for the whole home and by room. I am approaching this in three rules.
1. I am gradually adding in motion sensors throughout my house. My hope is to know if there is motion in a room, floor, and whole house. This is already working for some of my other events but I need to add more sensors to make it more accurate.
2. I am working on setting up HTPC playback detection to aid in situations where there is not motion but people are still present.
3 Eventually I will tumor in my security system.

I will also note that, I have tied in my ceiling fans into my circulation and fan on cycles on the thermostat. My hope is when my room occupancy becomes well developed Enovate GHz I can ensure that fans are only used when the room is occupied.

I am starting to test Aeotech multi-sensors. My hope is to deploy them in rooms that I have trouble with heating/cooling.

My end goal with them is to calculate average temp across all thermostats and then control the HVAC cooling/heating/fan modes using this new average.





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[mulu]

I wired most of my inside doors with sensors and I have a few motion sensors. Still, I wish I had added more sensors (long story). Having said that, how are you detecting when people are present but are not moving, e.g. sleeping? That seems a tricky part which I guess can be done with a lot of motion sensors (if somebody doesn't move out of a particular area then they still have to be in that area despite the fact that there is no motion...)

As for the fans, I am very interested in this as well. I have Hunter fans that have a remote control for the light and fan speed. I would like to automate both the light and fan part. However, I am not sure what switch to use, in particular for the fan (I think the light is just a regular LED dimmer so that's easy). What switches are you using?

Btw, I have one of the early Aeotech multi-sensors. They are neat but use a lot of batteries. Maybe the newer models are better but I don't like to switch batteries every few months which becomes pretty tiring if you have dozens of battery powered devices.

[waynehead99]

Some advice and suggestions, stay away from the 2Gig, I had it previously before I upgraded my heater. It is a dumb tstat that relies on HS for programing... meaning without HS, it will work as a normal tstat from the 80s. No local programing.

I am the type that likes to keep things separated, but integrated... meaning, if HS breaks for whatever reason, things still work as they should. HS enhances the experience, but doesn't control it, if that makes sense. Make sure you stick with a tstat that does have local programming. Personally I have a carrier system that utilizes a proprietary tstat, this is becoming more the normal as the years go by since the newer heaters have a lot more functionality in them from just blow hot/cold air. I was able to hack into the wifi signal with the help of google and a raspberry Pi, and its working well for my needs.

Personally here, I do very little control over the tstat, it does such a good job on its own, that I don't need to mess with it. Really I only do a couple things, if the windows or doors are open for longer then 2 min, shut the unit off. My wife and I basically leave the house open as much as possible and this keeps the heater/AC from running during those times. It resets once the house is closed up.

My occupancy is slightly different from mentioned above as I use a Geofence with pretty reliable accuracy now (took a while to get there). Depending on your location and cost of elec/gas, studies are showing now that changing your tstat setpoints when away actually does nothing, and in some cases can actually cost you more vs just leaving a constant temp. Also the age of the house and the building material make a difference. Our house is energy star rated (whatever that means these days), but it does hold the heat really well in the winter and cool in the summer. So I don't mess with changing the set points, except for comfort factor (evening in the winter the heater is dropped to 60 degrees because we like it cold, and the summer its shut off since we have a whole house fan that cools the house better vs the AC). The new rule of changing set points is 4x4, if you are going to be gone longer than 4 hours, change your set points 4 degrees... outside of that, its a waste, but again for comfort.

Also related to remote sensors, most manufactures require you use their remote temp sensors to integrate into the tstat. Trane is one that has it in their higher line, and some others. You can utilize the temp sensors you have currently to modify and "fake" your set points, but you are starting to get into scripting land and without a zoned system, my cause more trouble than its worth.

[mulu]

waynehead99, thanks again for the reply. We are pretty much on the same page. I want everything to work by itself with HomeSeer just enhancing the experience. I am thinking of how would things work if my HomeSeer server goes down (it still has to work just less smart). I did take a closer look (incl. manual) at the 2gig CT100 which some people seem to like on this forum. But it apparently you are right that it indeed cannot even be programmed with daily schedules. So that thermostat is out.

So that leaves the Trane, Honeywell and possibly the Ecobee in play. At this point I tend towards the Ecobee, in particular due to the remote sensors and Alexa integration (upstairs I don't need Alexa in the corridor but downstairs it would be quite helpful). The only issue is that now I depend on another plugin (who knows how long it will be supported).

[Kerat]

Trane, 2Gig, Honeywell, Ecobee & Plugins

waynehead99, thanks again for the reply. We are pretty much on the same page. I want everything to work by itself with HomeSeer just enhancing the experience. I am thinking of how would things work if my HomeSeer server goes down (it still has to work just less smart). I did take a closer look (incl. manual) at the 2gig CT100 which some people seem to like on this forum. But it apparently you are right that it indeed cannot even be programmed with daily schedules. So that thermostat is out.



So that leaves the Trane, Honeywell and possibly the Ecobee in play. At this point I tend towards the Ecobee, in particular due to the remote sensors and Alexa integration (upstairs I don't need Alexa in the corridor but downstairs it would be quite helpful). The only issue is that now I depend on another plugin (who knows how long it will be supported).

The Trane xr524 has self programming features. I suspect that you can integrate and control the xr524 with Alexa through the HS3 skill since it is a Zwave native device.


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[mulu]

When I said Alex I meant that the new ecobee4 has Alexa integrated. Basically, ecobee4 = ecobee3 + Echo/Alexa. One of my Thermostat is close to the main entrance and entrance to the garage (well first the mud room). There isn't any good place to put an Echo in that area but that is exactly an area where it would be nice to have an Echo (giving some commands to HS when you leave or when you come home). That makes the ecobee4 appealing to me.

[waynehead99]

Honeywell has direct integration as well. I looked for trane and didn't see it

[mulu]

waynehead99, good point. I think that only applies to the z-wave controllers, though (they look very old style but do they job, I guess). I was looking at the RTH9580WF which is a WiFi version. There is a 3rd party plugin for that thermostat but again that makes you dependent on another software from another 'vendor' (same issue with ecobee). So basically if you want to have the least dependency you have to stick with a z-wave thermostat.

[waynehead99]

You will still get integration into the tstat with Alexa thru HS on the zwave ones. It's part of the basic home automation skill. You are right though, if direct integration is something you want, it will have to be a wifi unit and require another plugin.

[mulu]

waynehead99, yes I can still integrate the tstat through Alexa. Here is one possible scenario that I have in mind: I am about to leave the house and I want to put the home into "away" mode. So I want to simply say "Alexa, tell homeseer to arm the house". This will arm the security system, adjust the tstat to away, etc. The problem I have is that there is not good place close to the exit where I can put an Echo. I do have the tstat in that area, though. So since the ecobee4 has Alexa integrated I now have Alexa in that section of the house.

[waynehead99]

I am not sure I understand. You can't speak to Alexa thru the tstat (unless I am missing something). The mic on Alexa is pretty good depending on the walls/length. They also make some pretty slick in ceiling mounts for Alexa if you can run power to it. I have a buddy that's done it and it is nice.