Can anyone recommend a thermostat system that is self-hosted (no third-party cloud) and integrates into homeassistant nicely? Something tasmota based would be even better.
This is the final bit of home automation that’s been difficult to solve. I’ve got a heat pump system and there are very few smart thermostat systems that aren’t beholden to a public cloud service.
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I seem to remember that the Honeywell T6 Pro Z-Wave comes up a lot when this question is asked. I’m not running Z-wave yet, though, so I can’t comment.
Thanks! Per my other comment, I guess I’ve gotta look at Z-Wave if there are no wifi-only options available. Checking out the T6 Pro now
Another +1 for the t6. It’s been running great for 6+ months
I have been extremely satisfied with my Honeywell T6 Z-wave thermostat.
Completely local. No vendor phone apps. No accounts.
https://static.xtremeownage.com/blog/2021/full-local-z-wave-hvac-control/
Yup, I have one as well, it is excellent.
I believe there are a few Honeywell models that are Z-Wave, so that’d be fully local. I’m using EcoBee, which does have cloud control, but I’ve added it to Home Assistant via HomeKit, and that is local control. It’s a little annoying because EcoBee doesn’t expose it’s fan setting via HomeKit, so I can’t have HA kick on the fan when the AC isn’t running, for example.
Thanks - I’ll take a closer look at Z-Wave again. I’m only running wifi based devices so far but if this is the only way to get better thermostat control I might have to compromise.
I have two Centralite HA 3156105 ZigBee ones I use for two zones. They work pretty well. They are the older Centralite units with xfinity markings on them, can be found on eBay for about $15 - $20. Both Z2M and ZHA support it.
I have an ecobee that I’m using now, but I do have a centralite pearl ziigbee thermostat. Do you mind sharing your configuration for setting your temperatures? I want to be able to have home mode away mode etc like I do with the ecobee but can’t seem to figure it out.
With the Centralite units I have, most of the config like temp floating point and setting what is exposed is done on the thermostat itself (the OEM manual covers how to set it up). zigbee2mqtt seems to have way more configuration options than ZHA in HA, both pick it to varying degrees.
I would suggest going the z2m route, as that would probably give you the most ecobee similar options: https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/devices/3156105.html
https://static.xtremeownage.com/blog/2021/full-local-z-wave-hvac-control/
I am a huge fan of my Honeywell T6 Pro (Z-wave, not wifi!)
Has been rock solid. Schedules are controlled via home assistant.
When Lowe’s Iris home automation platform was shut down, they liquidate everything. I picked up a couple of CT101’s made by Radio Thermostat. They’re based on Z-Wave and have been great.
I also have a Honeywell Z-Wave model that our AC service company had to replace when one of the CT101’s when they fried it. It’s not as full-featured as the CT101’s as it doesn’t expose some entitities.
Both devices can work with heat pumps.
You can find CT101’s on eBay for as little as $23. (Which is a steal, compared the original retail price.) Just make sure that if it’s pre-owned that it’s been excluded from the previous Z-Wave network. I’ve found that resetting Z-Wave devices to factory settings can be a PITA.
I really like my zigbee thermostats and would recommend them not cloud at all. I have not found a tasmota or esphome compatible thermostat. You could make your our with relative ease use a simple relay board. But I don’t think that it would look great
What Zigbee thermostats do you have?
Yeah I’ve been tempted. I’ve made other esphome devices with SHT21 temp+humidity boards, and others with relays.
I have a good idea of how to design and implement it, I’m just intimidated by how much a mistake might cost (I recently had to replace about half the components in my system for about $7k)
Wow what all did you need to replace for 7k? That seems really high to me but i guess you could get there with a large very automated home
Relatively big house in the south, so two 6 ton units outside and air movers inside the house both died at virtually the same time. Thankfully I budgeted for it because I knew they were old when I moved in, but yeah lol the cost is making me fearful of poking and prodding ;)
Oh you needed to replace your ac units got it. 7k seem very reasonable for that. I thought you were talking about some home automation equipment that needed to be replaced. I’m glad you had that in your budget. I personal would not be concerned with breaking anything with thermostat even a DIY one as if you have a “normal” thermostat, aka one that did not come with the air handler, then there are no wires that you can touch together at the thermostat that could cause a problem.
It’s more of DIY solution, but works fine, did you check with https://esphome.io/ if your heat pump system couldnt be connected ?
Most of them have a way to communicate as they already have an offline thermostat
Unfortunately my current thermostats are very simple / just basic Honeywell heat pump controllers
Radio Thermostat’s CT50 is supposed to be able to function without being Internet connected and owners say it works well. It has quirks though. It is kind of a strange design with empty slots for radio modules that are visible from the sides when not populated. People suggest putting white electrical tape over unused slots, but that kind of kludge on something that costs $100 isn’t something that inspires confidence. Neither does the fact that although both Z-Wave and Wifi modules are supported, the company’s website doesn’t have the modules listed for sale at the moment.
Right now the Honeywell T6 (Z-Wave) seems to be the best choice. It gets really good reviews on Amazon. Z-Wave USB adapters are relatively inexpensive if you don’t have one and in my experience not hard to set up.
