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Author Topic: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?  (Read 18222 times)

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Offline RFHartzell

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Hello everyone --

My wife and I have a country cottage in upstate New York and during the winter I'd love to be able to use my Almond+ to turn up the thermostat remotely before we get there.

Right now we have a basic two-wire Honeywell CT87K thermostat.  It works just fine -- and is simplicity itself -- but there's no way in creation you can control it from a hundred miles away.

The Nest programmable thermostat is more than I'd like to pay to solve this problem.

Can anyone recommend a reasonably inexpensive alternative -- something in the $75 to $125 range?

Thanks for your guidance.

-- RFH

Offline underscore

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Re: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2014, 04:43:03 pm »
Can anyone recommend a reasonably inexpensive alternative -- something in the $75 to $125 range?
-- RFH

Doing some research myself.  People seem to like Trane z-wave thermostats (http://goo.gl/6SZiR4).  Also considering  Evolve EV-T-100RG (http://goo.gl/p6B11u). 

Offline RGloverii

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Re: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2014, 06:14:26 pm »
Before upgrading to my Nest thermostats, I used the Trane Z-wave units. 

They work like a charm, and at the time, I considered them to the best out there.  They have a nice sized LCD display, and are NOT overly fancy or obnoxious.  Now that the prices on the Trane units are even lower than they used to be, I would consider them to be an ideal option.

Wait.  Just thought about something.  The Trane unit needs the C wire from your furnace.  It won't work on just two wires.  So unless you can pull a new wire bundle through the wall (I did it, not that big of a deal), you won't be able to use the Trane.



Offline chevyman142000

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Re: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2014, 07:15:37 pm »
I am currently using a Filtrete 3M-50 thermostat with the Wi-Fi module in it. Works great and I have it integrated into my SmartThings setup. They used to sell it at HomeDepot, but I think it is now discontinued. Could probably find one fairly cheap on eBay.

LGNilsson

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Re: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?
« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2014, 10:17:03 pm »
We'll be adding support for the CentraLite Pearl thermostat in one of the next firmwares - http://www.centralite.com/index.php/products/3-series/pearl-thermostat it doesn't require a C wire, as it can run off AA batteries.
It's $130 from Best Buy - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/promo/peq-home-automation-126024


Offline RFHartzell

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Re: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?
« Reply #5 on: October 31, 2014, 12:06:55 pm »
Wow, this is great, guys!  Thanks for all your suggestions.  I appreciate it.

I'm now aware of the C wire problem.  The last time I was at our house I pulled the front off of the Honeywell thermostat and saw its two active wires, but just since I posted my query here, while reading Q&A on Amazon's thermostat product pages, I've gathered that sometimes a house can have more than two wires -- except the additional ones may be hidden in the wall.  In any case, RGloverii, you note that pulling a new wire bundle through the wall isn't that big a deal ... but is that true for someone like me who's never performed a task like this before?  And does it involve buying a three-wire bundle at the hardware store, or does it just involve buying one additional wire (gauge and resistance unknown!) and figuring out how to snake it up from the furnace?

The two-wire solution I did find was for the 2gig CT100 Z-Wave Programmable Thermostat on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/2gig-CT100-Z-Wave-Programmable-Thermostat/dp/B008CQ4V3Q/.  I found it attractive because A) it's currently only $81.43 and B) it's got 92 customer reviews averaging 4 1/2 stars.

Like the CentralLite Pearl thermostat Lars references the 2gig thermostat solves the C wire problem by using disposable batteries.  Not an ideal solution, admittedly, but at the moment changing batteries sounds less daunting to me than snaking a new three-wire bundle up from the furnace.

I will say that the Pearl thermostat is, while a lot more expensive than the 2gig, also a lot more attractive.  It's also good to know it's going to be supported in an upcoming firmware release.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone who took the trouble to reply.

Offline RFHartzell

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Re: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?
« Reply #6 on: October 31, 2014, 12:11:56 pm »
I guess I should have checked the supported devices Wiki before posting my question.  (Or posting my last reply.)  Just noticed that the 2gig CT100 thermostat is already supported: http://wiki.securifi.com/index.php?title=List_of_compatible_sensors_-_Almond%2B_2014

Anyway, good to know I have some choices now.

Thanks again, everyone.

Offline fillibar

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Re: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?
« Reply #7 on: November 11, 2014, 12:57:41 pm »
I did a wire upgrade for my house when I bought a Nest myself... To be honest it was pretty easy. The trickiest part was making sure I had a path for the wire, but I just followed the original one along. I went with... I think a 7 wire version. While we only have heat (and our furnace was also capable of fan separate but no line for that was run originally) I decided it was a little future proofing. Plus the price in wire was not that hugely different.

So, recommendations if you are going to do it yourself:
1) Figure out the path it will go and whether you need to do anything (drill holes, etc...) to follow it.
2) Measure out that path to figure out how much wire you need. Buy longer than that. If you have too much you can cut off extra. Also make sure there is extra by the heating unit. If you ever need a new one, the wires may not connect in the exact same spot. Too short... Back to the store.
3) Figure out how many wires you need in it. In case you want to do any future proofing.
4) Get your wire.
5) Run the wire.
6) Secure the wire so it does not move around.
7) Coil the excess wire by the heating unit and secure it in place.
8) Disconnect the old wires but be careful to note which one went to what.
9) Connect the new wires to your unit. I would recommend turning off power to the unit while doing so. Make note of what color you connect to what (preferably use the standard color patterns) and label then on both ends (heating unit side AND behind the thermostat).
10) Connect the wires to your thermostat.
11) Test it all out. Make sure every feature you wanted works. Some thermostats (like Nest) will show you how they think they are wired.
12) Once you are sure it all works you could remove the old wires, but if they are not in the way I would leave them (just note they are disconnected so some future person does not think they are useful).

Just some basic ideas.
Almond 3 mesh handling the home.

Offline mparadis

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Re: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?
« Reply #8 on: November 15, 2014, 10:10:23 am »
Trane works well and FYI the Nest will be on sale on black friday for $200 (still a lot but may be worth it for some at this price point) at Best Buy I believe.

Offline kamienZen

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Re: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?
« Reply #9 on: December 02, 2015, 04:55:00 am »
Here you can find a very good comparison: http://buildyoursmarthome.co/reviews/best-smart-thermostat/
Let me know what do you think. Do you agree with the winner?
« Last Edit: December 04, 2015, 05:02:12 am by kamienZen »

Offline BikerBob

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Re: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?
« Reply #10 on: December 02, 2015, 07:19:09 am »
I am very pleased with the ecobee3 I've been using for almost a year.. 
Almond+ | Android App | Peanut Plugs | OSRAM Lightify LED/A19/DIM/RGB

Offline spooky123

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Re: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?
« Reply #11 on: January 21, 2016, 04:47:10 pm »
We'll be adding support for the CentraLite Pearl thermostat in one of the next firmwares - http://www.centralite.com/index.php/products/3-series/pearl-thermostat it doesn't require a C wire, as it can run off AA batteries.
It's $130 from Best Buy - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/promo/peq-home-automation-126024

How is this progressing for full support on the CentraLite Pearl?

Offline spooky123

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Re: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?
« Reply #12 on: March 06, 2016, 09:10:03 am »
We'll be adding support for the CentraLite Pearl thermostat in one of the next firmwares - http://www.centralite.com/index.php/products/3-series/pearl-thermostat it doesn't require a C wire, as it can run off AA batteries.
It's $130 from Best Buy - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/promo/peq-home-automation-126024

I bought the thermostat based on the statement of support being added in Oct of 2014. The thermostat is nice and I got it for $90. It generally works with the Almond+ but full support doesn't seem to have been implement so it is not as functional and glitching. Now that its  1.5 years later....coming soon, I suppose???

Offline Ashok

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Re: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?
« Reply #13 on: March 06, 2016, 10:09:04 am »
@ spooky123,

I bought the thermostat based on the statement of support being added in Oct of 2014. The thermostat is nice and I got it for $90. It generally works with the Almond+ but full support doesn't seem to have been implement so it is not as functional and glitching. Now that its  1.5 years later....coming soon, I suppose???

I am positive the full support is added on this. Let me know what exactly is missing to see, if we could take care of this with our next release.

Offline spooky123

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Re: Can anyone recommend a wireless thermostat (other than the Nest)?
« Reply #14 on: March 21, 2016, 06:15:51 pm »
@ spooky123,

I am positive the full support is added on this. Let me know what exactly is missing to see, if we could take care of this with our next release.

Thanks.

1) General Operation is pretty good.
2) Frequently (monthly) I have to remove and re-add the thermostat else rules will not run.
3) In the Web interface... current fan state and more importantly, battery percent does not populate
4) In the Web interface ... the slider temperature controls are difficult to set specific temperature, an up/down or +/- would be much easier
5) In the Web interface... after a change I frequently get the message to refresh the page and then nothing has actually changed
6) In the Android app... the temperature scrollers are impossible to use, a up/down or +/- would be much easier
7) In the Android app... the fan state does not populate and more importantly there is no battery % field
8) In the Android app... anything I do results in "could not update status" and nothing seems to work at all - this is the most important issue of all for me.




 

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