Securifi Community Forum
Sensors and Home Automation => Home automation => Topic started by: RFHartzell on October 30, 2014, 04:03:07 pm
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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
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Here you can find a very good comparison: http://buildyoursmarthome.co/reviews/best-smart-thermostat/ (http://buildyoursmarthome.co/reviews/best-smart-thermostat/)
Let me know what do you think. Do you agree with the winner?
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I am very pleased with the ecobee3 I've been using for almost a year..
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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?
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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???
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@ 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.
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@ 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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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.
@Ashok - was the CentraLite Thermostat addressed in R085 release?
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@ spooky123,
Are you still facing these issues with the R085 firmware?
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I am using Centralite and here is what I have found.
Rules are working correctly. Have not had to remove/add device. (@spooky123 comment #2)
Web Interface - Fan, Battery%, Humidity do not populate. (@spook123 comment #3)
Note: no humidity reading expected
See attached image.
Slider controls work fine. imho
+/- would be handy (@spooky123 comment #4)
Never get message to refresh page.
No need to refresh web pages, changes saved immediately after slider moved. (@spooky123 comment #5)
Slider controls in Android app work fine imho (@spooky123 comment #6)
No data for Fan State in Android App but I do not have a fan wired in at the moment. (@spooky123 comment#7)
No Battery State listed.
Mode and Fan Mode DO populate.
Android app updates to Thermostat do work correctly. (@spooky123 comment #8)
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@Ashok - no, was it addressed in R085?
@SecureComp - is this on R085 or earlier?
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I just updated to R085 now.
In the Android app, when I pull up the thermostat it does not reflect reality... for example, currently the thermostat is in mode cool and set to 74 degrees, the app indicates it is mode heat and 71 degrees. If I change mode to cool, the app responds with "Sorry! Could not save Mode" ... if I try to adjust temperature then its "Sorry, could not update Temp"
So no functional difference.
I can't test the webui because the update to R085 caused devices and scenes to disappear completely.
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I just updated to R085 now.
In the Android app, when I pull up the thermostat it does not reflect reality... for example, currently the thermostat is in mode cool and set to 74 degrees, the app indicates it is mode heat and 71 degrees. If I change mode to cool, the app responds with "Sorry! Could not save Mode" ... if I try to adjust temperature then its "Sorry, could not update Temp"
So no functional difference.
I can't test the webui because the update to R085 caused devices and scenes to disappear completely.
Note, in the Android app, I do not normally switch between cloud and local mode. However when I switch to local mode the message changes from "Sorry, could not xxx " to "Saved". However, if I exit and reenter the app then whatever mode was "saved" is not the case. For example, I load the app and it says thermostat is on HEAT (it is not, it is actually on COOL) so I use the app to change it to OFF and it says "mode saved",,,,, however, the thermostat state is not change, the app has no functional effect and if I exit and re-enter the app, it says it is back on HEAT. So basically, nothing actually functions regardless.
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Very frustrated now. Almond support for the Centralite thermostat is dated Oct 2014... its June 2016... going on 2 years later and ultimately it does not function reasonably at all.
On R085, status is always wrong.... shows wrong mode (heat, cool, off)... shows wrong temp (hi or low), shows wrong fan status, and all the other items I mentioned already. Similar to the garage opener... is it actually polling the real status???
Controlling via cloud or local does not function at all. It does not change the thermostat. In cloud mode the message is "sorry, could not save" and in local mode it says it saved but nothing changes on the thermostat. Perhaps it is timing out before the thermostat accepted and acknowledged????
The rules worked in R083 but as mentioned, I frequently had to delete and re-add the thermostat or the rules stopped working. I didn't test in R085 because without the other items functional, I just don't care.
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@spooky123 I am not experiencing any of those issues you describe.
I am using the app to control my thermostat and have no problems changing the state from Off to Heat to Cool.
Temp adjustments update without an issue.
Correct temp is reported at all times.
The only time I have seen issues that you describe is very occasionally with a light bulb, where the change could not be Saved or a bulb doesn't respond to On/Off. When this happens, I power the light off manually, let it sit for a while and then turn it back on.
You may want to pull the thermostat, pull the batteries for 10 mins, then put them back in, plug thermostat back into socket and see what happens.
Yes I'm running R85.
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Removing and rejoing has brought back operation via Android app.
Fingers crossed that I won't need to remove/rejoin frequently.
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Hello,
I am not sure if this is too late but I have created a comparison table of some cracking Z Wave compatible thermostats, some of which are very good value for money and highly rated.
You can read the post here:
http://www.mysmartahome.com/z-wave-thermostat/
Also, I think that a thermostat that costs much less than the Nest but which is great is the Sensi.
You can read my review of that here
http://www.mysmartahome.com/sensi-smart-thermostat-review/
I hope that these posts help you (or anyone else) in their search.
Cheers,