Best, easiest and of course lowest cost smart thermostat for Home Assistant

If you follow @123 's advice, the answer (as he has said) is no.

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I switched out my thermostat for a GoControl GC-TBZ48 ($100 on amazon) a week ago and it is doing exactly what I want.

That GoControl device looks great. If I were buying today I’d be seriously considering it, thanks for posting!

Can you program the schedule into the thermostat, so it’ll still run the schedule if HA is down?

It looks like it can run off the “C” wire as well as battery. Is that correct?

I have it running off of DC (vs. batteries), yeah. It looks like I could program a schedule in it as well, but haven’t tried. The zwave control doesn’t seem to change the functionality, just means you don’t have to go poke buttons.

Has anyone tried this super low cost centralite? I was thinking of pairing it with some of the M5Stack simple LCD screens around the house.

Have you used the search here? Zigbee thermostat - Centralite Pearl Thermostat

Thanks @nickrout !

Based on this thread and my research I was evaluating Ecobee or Honeywell. I’ve gone with the Honeywell T9. One main reason to look at either was we have a large zone that the temp swings 4 degrees from one room to another. Having a remote sensor and the thermostat averaging it seemed like it might help. Although logically we felt it just meant we’d have to make the setpoint where we want to be the new average in the main room and let the other room suffer with cooler temp.

In reality I’m very pleased with the T9 and now have two, one has the extra sensor for averaging.

It as always was very easy to integrate to Home Assistant - just don’t forget to do it from HA and not from HomeKit (Apple) - won’t find it. I had to uninstall and repeat the right way.

Being able to track the temps in both rooms and learn how I didn’t have the averaging setup right (when you set a schedule you have to pick the rooms or it defaults to one). It’s amazing how the temps are more in line between two distant rooms. I can’t yet explain it - however it is regularly over 100F outside here these days and the temps “seem” better - closer together. It may be the “smart” thermostat runs more but smaller times to keep things from oscillating. Both rooms seem to be in sync or within 1 degree which is amazing. And being able to graph/show the data to wifey helps maybe avoid us having a damper installed…

T9 was a great Amazon prime day deal and cheaper than Ecobee (and not black) and I’m pretty happy.

Tnx for the inputs everyone.

My Honeywells (different model) have a target number of cycles per hour they shoot for. The target is based on the type of heating/cooling system you specify. No waiting until it’s two degrees one way or the other before kicking on. I’ve really come to appreciate this feature. It keeps the rooms at a steady temperature.

So, what integration is used of the T9, HomeKit or some flavor of Honeywell? Also, I assume, although not clear from the reviews, that this t-stat can be controlled manually from the unit itself?
TIA.

There is a video showcasing the T9 here: Honeywell Home T9 Smart Thermostat

I found one on Amazon with a sensor for the same price as just the thermostat itself as the T10’s are out and it appears people are trying to liquidate the T9’s.

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Late reply but maybe this will still help someone. I have had the centralite thermostat for a couple years now. I was really happy to find just a simple zigbee thermostat at a reasonable price and I setup a nice set of automations that I was really happy with. The problem is the thermostat itself is not dependable. It will miss/drop zigbee messages once or twice a month which really lowers the family acceptance factor. I have resorted to sending messages mutliple times but sometimes it just gets “stuck” and doesn’t listen to anything for a few minutes. I have a good strong zigbee network without other troubles so I am convinced that the thermostat is the issue. The low cost has kept it on the wall but it is a source of occasional frustration.

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Replying to this thread only to add my experience, having come to this post during a search for a solution that fitted my needs.

I’m using some MC6 thermostats for my HVAC, I’ve got the fan-coil 3 speed version but there’s also a version with dry contact

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256801577278164.html?spm=a2g0n.productlist.0.0.79ca282ey8tfnT&browser_id=c1a75228289440eab1e6494e052d7c64&aff_platform=msite&m_page_id=caeabeedc18c9cedc7e95cea5723399d0e5d1164a1&gclid=&pdp_npi=4%40dis!USD!96.00!67.2!!!96.00!!%4021038ede17034398781062261e29af!12000018130420196!sea!US!0!AB&algo_pvid=4f40e0dc-1506-4e67-85f2-33439012de4c

This is the 220v version but out there you can also find the 110v device.

It’s plus are sleek appearance, a lot of functions already embedded in the thermostat (so HA is a plus, not an essential feature), wifi access (no zigbee/zwave adapter needed) and in the last FW version MQTT support.

In another post you can find mqtt integration configuration example.

So I found your other post. Can you set up a local mqtt server?

Nope, you need an external broker

I am also looking for a thermostat to automate, so thanks for all the write ups.

Does the Honeywell T10 need HomeKit, or just the HomeKit integration in a HA?

Other than price, why would one go with the T9 versus the T10?

Thank you.

Honestly I gave up and just went with a dry contact on a Sonoff THR320D. I use the temp sensor that comes with it but use Home Assistant to maintain the temp. Also in several location in the house I use oil filled heaters as spot source heating. I use the Shelly HTG3 temp and humidity sensors and use HA to turn on and off a Sonoff plug that controlls the heaters. Absolutley 100% reliable. It is actually shocking.

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uhh. That would make me very nervous.

If your HA, network, or similar dies, how do you manage your heating and cooling?

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there is a manual button on the furnace control to turn the furnace on. I run HA as a VM and is is super solid. I have about 36 hours of battery back power.

Also we have a wood burning stove if all else fails.

Really it teaches you to get rid of anything unreliable and use the most reliable components. I have nearly 40 device being controlled or monitored by HA including my main HAI alarm panel. I use ubiquity network equipment. I amost never have an issue.

I live in Montana so we don’t need cooling.

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Nooice. (I got grid, wood, PV, and LP gas.)

I live in subtropics at this moment so I do not need heat. :sunny:

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