Looking to add thermostat, is zwave thermo compatible with Alexa?

Third party integrations
1

Hey guys,

Been looking to add a thermostat to my HA setup. I don’t want to spend an arm and a leg, so most of the “cool” ones are out of question (Ecobee, Nest, etc.). So, I have been looking at the Z-Wave thermostats, like the 2Gig CT100.

I know that this is compatible with HA, but will HA allow me to control a Z-Wave thermostat with Alexa as well? Or, am I better going with a thermostat that is Alexa compatible and spend just a little more money on something like the Honeywells?

I couldn’t find a straight up answer to this question. To add on, ideally I would like to be able to say “Alexa, set temperature at 70 degrees”, instead of, “Alexa, ask HA to set temperature at 70 degrees”. Although, I guess, if the second option is the only way, then it may still be worth the savings to say a few more words for the command.

2

Yeah - unless you can get it a ZWave thermo to work via a Wink or SmartThings hub, I think your only option is going to be to ‘ask HA’.

But for about the price of the 2Gig CT100 on Amazon, you could buy a Sensi by Emerson, which IS directly supported by Alexa.

https://www.amazon.com/Sensi-Smart-Thermostat-UP500W-Amazon/dp/B00HHE6CW2%3Fpsc%3D1%26SubscriptionId%3DAKIAJIYMMIJN7RU7KVJQ%26tag%3Drvwfeature-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB00HHE6CW2

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thanks, rpitera. I think you confirmed what I had already understood, just wanted to certain I was right.

Not the end of the world. I was thinking, how often would I actually ask Alexa to change temperature? I think it’s more likely that I create automation rules, in HA, to alter temperature based on time of day and/or geo fencing.

The Sensi is currently not supported by HA, right?

4

Not directly, though it is supported by Wink and by extension it would be supported by HA as a Wink climate device. WIth Wink trying to sell off stock of their old v1 hubs (which I am still using with no issues at all), they can be picked up quite cheaply and it might be a solution for that as well as other integrations.

5

I ended up ordering a CT30, from Amazon, for $28 shipped. Waiting for it to show up. From what I am reading, I can use the hue emulator to control the temperature and, if I find the need to, I can create 2 scripts to change from heat to cool or vice versa. For $28, I couldn’t resist it. Worst case, I upgrade in a few months, if the CT30 is junk or won’t work to my needs.

I am currently working on adding an ESP8266 with a DHT22 into each room I care about for accurate temperature. I can then take the mean temperature, between these sensors, to adjust the zwave thermostat to my liking.

@rpitera, thanks again for taking the time to respond to me on this topic:)

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My pleasure and I am glad you found the right solution for you.

7

Just wanted to add a little warning for others. The CT30 is a horrible choice and I should have taken some of the warnings I saw online for it as the truth.

  1. When you first link it up to your Zwave controller, the unit correctly displays the information. Great, off to a good start.
  2. Change the temperature or mode on the thermostat, the device does not transmit this information to the controller. HA now out of sync. Maybe not a big deal, I can automate the whole thing from HA and not touch the thermostat
  3. Change the temperature from HA, the CT30 receives the request via Z-Wave, but DOES NOT CHANGE the temperature. Now, this thermostat is worthless…

Old saying goes, you get what you pay for and with smart thermostats, you must pay at least $70 to get anything worth a darn. Needless to say, I am returning it and I am going to go with a WiFi unit. Either the Sensi, recommended by @rpitera, or the low end Honeywell.

Not a nice feeling to wake up to a freezing house, when you last left the A/C on, it drops to 40 degrees outside and 61 in the house over night!!

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