As of yesterday, both of my Nests are officially dead. Thanks, Google. I know I’m not alone in feeling frustrated that Google keeps killing off perfectly good products. Anyway, I’m voting with my wallet, I won’t be spending another dime on Google hardware.
I’ve got a Bryant heat pump with 2 zones, so I need two thermostats. Right now, I’m torn between the Honeywell T9 and T6 Pro Z-Wave models. Both seem to integrate well with Home Assistant (HA), the T9 via HomeKit, and the T6 via Z-Wave.
Here’s where I’m at:
T9: I really like the native room sensors that integrate directly into the system. I travel a lot for work, so it’s nice that my family could still use the Honeywell app if HA ever goes down (though, to be fair, HA has been rock-solid for years).
T6 Pro Z-Wave: I like that it offers 100% local control, which is a big plus. My only hesitation is that I’d need to handle additional sensors through HA. Not a dealbreaker, I already have some ESP32-based sensors & 2x AWS and a solid Z-Wave network with 30+ devices (though I occasionally have to re-add a few). & Family concern if HA would go down and i am not home for few days
I’m aware of the Ecobee option too, but I’m leaning toward one of the Honeywells.
A couple of concerns:
The T6 Z-Wave models aren’t easy to find — looks like they’re only available via eBay, Amazon, or through a Pro account.
The T9s are being discounted at Lowe’s and Home Depot (around $160 with an extra sensor). Are they possibly nearing end-of-life?
If you’re using a T6 Z-Wave or T9, I’d love to hear your experiences, what do you like or dislike about them?
Also, is there anything else I should be considering before I pull the trigger?
I tried T6 for 2 days and went back to Google Nest. I do not exactly remember why I did not like the T6 and I understand your frustration with Google, but notwithstanding the complicated Integration I have 3 Nest thermostats that are working.
Thanks, i had Nest since 2011 and bought 2nd one in 2013. They worked but since they forced us to use dev account for integration i refused that. Part of me wonders how long google will be in this business and what future will look like with them. It just does not makes me feel warm and fuzzy
I’ve got T6’s at 4 of the 6 properties that I run HA at and my HVAC vendor has a spare set aside just for me in case one dies (or I acquire another property that I need to get setup). I love them. That being said, they are very difficult to get as I believe Honeywell has discontinued them via most retail
If the T9s are geting discontinued at Lowe’s and Home Depot it’s likely that they either aren’t selling well in store or Honeywell is about to discontinue them.
Both models are not showing as discontinued on Honewell’s website, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t become more difficult to find going forward.
Thanks for sharing this. I’m sure they are great. I read a lot and lots of HA community loves them. What worries me that i need to buy them via eBay/Amazon and there is no warranty unless i’m a PRO (installer)
While these things are fairly easy to self-install I do actually recommend having a pro do it. You mentioned multi-zone and that means a more complex wiring anyway. Yes, it’s a bit more expensive that way, but you’re sure to have it properly installed (and warrantied) that way.
I have a T9 that I use with the HA HomeKit integration. I have blocked 3 of the websites it tries to contact because I don’t want it performing firmware updates. There is no access to the fan settings with the HomeKit integration but I added a Shelly relay at the furnace to work around this.
It loses its connection to HomeKit about every 6 months but is easy enough to pair again.
Here is a thread where I describe the fan modification if changing the fan settings is something you would do
I understand and I agree that there is a chance that one day Google makes it impossible to integrate their products into HA, or gets out of these devices all together.
