Addressable thermostat recommendation

Devices & Integrations
1

TL;DR: I’m looking for a thermostat that I can control automatically, including the ability to switch modes (heat, cool, heat/cool, off). Does such a thing exist?

Long Version:
I currently have a Nest thermostat, however I cannot find any way (Google Home, Smartthings, IFTTT) to change modes programmatically (heat, cool, heat/cool, off).

I live in an area where modes need to change on an almost daily basis this time of year. Yesterday our highs were in the high 80’s, today they’re in the low 40’s.

My family and I CANNOT abide the two degree minimum swing between heat and cool enforced by Nest, as functionally this is actually a 4 degree swing. I need to set the temperature in my home to XX degrees and just keep it there, period. I know many people do not have this requirement, but my family and I do so please don’t try to convince us otherwise. :slightly_smiling_face:

The primary issue is that although I can set a two-degree spread between heat and cool on my Nest, functionally it is a four degree spread. For example, if I have heat set to 69 and cool to 71, what that actually means is that the heat only comes on if the interior temp gets down to 68, and the AC only comes on if the interior temp gets to 72. The spread between 62 and 72 is four degrees.

My current home setup includes Google Home, Smartthings, and IFTTT. I’m pretty handy with all of them, for example I have developed fairly complex, automatic lighting routines using WebCore.

So, I’m comfortable that I can create routines to do what I want with my thermostat, however I need to be able to change modes from heat to cool programmatically. I cannot find a way to do this with Nest, particularly since the ‘Works With Nest’ APIs were deprecated.

Is there a thermostat that I can address using Smartthings or IFTTT to change not just the temperature but also the mode (heat, cool, heat/cool, off)? For example, can this be done with Ecobee? I’ve been poking around but can’t find anything definitive.

Thanks in advance for any guidance here.

2

Ecobee would be able to meet your needs even with the standard ST integration. If you feel up to it and go down a custom device handler path for your Ecobee there is even more granular control!

Here is a good custom device handler example.

2 Likes
3

Thanks, Serg!

4

No problem! For what you are doing you don’t need to go the custom route. In my own home I am making changes close to what you are looking for with standard integration. I approached it with letting Ecobee do its thing for the most part and only interjecting temps or modes when anyone leaves or arrives.

5

Hi,

If you want the most comprehensive ecobee implementation under SmartThings with full zone control, then look into the following threads:

The code is available for download at my store:

www.ecomatiqhomes.com/store

P.S. The zoning smartapp called ScheduleTstatZones can automatically switch from cool to heat based on some temp thresholds set in the smartapp.

Regards.

6

The Honeywell thermostats compatible with the Total Connect system will work. You can set the mode from their app, the ST app (Classic . . I don’t use the Connect app) and webCore.

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I love mine. I can control them with the Honeywell app, Alexa, ST and webcore. So I have lots of options.

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Check out zwave and zwave plus thermostats. There are loads of options with varying features such as humidity reporting, setting upper / Lower limits, multiple stage systems, sensitivity thresholds, filter replacement sensors etc. they are very compatible starting at about $40. It has modes which can be switches remotely.

See this first post for a list of some zwave / plus thermostats.

You can use this with other SmartApps to create custom schedules, use remote motion sensors, use modes to trigger changes and literally anything you can think of.
Here’s an example of one such app using motion sensors and remote temperature sensors

Once a device is properly integrated into SmartThings the world is usually the limit, just check the model features