Best Smart Thermostat Option

[DaWeav]

I just switched from a $150 Smart thermostat to a $40 Smart thermostat and it’s been working better than the more expensive one. Go figure.

Centralite Pearl Thermostat vs Zen Thermostat

I have been using a Zen Thermostat since I purchased it over 5 years ago to work with SmartThings. It has always been inconsistent with SmartThings Routine control and didn’t change modes every time. Even when it would, it took at least 5 or so seconds to respond. I was hoping the Edge Zigbee Thermostat device driver (albeit beta) would resolve the inconsistencies, but the SmartThings Edge Beta driver for Zigbee Thermostats didn’t work all all. So, when I was browsing Amazon the other day, I saw the Centralite Pearl Thermostat on sale. The sale price was about $125 less than what I originally paid for my Zen Thermostat. So, I purchased it. I removed the Zen Thermostat, and installed the Centralite Pearl Thermostat in just a few minutes. The Centralite Pearl Thermostat was up and running …

As for exposing smart devices that aren’t native to SmartThings, I have some air purifiers that aren’t directly connected to SmartThings, but they are connected to Amazon Alexa so I don’t have to use the manufactures app. I setup SmartThings virtual switches (@TAustin style) with either contact or motion to turn On/Off via SmartThings Routines with Alexa Routines that can use either the contact or motion from the SmartThings virtual switch as the trigger to turn On/Off the air purifiers.