Well, surely two sales are enough for them to get right on this. =)
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Make it 3, I have square vents throughout my house.
I wanted to report back on the single EcoNet EV100 I received a week or so ago. In a nutshell I love it.
It fit like a glove when replacing my existing 6x10 dumb vent. This was one of my concerns, that it wouldnât fit right, or the mechanics would be hindered by the ductwork. It effortlessly replaced my existing unit.
It connected to ST pretty easily. As anybody knows that has connected lots of âthingsâ, it sometimes takes a couple of times. In the end it was no harder to connect than any other z-wave device. Took me a couple of minutes tops.
It was recognized by smartthings as an âEcoNet Ventâ. It even has itâs own icon of a little vent. 
It is basically a light switch with a dimmer. I can turn it on, turn it off, and have it go from 10-90% in 10% increments. One odd thing is that if you want to go from 30 to 40%, it goes from 30% to open all the way, then closes all the way, then goes back to 40%. In the end not a big deal, just a little odd.
It was quieter than I expected. I wonât call it silent, but my wife said she couldnât hear it with my two little kids in the room. Once it was totally quiet, you can hear it, but its better than I expected, and much more quiet than say my Kwikset 914 lock.
A small ding is that when it opens it flashes a green LED. When it closes it flashes a red LED. It doesnât seem to bother anybody as my vents are on the ceiling upstairs, but it would be nice to be able to have no lights as a preference.
I set it up with the âVirtual Thermostatâ app which is in the Green Living section. It basically does everything I want. I have it open below 71 degrees, and it is closed above 71. This app also includes motion, which I will use when I get additional units for my guest room. Basically it stays closed unless there has been motion in the last X hours. Itâs perfect to be honest.
Bottom line, I am totally satisfied. It is working exactly as I expected and wanted. Prime example is my HVAC is off all day. When I get home my HVAC kicks in and it would bring my upstairs rooms above 80 in order to get the entire downstairs to 69 degrees. I have one EcoVent in a room to test and that room now stays at 71, while all the other upstairs rooms continue on to 80+.
I am ordering 4 more asap for the rest of the rooms in my upstairs.
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So, yeah. About those square ventsâŠ
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Too bad because that probably drains the battery quicker. Maybe they can fix it with an update?
Hopefully that is a configuration option that can be disabled?
When a percent increment is set that is not completely open or close, an extra calibration movement is required. This extra movement is not a firmware bug, Our calculations show that this calibration stroke does not significantly effect battery life. Assuming a couple vent open/close movements a day, most of the battery life is determined by the required constant and regular Z-Wave wireless communications.
hahaha. Iâll take 10 square vents. Thanks.
Does doing this cause a problem with a lack of airflow getting the system off balance. Thatâs what I wonder⊠Any hvac guys have much to say about this? I would like to do exactly what Krv is sayingâŠnot heat one floor significantly by closing 60% of the upstairs vents, allowing main floor and basement theatre to run open.
We have no plans this year for square vents. Depending on the success of the new decorative series that we are releasing to production (EV200) next week, we will consider square/round vents in 2016.
What is the difference between EV100 and EV200 other than decoration?
The EV200 series will allow the grill/grate to be removed from the louvered chassis so that many different grill/grate styles will be available. The control area of the new louvered chassis takes up less space allowing more air flow when open. The control circuit is no longer modular but is integrated into the chassis and can be access through the bottom of the chassis after removing a cover. A new motor is used making the movement slower and much quieter. We do plan to make the control circuit modular like the EV100, but not in the first production run. The EV200 vent will look like a standard decorative vent when installed and you will only know it is a powered wireless vent if you catch it in action and see the short blink of red or green light below the grill to indicate closing or opening. The photos of the EV200 series shown our our site at www.EcoNetControls.com, show exactly what the EV200 and how it looks including the different grate styles available in the first production run.
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Thanks @EcoNetBlake , that is very helpful. I am actually fine with the EV100 unit I have looks wise, but the new slower, quicker motor is very interesting to me. To be honest, the current motor is pretty quiet, so an improvement would probably only be gravy for me.
I know above you said you were close to releasing to production. Can you give us a best guess as to when this would be available to be purchased for a retail customer? Are we talking a few weeks or months? Thanks!
The EV200 series will be available for purchase in March of this year, 2015. We have not confirmed the list price yet but likely start at $75.00 as an introduction price.
I would like to check out your SmartApp. i ordered one of the older vents for my cottage inside of my garage. I am planning to order some of the newly designed vents when they become available this month.
Our SmartThings app/apps that will support EV100/EV200 control base on temperature, room occupancy or schedule is still in development. We will make a beta version available soon. In the mean time, the SmatThings âVirtual Thermostatâ app. is already available and it does a pretty good job for vent control based on temperature. Regarding the EV200, it has just been release to production and we expect units in house the end of March. We will be accepting advanced orders later this week for the 4x10 version. A video/demo of the new EV100 is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjW33fCHTPg
Another user in need of the square vents here. Would really like to see them before 2016.
What size do you require? Can you send me a link showing the type/size your require? (Home Depot?) We will add this model to the list for consideration later this year. Thanks for the input.
Those of you following this topic may be interested in the fixes Iâve added to the Econet Vent SmartDevice, discussed here:
Im confused by this. I have 5 EcoNet devices and they work perfectly with the VirtualThermostat app. They also immediately show state. They do have to go to 0% open before going to some intermediate setting, but I never use this, I either send full on or full off. ST identified them as vents immediately upon pairing, complete with little vent icons. Am I missing something?
For those of you concerned about the stress that shutting down vents will cause on your system check out this great video on how to install a mechanical bypass damper. http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20504377,00.html
It is easy to install and you wonât have to worry about the logic of how many vents you can close at any given time.