Using Ecobee Sensors with Other Thermostats?

[JDRoberts]

Continuing the discussion from Hello, IoT newcomer:

@Christopher

Hello!

I’ve been researching home automation & IoT for the past few months in search of a few solutions to problems with my home…I’m waiting for the v2 system before taking the plunge, but want to get as much understanding of the community and how everything works before I dive wholeheartedly into the pool.

I’ve got Foscam IP Cameras (FI9816PW) for Baby watching, I’m going to need 2 Temp/Humid sensors, a thermostat and eventually some lights. There are several other items I’m interested in getting into with automating, but starting with the necessities.

I’ve looked at the EcoBee3 unit, and it may be just out of my price range to start, but I was wondering if it is possible to use the sensors with other thermostats? I see a few threads on the EcoBee’s and plan to dive into them eventually, but 200+ posts over months will take a while to get through.

-Chris

Hopefully others will chime in. Was there something specific about The ecobee sensors that you liked? There are a lot of different temperature sensors available that people use for zone triggers. Many motion sensors and contact sensors do double duty and have temperature reporting included.

In particular, see Keep Me Cozy 2 in the official Smartapps under Green Living. It doesn’t care which device you get the temperature from. Very popular.

List of all Officially Published Apps from the MORE category of Smart Setup in the Mobile App [deprecated]

The following is current as of Sept 9, 2015. This is a list of the officially approved SmartApps that are available for installation through the SmartThings mobile app under the SmartApps tab. In each category, you will find a combination of community contributed & SmartThings developed SmartApps. To install any of these, open the mobile app, select the Marketplace icon ([image]), and select the SmartApps tab. SmartThings Recommends Smart Lights by SmartThings Control and automate Lights and Switches. Safety & Security Notify Me When by SmartThings Receive notifications when anything happens in your home. Enhanced Auto Lock Door by Arnaud Automatically locks a specific door after X minutes when closed and unlocks it when open after X seconds. Severe Weather Alert by SmartT…

[Christopher (Chris L)]

My plan is to go with the EcoBee3 system eventually, as it is the thermostat of choice for us. If the sensors can be used with a lower cost thermostat, I’ll start there (we have a 2 zone system) and eventually when we splurge on the EcoBee3, I’ll move the cheaper one to the main level where it’s much less necessary to regulate.

So I’m hoping to future proof my pruchases while also accomplishing my needs now.

I know that @yvesracine was working on some EcoBee3 items. His thread on Ecobee is 220+ posts long, and a fast answer is what I’m looking for so that I can start researching the necessary items to set it up before I get all the parts.

[yvesracine]

Hi @Christopher

The ecobee3 sensors cannot work with other thermostats, they use a proprietary protocol…

If you want to reproduce a similar configuration as the ecobee3, you can buy any z-wave or zigbee sensors with the thermostat of your choice (as long as it’s supported by ST such as the CT-100) and use the following smartapp:

*** No longer supported *** [OBSOLETE] Introducing ScheduleTstatZones: multi zoned heating/cooling solution for your home

Hello @Jonathan McGuire, Good news, I was able to integrate the logic for use case no 2… Actually, what I’m doing is the following: a) calculate the avg temp based on any given zone’s rooms where there are temp sensors (with the occupied or not option) b) calculate the avg temp diff between the avg temp in the zone and the desired temp c) for each room, calculate the temp diff between the room temp sensor and the desired temp d) adjust the vent set level (in %) based on temp_diff_at_sensor / zone_avg_temp_diff The setLevel will then be more precise than just open, close, or half close. FYI, please note that the vent settings are adjusted every 5 minutes within a given schedule. As I don’t have my keen home vents yet, I was able to test it with my light dimmers and the logic se…

The smartapp allows adjustments at the thermostat based on an average temp calculation from room’s sensors.

Regards.

[Christopher (Chris L)]

@yvesracine

If you want to reproduce a similar configuration as the ecobee3, you can buy any z-wave sensors with the thermostat of your choice (as long as it`s supported by ST such as the CT-100)

Thanks!! I kind of assumed I would need an outside sensor, but I was hopeful. The CT-100 was the unit I’m looking at to start with, if I use ST or AEON Lab sensors will they eventually work with the EcoBee3, or will I then need to re-purchase additional EcoBee3 sensors?

[yvesracine]

@Christopher, z-wave or zigbee sensors would not communicate with ecobee3 directly (as ecobee3 can only talk to its remote sensors with the same proprietary protocol)…

However, as mentioned above, the ScheduleTstatZones smartapp above could communicate with all sensors (whether ecobee’s remote sensors or z-wave sensors) thru the ST platform and calculates the avg temp from all of them.

Using the CT-100, you’d still miss some features from the ecobee3 as discussed here (see my post about pros & cons of z-wave thermostats vs. ecobee3):

https://community.smartthings.com/t/nest-ecobee3-or-just-leverage-zwave-thermostat-and-st-logic/15174/5

But, at least, you’d be able to leverage your CT-100 thermostat as much as possible (till you switch to ecobee3 or any other “smart” thermostats out there).

Regards.