Thermostat...

[pyrosmiley]

I have two nests, and tbh I can’t fully recommend them. My friend LOVES her Ecobee— take a look at those.

[cowboysdude]

@pyrosmiley Thank you! I’ll take a look!

[j.e.f.f]

@cowboysdude I second what @pyrosmiley says… I have the Nest, and it’s expensive, and not as smart as it claims to be. For example, when you first set up the Nest, it’s supposed to automatically create a schedule for you based on what you set the temperature to be over the first week. What I ended up with was a verbatim record of me adjusting the thermostat up and down as I tried to figure out that “just right” temperature – a daily schedule of me making about a hundred half-degree temperature changes. (granted, it was a new house, new furnace and new thermostat all in one shot… so your results might be better than mine, as you probably already know what a good temperature for your house is). As far as connectivity with other devices, I haven’t really found a useful feature other than the presence detection that is able to recognize when no one is home. I use that to automatically lock the doors if they are not locked already, and to turn off the lights. Otherwise, it’s just a really nice-looking pricey thermostat.

Definitely check out the Ecobee. You get all of the features of the Nest in the Ecobee for about $100 less. I’d say the only thing the nest has over the Ecobee is how it looks, but of course that is subjective.

[cowboysdude]

@j.e.f.f Thanks for the input. I have been reading a lot and talked to a few people who also aren’t totally impressed by NEST either. Yes they look fantastic but I’m more into function then looks :) Ecobee is the place I keep coming back to over and over again… I’m also doing a lot of reading about home bridge… I like how yours all works together and that’s the direction I’m heading in. I can/could use the ecobee schedule to accomplish similar things that you are doing. That’s my thought.

[j.e.f.f]

@cowboysdude I haven’t used the Ecobee myself, but I tie everything together with a Wink hub, which by the looks of it supports all of the Ecobee models. I’m not sure what sensors the Ecobee has above and beyond temperature monitoring, but if it has things like the presence sensor, it will be available as a trigger in Wink.

I would imagine other hubs like SmartThings and HomeBridge would behave in a similar manner.

[j.e.f.f]

@cowboysdude Found this plugin for HomeBridge that supports Ecobee 3:
https://www.npmjs.com/package/homebridge-ecobee3-sensors

[pyrosmiley]

@j.e.f.f @cowboysdude Just a quick heads-up: I have a very basic homebridge setup and while it works very well as intended, all it really does is provide a HomeKit interface for stuff that doesn’t have one. For automation or remote access, you’ll still need to have a spare iPad or an Apple TV.

As I do not, I’m actually in the process of trying to decide about setting up OpenHAB or Home Assisstant, which act more as a stand-alone hub for getting smart home stuff to play together. Both will also work with nearly any smart thermostat out there.

[j.e.f.f]

@pyrosmiley A little more insight on this. You’ll need an iPhone or iPad to directly control devices, set up automation and address devices using Siri. Ability to do this from MacOS (e.g.: Macbook or iMac) does not yet exist (Thanks Apple…).

You’ll need a 3rd or 4th gen Apple TV or an iPad to enable remote access to your devices. This is not necessary for the automation to work, but it is necessary to, for example, unlock your doors from outside your home WiFi network.

And while there’s quite a bit you can do with HomeKit, I don’t really like Apple’s approach to Home Automation. The Home app is poorly organized, and allows very little customization. Also automation has been hit-or-miss for me when I try to set things up in
HomeKit. Instead, I automate everything through Wink, then use HomeBridge to extend Siri control to my devices. But otherwise I don’t use HomeKit as my primary control center, nor do I tend to buy specific HomeKit enabled devices.

[Alakey]

@pyrosmiley said in Thermostat...:

I have two nests, and tbh I can’t fully recommend them. My friend LOVES her Ecobee— take a look at those.

I`ve forgotten about Eco, they are pretty nice too

[cowboysdude]

@j.e.f.f Thanks! Just want to tie things together without all the struggle… tried an open source Therm could not get it working so that’s why I’m asking others what they’re using…

So what door lock[s] are you using? I have been looking at Lockitron.