Preface: please don't tell us why we shouldn't use a smart thermostat.
I'll probably need to go on a video rant about this, but smart thermostats are rapidly getting dumber.
My folks got a new heat pump system in the spring. It needed a new two-stage thermostat and the company offered an Ecobee.
"Great!" I thought. People kept telling me Ecobee is better than Nest, and I've had major frustrations with the new Nest thermostat.
Folks. It's just bad in different but equally maddening ways.
The ONE THING Ecobee did better was holding. Y'know, the feature every programmable thermostat has had forever.
Well, in November I went on a trip with them and needed to figure out how to get the thermostat to be dumb for their house/dogsitter.
Where did the hold feature go? It appeared to be gone.
Oh? Now you have to go into the settings and tell it *how long* you want it to hold a temporary change, and one of the options is "indefinitely"
WHO THOUGHT THAT MADE ANY SENSE
Meanwhile, Nest no longer (at least with the basic ones) lets you set different schedules for heating and cooling modes.
Call me crazy, but I actually like my HVAC system to run different schedules in the heating vs. cooling season (and I NEVER let it run on "auto" mode).
You used to be able to do this! The old Nest app supported it and it made perfect sense. The Google Home app doesn't, and the new cheap Nests don't talk to the old app and IT'S ALL SO STUPID
Literally all anybody is asking for is a thermostat which can do scheduling, can be remotely controlled/monitored, and change setpoints based on occupancy.
It needs to be an easier-to-program thermostat with a few smarts on top and THAT'S IT.
Right now, they're all sliding backwards in the name of "comfort presets" or some BS and the experience of using them is much worse than a simple programmable unit.
I cannot fathom who is making these design decisions and why. It's just awful.
@kuba @cichy1173 Oeh! Thank you! 🙏
Do you mind if I ask you a few more questions about them ? Especially about hooking them into HomeAssistant.
(I've cut out Technology Connection, to prevent more notifications / noise on his end)
@kuba @cichy1173 A few questions. Which Zigbee hub / stick are you using them with ? I have a Conbee 2 and I've read some compatibility issues with the Conbee stick.
Secondly, how is it represented in HomeAssistant? Is it using the "generic_thermostat" ?
Thirdly in what kind of heating system are you using it ?
1. I use Sonoff Zigbee ZB-Dongle E.
2. It is just a thermostat, but it has features that are special for Aqara device - just like with any zigbee device
3. City heating system
@cichy1173 @kuba Oeh thanks!
How does the city heating system work in Poland ? Does it pump warm water in your radiators from "outside of the house" ?
@cichy1173 @kuba Cool!
Yeah here in NL we call that "district heating" (same system I have in my house right now).
But good to know!
Technology Connections
Kuba Orlik
Sander van Kasteel
Grzegorz Cichocki