Honeywell YTH8320ZW1007 + multi sensors = ecobee3 functionality?

Other Devices & Integrations Climate Control & Temperature Sensors
1

I do not yet have a z-wave system yet but I am pretty well settled on getting the vera3. Like any savvy consumer, I do not want to buy more hardware than I need to get to the functionality I am looking for but without having the controller in my hands it’s really hard to tell how far I can take the programming.

I love that the Ecobee can have 3 sensors around the house and cool based on temperature readings in other rooms BUT I already wanted to get some of the multi-sensors that detect light/temp/motion to be able to sound alarms, turn on lights when I enter the room, etc.

So for the question… Can I program the vera3 controller to adjust the thermostat based on readings from the other multi sensors or do I need the ecobee to balance out the temp throughout the house?

2

You could definitely approximate the follow-me comfort aspect of the ecobee3 thermostat using pure Z-Wave, but it would be a very involved exercise to achieve it. The ecobee3 is constantly changing its definition of current ambient temperature by averaging the actual temperatures from up to 17 distinct temperature sensors where presence was recently detected. Doing all of this in Lua on Vera is possible, but probably more trouble than it’s worth. Your implementation would have to keep track of when presence was detected, what the ambient temperature is at each presence location, and then probably have to “fool” the thermostat by constantly changing the setpoint to call for cool when the averaged temperature requires it. And after that, you run the risk of overly cycling your cooling equipment while developing the solution. Seems like a lot of work!

watou

3

Thanks! Sounds like I should just stick to the ecobee… lol

I didn’t realize that the ecobee only factors in the temperature for the room if it detects presence, that’s awesome! Do you know if that is true for the main thermostat too?

For example, at the office (we sell copiers) someone decided to put the thermostat in the showroom that is rarely visited (with all the heat generating equipment) so the lobby temperature is always way off because of the large window wall and double hung doors. Think the ecobee could help balance those rooms?

4

[quote=“sjperetz, post:3, topic:184072”]Thanks! Sounds like I should just stick to the ecobee… lol

I didn’t realize that the ecobee only factors in the temperature for the room if it detects presence, that’s awesome! Do you know if that is true for the main thermostat too?

For example, at the office (we sell copiers) someone decided to put the thermostat in the showroom that is rarely visited (with all the heat generating equipment) so the lobby temperature is always way off because of the large window wall and double hung doors. Think the ecobee could help balance those rooms?[/quote]

I am 99% sure that the thermostat itself participates equally with the presence detection/temperature averaging, but I am going to finally install one (and three sensors) this weekend, and will have empirical evidence. I think it would be crazy of Ecobee to do otherwise. And I do think the ecobee3, with enough sensors in enough places, would exactly address the problem with temperatures being wrong where people are vs. where they aren’t. Ecobee’s new slogan is “for homes with more than one room” because that’s the problem the ecobee3 is solving.

watou