randytsuch wrote:skybehind wrote:
I was on my phone before so didn't write much. Ideally what I'd like is a thermostat that is nothing but a small box, no display or buttons, then mount a tablet on the wall to control it. But I digress; if you are using Domoticz, you don't really need the thermostat to be smart, the brains are all in the controller (Domoticz). Something I never got about having multiple zones and something like the Nest is you have two "brains", where you really only need one brain and then sensors and relays that can communicate with it.
The CT100 is pretty much a regular thermostat that can be controlled via Z Wave. So you can do whatever you want as far as smarts go, the thermostat just does what the controller tells it. I looked at the CT30 after I bought my two CT100s because I was thinking about putting some smart stuff in my mom's house. Apparently they are thicker and the Z Wave may not reach as far, but for $35 I'd sure take it over the CT100 as long as it works... and especially if you have multiple zones.
Anyway, specifically to the CT100, the touch screen isn't that sensitive, not like we're used to with smart phones. Also the "fan on/auto" button is pretty close to the temp control, so sometimes I accidently switch the temp from Auto to On. That's about my biggest complaint.
My Mother in law lives with us, and I want her to be able to turn heater or AC on and off when she's home by herself, so I need a user interface, preferably a simple one.
We actually have separate HVAC systems for upstairs and downstairs, the house was like that when we bought it. This the downstairs thermostat, but upstairs is the one I really need some automation on. Want to turn on AC on in summer before we get home, and make sure it is turned off in the morning when we leave. Sometimes we forget to turn it off in the morning.
Randy
That's pretty much what I do. I have an upstairs and downstairs, CT100 for both. I have schedules programmed (for example set AC 74 every morning).
For voice control I also have an Amazon Echo, so I can say "Alexa set upstairs head to..." or "set downstairs air conditioning to..." to change temp. I can also say "turn on upstairs heat" or "turn on upstairs air conditioner" to change whether the setting is AC or Heat.
For the app, I use Domoticz webpage (though I also have the Domoticz app for Android), but save to my phone's desktop, which makes it like an app. I eventually want to put a tablet on the wall and use that. When I mount a tablet, I'll make a custom HTML frontpage so it's laid out how I want it.
You can get into programming automation based on outside weather conditions and motion sensors, but I haven't gotten there yet. I work at home and my wife is a Nurse who works Fri, Sat, Sun, so we're mostly home; don't really have as much of a need to motion sensing.
Lastly I can access my Domoticz from anywhere, so if I forgot to set a temp or something, I could change it remotely.