I’m not sure the best way to ask or if there is a better community to post…

I’m hoping to use my home server to control my home thermostat but not sure where to start.

Does anyone use Home Assistant for this? Another software?

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to ask about hardware here, but are there things to be aware of in making sure that a wifi thermostat is best suited for the job?

  • phughes@lemmy.caEnglish
    9·
    2 days ago

    I have a homeassistant instance connected to a no-name Z-wave thermostat. It’s been flawless for almost 10 years.

  • jevans ⁂@lemmy.mlEnglish
    5·
    3 days ago

    I have a cheap homekit thermostat that I use with home assistant. Being able to turn it off for movies or during peak energy hours is nice. What was most helpful, however, was putting temperature and humidity sensors in every room, so that I could move around heat generating stuff to balance the temps throughout my apartment. I moved my server and gaming pc tower out of my home office. The temperature spread went from 8 deg F to 2 deg F.

  • pageflight@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    3 days ago

    I have ESP8266 WiFi modules running Tasmota firmware for a few parts of this. Some report temperature (and humidity just for fun), I like DS18B20 sensors better than SHT30s which seem to have a bit more self heating. Then I also have Mitsubishi mini split heat pumps for which there’s a Tasmota control library. MQTT for communication + HomeAssistant for UI + AppDaemon for automation scripts in Python.

    Examples of the UI in HA:

    Thermostat controls

    Target and actual temperature history

  • bmcgonag@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    2 days ago

    I use an ecobee termostat with Wifi and three extra sensores places around my home. Home Assistant already has an add-on for it, add the thermostat card and it goes to work. Set whatever automations you want.

  • eodur@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    3 days ago

    I got a Venstar T2000. Its at a decent price point, HAOS has built in support for it, and it can work entirely without internet.

    • gedaliyah@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      3 days ago

      Thanks for the tip! Others have mentioned that it’s very tricky to find one that works offline without the manufacturer’s software (website, login, data collection, etc)

      • Mikelius@lemmy.mlEnglish
        3·
        3 days ago

        Plus 1 to Venstar. Got myself the T7900 and even though it offers internet access, I just blocked it at my router and connected it to the network, controlling it through home assistant. No need for third party access and whatnot with it since it’s completely local.

  • foggenbooty@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    2 days ago

    I have an EcoBee thermostat which is typically web managed, however it also supports HomeKit. Using the homekit plugin for HomeAssistant I now get best of both worlds.

    If I were to do it again I might consider a Z-Wave or ZigBee thermostat, but living in a cold climate I really appreciate knowing that if for some reason my home auto fails there is a backup service to alert me, or vice versa.

    • surph_ninja@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      2 days ago

      Do the Ecobees have any issue if you block their access to the internet? Any issues making it lan only?

      • foggenbooty@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        2 days ago

        I haven’t tried, but I wouldn’t recommend it. It was years ago that I set it up, but I belive it wanted an app. I would stick with one designed for local only.