Help me choose a T-stat

Zellarman

Member
I've narrowed my thermostat selection down to three, right now I'm considering
1) HAI  2 RC-1000 [looks like it fits my bill pretty well, but the serial protocol is a little difficult for me to follow, and I can't seem to figure out the commands that I'm looking for]
2) Control by Web X-300 [looks like the easiest to program, using network communication, but lacks a hardware interface (ALL control must be via network)]
and
3) Proliphix  IMT350 [ I think the most appealing of the three, except that, and this is a biggie, I don't think they share the protocol, so while I could relatively easily communicate through it's web interface, direct communication via my Universal Devices controller would not be possible]
Any and all comments, suggestions, explanations and or relative tangents are appreciated.
 
I looked at Proliphix late last year. The older Proliphix t-stats (NTxxe) wouldn't work for me because I have a two stage AC unit, and the only NT series t-stat that supported 2-stage wasn't touchscreen. I emailed them and they recommended one of the commercial IMT series T-stats. I asked about publishing the API, and they said...

The IMT API will likely be released, along with End User License Agreements, during the first quarter of 2011. That is the most recent information I have been given about the API.

They also said that the IMT t-stat API was not the same as the NT t-stat API.

I emailed them back a couple of months ago asking if they had published the API, but never got a response.

The other t-stat that I think would be nice (assuming the API is published) is the series from Bay Controls.

Ira
 
Take a look at the Ecobee - it's a little expensive but pretty nice looking - and they said in all their initial press releases that they wanted to have a very open API for development so people could write apps. They look great!
 
The [Proliphix] IMT API will likely be released, along with End User License Agreements, during the first quarter of 2011. That is the most recent information I have been given about the API.

I emailed them back a couple of months ago asking if they had published the API, but never got a response.
A thread just a few weeks ago on the Proliphix support group (proliphixgroups on Yahoo Groups) has this:

Q: "I was just advised by Proliphix that the IMT family's API will not be available? Has anyone else confirmed this, or is anyone using the IMT family and programming via an API?"

A: "Their API for the previous line of thermostats {the NT family] seems to work with the new thermostats. I haven’t tried all of the functions but the ones that I have tried work."

I have the older Proliphix thermostats, and I use the API extensively. There was nothing I couldn't accompish with a little code and I have been very satisfied.

BUT are they really that dumb to lock up the API? If true, THIS IS A SHOWSTOPPER for me if / when the time comes to replace these units. I simply will not accept an unsupported and undocumented API.
 
Since you don't seem to be very satisfied with the three options you already have, I'll suggest another - the RT-16 or TR-60 from RCS. They have a published serial protocol that is pretty complete. In my mind, it is similar to the HAI option. It might not be the sexiest option on the wall, but it works very well and its control is pretty extensive. I have several of the older TR-40's and love them.
 
Sure seems like there is a niche opening for a touchscreen t-stat that supports multistage systems, has a wired or wireless ethernet connection, and a published API.
 
Ira - seems like that *could* be the Ecobee. They do say their API is open to anyone; they have a great looking touchscreen, and they support wireless. I haven't tried one (I'm invested in an RCS multi-zone system already) but they have piqued my curiosity.
 
Ira - seems like that *could* be the Ecobee. They do say their API is open to anyone; they have a great looking touchscreen, and they support wireless. I haven't tried one (I'm invested in an RCS multi-zone system already) but they have piqued my curiosity.

I saw the Ecobee, and it does meet my touchscreen, multistage support, and ethernet requirements, but I haven't seen anything that says the API is open, or even that the t-stat itself serves up web pages. I came across a blog from late last year that talked about the Ecobee "mother ship" servers being down for a while, and the result was no one could access their t-stats via the net. The blogger was begging for Ecobee to eliminate that point-of-failure, but he never blogged that it was eliminated (even though Ecobee had responded to his blogs).

Where did you see that the API is published?

I agree that the touchscreen interface looks really good. Another thing I like is that the "mechanicals" (i.e., relays) are located away from the touchscreen, e.g., in the attic next to the furnace. I currently have have the top-of-the-line Lennox touchscreen t-stat, and the relays are so noisy, I can hear them click pretty much anywhere in my home. Having them in the attic unit would probably eliminate the relay noise. Bay Controls has a similar (separates) design.

Thanks,
Ira
 
I didnt see their protocols published but I did see where they said one of their goals wad to publish open API's for software developers, utilities, etc. It could be worth an email to them.

Hopefully the API would let you access the tstat directly, and not just interact via their "mother ship" web site.
 
I sent them an email, and will post back the response. I asked if they are going to publish the API and if it will allow direct communications with the t-stat instead of going thru their servers.

Ira
 
My bad for not stating the credentials that got me down to my final three. My heat zone is hydronic, with a separate A/C system (more specifically a radiant system). Becaus of it's nature, a thermostat that learns and adjusts to it's environment is critical, otherwise one would almost certainly question the functionality of the thermostat in operation. The temperature creep, and lack of early start would undoubtedly exploit the weaknesses of a thermostat not deigned for this application. While I'm certainly open to other options as far as thermostats go, none of the alternatives mentioned thus far address these requirements AFAIK.

Based on the responses so far, looks like the HAI might be the way to go.
 
I personally love the look of the HAI OmniStat2's - they're great devices (not touch-screen though, and not on par with the newest of honeywell touch screens). The protocol is wide-open and they work great.
 
I sent them an email, and will post back the response. I asked if they are going to publish the API and if it will allow direct communications with the t-stat instead of going thru their servers.

Ira

Response from Ecobee...

The ecobee products are wifi only, no ethernet connectivity and require to connect to our hosted web server. With respect to the API's it is on the development roadmap to release at some point but we do not have a specific timeframe when this will happen as we currently do not have the resources to support it.

Regarding the part about ethernet connectivity...I had mentioned that ethernet connectivity (which they really already have) was one of my requirements. I guess they regard WiFi connectivity to a LAN as being different than ethernet connectivity. One question I specifically asked that they didn't answer is if they release the API, will it be an API to the hosted web server are directly to the t-stat.

I will ask again and see if I get another response.

Ira
 
Response from Ecobee...

The ecobee products are wifi only, no ethernet connectivity and require to connect to our hosted web server. With respect to the API's it is on the development roadmap to release at some point but we do not have a specific timeframe when this will happen as we currently do not have the resources to support it.

Regarding the part about ethernet connectivity...I had mentioned that ethernet connectivity (which they really already have) was one of my requirements. I guess they regard WiFi connectivity to a LAN as being different than ethernet connectivity. One question I specifically asked that they didn't answer is if they release the API, will it be an API to the hosted web server are directly to the t-stat.

I will ask again and see if I get another response.

Ira

Another response from Ecobee regarding how the public API might be implemented...

At this point any API's to be released will be based on a hosted web server.

Not good enough for me to buy one at this point, but I guess it's better than nothing (if it every gets implemented).

Ira
 
Thanks for the follow-up Ira - I was curious but hadn't gotten that far. Unless the open up some features inside the house (not needing their hosted service) I wouldn't personally bother. Too bad.
 
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