I’ve been diving into the world of smart thermostats lately, and I must say, it’s been an exciting journey! After helping a friend install an ecobee, I decided it was time to upgrade my own home. I initially leaned toward a Nest, but I’ve heard mixed reviews here on the forum, especially regarding compatibility with HE. So, I started exploring other options, particularly those that don’t rely on Wi-Fi—zigbee or z-wave devices, to be precise.
Then, I stumbled upon the Wyze thermostat. It seemed like a solid choice, especially with its zigbee capabilities. I installed it a couple of weeks ago, and while it’s been working smoothly, there’s one thing that’s been on my mind. With my old thermostat, I noticed a delay before the furnace started blowing air, giving it time to heat up. Now, with Wyze, the air comes out cool for a bit before warming up. I’d love to find a way to replicate that pre-heat feature or at least minimize the cool air blast.
I’ve also been experimenting with integrating my Wyze outdoor camera into my smart home setup. Mounting it in a tree next to my house was a fun DIY project, and I’m looking for ways to camouflage it without sacrificing functionality. Battery life has been great so far, but I’d love to hear any tips others might have for optimizing its performance.
On another note, I’ve been exploring the Hubitat ecosystem and found myself intrigued by the possibilities of custom drivers. I’m working on a driver for a hydroponic gardening device that provides data and accepts commands. The challenge has been figuring out the best way to structure the driver—whether as a single entity or a hierarchy with main and child drivers. I’d love to hear others’ experiences with similar projects and how they’ve exposed attributes and commands to other apps like webCoRE or ActionTiles.
Overall, this journey into smart home automation has been both challenging and rewarding. Each new device or integration brings a fresh learning opportunity, and I’m excited to see where this path leads next. If anyone has insights or tips on any of these topics, I’d be thrilled to hear them!