I’ve been exploring smart thermostats lately and came across these two options on AliExpress: a Z-Wave thermostat and a Wi-Fi one. I’m curious about how they integrate with Home Assistant and which might be better for my setup. The Z-Wave model claims to be plug-and-play, which sounds appealing, but I’m not sure if it’ll work seamlessly without any tinkering. On the other hand, the Wi-Fi thermostat from Tuya seems more affordable, but I’m wondering if it can be flashed with ESPHome or Tasmota to improve compatibility with Home Assistant.
I’d love to hear from anyone who has experience with these devices. Does the Z-Wave thermostat truly work out of the box, or do I need to configure it extensively? For the Wi-Fi model, has anyone successfully flashed it to enhance its functionality? Also, I’m curious about how the logic of the thermostat operates—does it rely on built-in smarts, or is it controlled directly by Home Assistant? Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!