The YouTube channel, ‘Make Smart Matter’, just posted an amazingly video praising video for the W200 thermostat!!!
I have been on two different Ecobee thermostats the last 11 years, this is making me want to switch! I do love two amazing things I just learned from this video, you can use other brands of remote temp sensors and ‘soft sensors’ that recently released with a FW update is AMAZING!!!
Problem is… the soft temperate sensor is not available everywhere yet….
I just finished watching this one, great coverage on the soft sensors.
I’ve been following the discussions around the new Aqara W200, and frankly, I don’t get the “groundbreaking” part. If you strip away the sleek UI and the buzzwords, you’re left with a device that offers almost nothing new for actual climate control.
Using mmWave radar for presence detection sounds high-tech, but for most heating systems, especially underfloor, it’s practically useless. The thermal inertia of a home doesn’t care if a radar sees you breathing on the couch, the physics of heat transfer remain the same. We’ve had self-learning algorithms and predictive TPI control for over a decade that handle this perfectly well.
Why build a Zigbee/Thread hub into a thermostat? A thermostat should be a dedicated, rock-solid HVAC controller. Making it the “brain” of your smart home just creates a single point of failure. If your thermostat glitches or needs an upgrade, you shouldn’t have to risk your entire smart home network going down with it.
For all its “advanced” tech, it still lacks basic integration for things like dedicated floor temperature sensors, which are critical for many installations to prevent surface damage.
“Predictive algorithms” and “AI” are just current buzzwords for features that brands like Nest were already implementing back in 2011. A prettier app interface doesn’t make the actual heating process any more efficient, it just gives you more colorful graphs to look at.
The only real novelty here is native Matter support and acting as a Thread Border Router. This is a connectivity update, not a heating innovation.
I apologize if I’m missing something, but could someone point out what is actually groundbreaking here? A modern UI and Matter support don’t improve your climate control, they just make it prettier to look at while doing the same job we’ve been doing for years.
Following up on my previous point - there’s another massive issue with devices like the W200 that the hype train conveniently ignores: the lifecycle mismatch.
A heating system is a 15-20 year investment. It’s supposed to be boring and invisible. By merging the thermostat with a smart hub and a high-end display, Aqara is turning a long-term utility into “disposable tech.” In 5 years, that screen will look dated, the “AI” processor will be slow, and the Matter version will be legacy. Do you really want to rip out your HVAC controller just because the built-in Zigbee hub is obsolete?
Traditional HVAC controllers are designed for high-voltage stability and physical fail-safes. When you cram mmWave radars, Wi-Fi, Thread, and a hub into one plastic box on the wall, you’re asking for thermal management issues and software glitches. If the “hub” part of the W200 crashes during a firmware update, does your house freeze?
When my current “dumb” or professional-grade system has an issue, any HVAC technician can look at the wiring and fix it. If the W200 acts up, a technician will just stare at the screen and tell you to “call tech support.”
We are moving towards a world where we prioritize integration over reliability. I’d much rather have a “dumb” stable boiler/manifold controller and a separate, upgradable hub in a closet than a shiny “all-in-one” gadget that tries to do everything and masters nothing.
Is there anyone here who actually prefers their core home infrastructure to be tied to a consumer electronics release cycle?
I am asking for a friend, what thermostat(s) do you use and depend upon?
I wish aqara would have made an lite version of this powered by plug desk stand or wall stand mounted and with IR made just for AC kind of like Tado V3 but with that awesome display.M3 do the job well but M3 need to be placed in range of the AC to control it and in many cases it’s a bit hard to do.
You’re basically asking for a wall-mounted remote that looks pretty, while complaining about the basic laws of physics.
The reason Tado V3 works is that you stick it on a wall with a direct line-of-sight to the AC unit. If you want an “awesome display” on your desk or wall just to look at it, buy a digital photo frame. If you want to control your AC, put the IR blaster where it can actually see the AC, and stop obsessing over whether your infrastructure looks like a sci-fi prop.
This is the peak “gadget over function” mindset, prioritizing how a thermostat looks on a stand over the fact that IR signals don’t go through walls or around corners.
I am not complaining or obsessed about nothing I just say that will be nice to have an such device made by aqara for those who can’t install the w200 as not all have the installation made for such device I still do not know what is your problem regarding on what I was suggesting?the tado I had it and I sold it back just because I do not need another app for just an device since most of my devices are from aqara and having an nice display like w200 is because I can see the details of the AC on it and the temperature and humidity from my house.my be you do not like Sci-fi but I do, sow if aqara would decide doing such device would be awesome and I am sure lots of ppl will love to have it.
I guess this is where the “generational conflict” happens - the fossils vs. the sci-fi fans! You clearly value the futuristic aesthetic and ecosystem unity, while I tend to get stuck on the technical “how-to” and existing hardware limitations. If Aqara ever builds that device, you’ll be the first to say “I told you so” and I’ll be the one happily admitting I was wrong. Cheers for the discussion!
No problem bro we all have our tastes and we all know what we need from an smart home to be this is why we do not need to fight over it I know aqara will never do such device but worth mention as from aqara collection there are some missing devices that others companies does for smart home and because I mainly using aqara will be nice to have them all into one app and not install multiple apps.have an nice one👍🏻
Except my Ecobee 4 from 2020 (was released in mid-2017) works just fine to date. The only reason I have a W200 was being a beta tester; I wouldn’t have replaced my Ecobee otherwise.
They haven’t changed much other than the screen size being bigger and an air quality sensor on the new ones. Had remote sensors back then too. Same app and software. MANY people use their Ecobees or Nests for 5-10 years without issue.
Additionally, with remote sensors in a hot climate with 2 stories and 1 HVAC system, it has saved countless dollars on cooling. More than the $175-200ish it cost back then on sale. One would only have to save a mere $30 or so on electricity costs per whole year, a whole <$3 per month saved, to come out ahead.
I dont use Apple but it also is the only one that had the adaptive temp thing which can save people even more money on electricity costs. For some this is their first thermostat. And for some their first Aqara hub; so why not a 2 for 1 device…
YMMV for location and climate/HVAC setup, but saying smart thermostats are a waste for everyone is a pretty big oversimplification. Ive saved FAR more money in electricity (which has and is only going up in cost) in only 6 years than the device cost.
Its also not at all more complex to get repairs done. A thermostat “touches the wires together” and is all it is doing; making the connection. If you physically touch Y to 24V power (red) you get AC on; G to 24V power (red) you get blower fan. White to red is heat. The thermostat merely makes that connection electronially rather than physcially touching ther wires at a set temp. Smart thermostats are no different than one from the 90s. And no HVAC tech is saying call any tech support unless the physical connections all work and its 100% the thermostat (surely the vast minority of HVAC call issues versus a bad board, motor, wiring, capacitor, contactor, etc.).
I appreciate the HVAC 101, but the reason we see this differently is likely due to the systems we are running. There isn’t really a single “world’s best” thermostat, as the requirements for a cooling-dominant forced-air system and a high-inertia heating system are fundamentally different.
You mentioned your two remote sensors as a key feature, but in a climate where we heat for 8 months a year with hydronic floor heating, the needs are more complex. I use a professional-grade system that monitors both air and floor temperatures in every single room. This is tied to an outdoor sensor to manage the heating curve. I need to know the relationship between indoor and outdoor temperatures to stay ahead of the weather. For a 10-ton concrete slab, tracking the floor temperature is essential, and knowing the outdoor trend is the only way to manage that thermal mass effectively. A standard “smart” thermostat that only sees air temperature is effectively “blind” to the slab’s actual state.
This is also why features like mmWave radars or occupancy tracking play no role in my setup. With a 10–12 hour thermal lag, any “smart” change triggered now won’t physically manifest until the next day. I set my room setpoints once during installation, and they have stayed that way ever since, as a heating system should be invisible. If you have to constantly “tweak” your settings, the system isn’t actually working for you. You simply cannot and shouldn’t have to micromanage a concrete slab with tools designed for fast-reacting air units.
Ultimately, I prefer a system where the core logic is local. One might call my system “dumb” because it doesn’t depend on the internet, but that is precisely its greatest strength. The biggest weakness of many modern “smart” gadgets is their total dependency on a third-party cloud. We’ve seen too many services sunsetted, servers go down, or free features moved behind a subscription paywall. I’d rather have robust engineering that works regardless of an internet connection than a shiny UI that treats my home’s core survival as a disposable electronic.
Furthermore, there is the matter of long-term reliability. I’ve seen consumer-grade 2-in-1 device Aqara G3 fail in just 3 years because they aren’t built to the same standards as building infrastructure. If an all-in-one HVAC controller or its cloud service fails, depending on your setup, you could end up in an over or under heated house, and when that happens, you’re stuck with non-existent email-only support.
Let’s forget the classic marketing bullshit that one device can do everything. My home doesn’t need to look like a spaceship to be smart. In fact, while it looks like a normal home, it’s technologically more capable and reliable than most setups out there. So, far from being stuck in the 90s, I’d say that if we compare our setups, your current solution still has a lot of catching up to do.
We get it.
That said, the title here is ‘Best SMART Thermostat,’ not just ‘Best Thermostat.’ What is groundbreaking versus those others and firsts in SMART thermostats has been gone over:
If smart thermostats aren’t your thing, I’m not sure how coming here to just bash on the product and “just use a dumb thermostat that’ll last you xx years” for a bunch of made-up reasons about troubleshooting and longevity (disproven by many who have owned smart thermostats for 10+ years that still work) furthers this specific discussion about how this product stacks up against other smart thermostats people are actually cross-shopping or upgrading from.
You do you, then, and your super special setup. I certainly won’t be replying to further anecdotes, though.
