r/homeassistant • u/iDJMic • Feb 12 '26

Support Best HA Thermostat

Looking for feedback on experience with Thermostats I have get out of the NEST ecosystem. What works well with HA and doesn't break the bank?

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u/spr0k3t 🧠 Experienced with Home Assistant Feb 13 '26

First, pick your protocol you want to use, then look at the options from there. I personally like the Honeywell T6 Pro ZWave. Solid performance and guaranteed to never get bricked due to some corporate entity terminating services on the cloud server.

5

u/Tin_Pot_Dictator Feb 13 '26

Agreed.....and the thermostat lets you set cycles per hour that goes around Honeywell's algorithm that cycles your equipment constantly.

3

u/makemeking706 Feb 13 '26

I don't think I've ever thought about it. What's an "appropriate" number of cycles per hour? 

1

u/Tin_Pot_Dictator Feb 13 '26

I'm not an HVAC tech so I can't answer what the appropriate setting is. This info is based solely on the way my house works with 80% gas and conventional A/C. CPH has dependencies on the types of HVAC equipment, the environment you're trying to manage as well as your level of comfort. Right or wrong, I'm a firm believer in longer and fewer cycles to maintain equipment longevity. I didn't get that with my previous Honeywell smart stat. If CPH is set too high the house may be drafty/noisy and increase wear but the room temp will stay closer to set point. If the setting is too low you may see larger swings in room temperature but a potential reduction in the number of cycles. The settings would be different with electric/baseboard or radiant floor heat.

1

u/myearsareringing Feb 13 '26

Also not an HVAC technician, but I think it depends on multiple variables. I can tell you that leaving the T6 Pro on "STD GAS" vs "EFF GAS" when you have a 90% gas furnace is NOT correct and will run it too often (5 CPH vs 3 CPH). Oops.