Z-Wave Smart Thermostat - ZTS-500 with Your Z-Wave Hub

I currently have 3 Nest thermostats all powered via the 24VAC connection, no issues whatsoever. None of these would power on after being connected to the HVAC system. If batteries were installed, then they would power on, and would show 24VAC under the power mode, so I figured it was just an oddity of the device.Well after a few days, the devices have killed their batteries and even though they still show a proper power connection, they're rapidly cycling on and off. Again, the Nests still work fine, so I've gone back to them for now. It's a bummer because these are the best looking Z-Wave thermostats, but looks like I'll be sticking with Nests for now.

I got this thermostat because it fit in best with the rest of my home. I thought its design was the best of any z-wave thermostat. However, the manufacturer support is poor. Out of the box, this does not work with SmartThings, which I believe is the most popular hub. I got this to work with SmartThings after installing a third-party IDE device handler. So I know all the manufacturer would need to do to support the device is write a device handler for SmartThings.Also, not specifically related to this thermostat, but why are z-wave thermostats not eligible for the power company rebates for smart thermostats?

Aside from a few minor quirks, this device is a great option for a Z-wave thermostat. Almost all pre-2018 Z-wave thermostats simply don't have encryption, which was a deal-breaker for me - the encryption on this device worked great out of the box for all command classes.You'll need to make sure your Z-wave gateway supports the device. It uses the standard Z-wave thermostat (and fan) command class, so most should be able to add support easily or support it as a generic thermostat - though some of the features exposed via configuration variables (low battery notification, filter change warnings) will need some extra integration. The only strange thing that I haven't been able to work around well is that the gateway can't "poll" the current temperature setpoint - it only gets updates on the setpoint command class from the ZTS-500 after it's changed (locally or by remote Z-wave command).My furnace has some electrical oddities - the 24VAC wire's voltage becomes inconsistent while the heat is in a post-cycle cooldown, which was causing the ZTS-500 to flicker and sometimes reboot. Adding AA batteries to the thermostat as a backup worked perfectly - the device no longer loses power when the furnace voltage has issues.As far as basic "thermostat stuff" - the temperature sensor seems accurate and consistent, the differential and swing options work well to configure the behavior of your HVAC. There's no scheduling capability (your Z-wave gateway will have to do that) - it's pretty much just a simple, dependable thermostat that exposes literally everything to Z-wave.

I bought 5 of these devices for a mountain home that does not have any C-wire, nor any nearby wall plugs where I could have used a AC-to-24V adapter. I used brand-new, Duracell batteries into each on Sept 6, 2018. After 2.75 months, towards ThanksGiving in Nov 2018, one by one, these thermostats slowly "went offline". I came up to my cabin in the 2nd week of December. All 5 had gone offline by then. Sure enough, they all ran out of battery juice. And that's with each thermostat using 4 AA, brand-new duracell batteries. Just 2.75 - 3 months max! Wow. Luckily, I suspected that these thermostats may die too quickly, so in the basement rooms of this mtn home, I used the uglier Radio thermostats. Those still had plenty of battery juice left. Anyhow, I replaced 4 x 5 = 20 new duracell batteries again into my 5 Remotec ZTS-500 thermostats. They all turned back on, and I could control them again thru my Wink.

After double-checking my wiring and jamming some AA batteries in the back,I can confirm that it's a good z-wave thermostat.I easily added into my Hass.io setup and can mangle my temperatures frommy phone.The only gripe I have is that it's an oil magnet and is *very* clicky.Pretty minor complaints, overall, though.