Any idea when you might have support (even beta level) for the new thermostat adaptor that works with the Totaline/Venstar thermostats.

I'm currently a beta tester for this device and would love to also test some software support for it.

Because of NDA, I cannot comment on any possible future Indigo support of any possible unannounced hardware.

Matt

Insteon support? Awesome!

I finally gave up on that SimpleHomeNet stuff - I've put it firmly in the 'vaporware' category, plus the picture fails the 'looks like something i would want on my wall' test.

I got clued in to the Venstar units through the Smarthome New Products RSS feed, and was going to buy one plus the serial port adaptor. The insteon adaptor is a life saver, I hate hate hate going up in to my loose fiberglas insulation attic to pull cable!

Looks like Smarthome has officially let the cat out of the bag on it now:

INSTEON Thermostat Adapter

Note that page is just for the adapter. You also have to purchase one of the compatible Venstar thermostats (starting at around $70).

I don't want to publicly discuss the details (NDA), but the plan is for 3.0 to support this by the time it ships. The Venstar thermostat is nice -- I don't think the photos online quite do it justice. It has quite a few features and the INSTEON Adapter, which plugs into the bottom, is quite small. It doesn't require an electrical outlet nor does it need a battery.

To use the Venstar thermostat you do need to have a ground wire running to the theromstat. My house had plenty of wires, including a common ground wire, so installation was easy. But apparently some older houses may not have enough wires to easily use the thermostat. So, check before you buy it.

Regards,
Matt

Matt, do you have one of these installed?

Edit: Do you have just the venstar thermostat part installed? I'm interested in how the hardware hooks up regardless of the Insteon part.

Yes, and yes. Here are the basic wiring instructions.

I believe you can ignore W2 if you have single stage heating. The part that some houses lack, I believe, is the 24 VAC common (or maybe it is the 24 VAC return). But the point is some houses just have 1 24 VAC wire and not two, which means the Venstar cannot get its power from the wiring. And it has no battery option.

Regards,
Matt

support wrote:I believe you can ignore W2 if you have single stage heating. The part that some houses lack, I believe, is the 24 VAC common (or maybe it is the 24 VAC return). But the point is some houses just have 1 24 VAC wire and not two, which means the Venstar cannot get its power from the wiring. And it has no battery option.

I just went through this yesterday installing the Venstar T1800 in preparation of the release of the Insteon module. You need to check if you have both a R and a C wired up on your current t-stat, the R is the hot side, the C is common (like a neutral) and allows the circuit to be completed and give 24vac to the Venstar. I had to run a new cable, but there are a lot of products out there that can "add a wire" to your run by combining 2 other wires to allow you to use the now freed up one as the C. There are also other options involving a resistor but that all starts to get complex.

OK, I have been looking for this capability for a long time. Yahooo! Now before I go and order toys, I need to make sure I am following this thread correctly.

There are two items to be purchased:

1. Thermostat (like this one)
2. Thermostat adapter (like this one)

If someone can provide clarity to this caffeine-deprived soul, I'd appreciate it!

Cheers...

morps wrote:There are two items to be purchased:

Correct. I think you might just want to get the cheaper 1-day version of the thermostat. The 7-day is good for creating individual schedules to run daily by the thermostat itself, but if you are using Indigo then you can define whatever schedules you want via Time/Date Actions.

And note that I believe Norm at MacHomeStore.com is working on getting the Venstar thermostats stocked and is planning on taking pre-orders for the adapter as well.

Regards,
Matt

Are there any other differences between the thermostat versions other than the multi day timing? There's a thread on Smarthomes message board on these, looks like it supports temp and humidity too.

gregjsmith wrote:Are there any other differences between the thermostat versions other than the multi day timing?

I believe if you have multi-stage heating, then you'll need one of the more expensive ones. But I believe the single day will offer all the same INSTEON control over set points, current mode, and getting the current temperature.

Matt

The 1800 (7-day) and 1900 (7-day 'dual mode' or whatever SmartHome is refering to it as) actually do have some differences.

The 1900 has the humidity sensor built in (it is installable on the other), it has a couple extra connectors (hook a sensor up to your drip-pan to detect leaks, etc).

I'm going to get the 1900 becuase it is cheaper than buying the 1800+humidity sensor.

Furthermore, the 1900 from VenstarThermostats.com is the same price as the 1800 from Smarthome.com <g> I'm going to buy all my Venstar accessories there (trimplate, remote sensors, etc) with the exception of the Insteon adaptor which they do not list yet.

You could get away with just hte 1700 1-day model if you wanted to save money.

Will you be able to read the humidity via Insteon?

What is the best price / place that everyone has found for the T1800? I need this model as I have 3 - heat / 2 - cool

scottlaird wrote:Will you be able to read the humidity via Insteon?

This should be supported, but I don't yet have a humidity sensor to try it out.

Matt