Good evening, we’re using a ct100 thermostat and this is now our second thermostat that is acting up. It doesn’t refresh on our phones and even though it may receive commands, it doesn’t indicate so on the phone. There’s plenty of times where it’ll go into malfunction mode and come back online a day later or a few hours later. This whole automation thing is turning us off to the technology. At this point I’m ready to install the basic thermostat back. Possibly looking to upgrade but want to figure out what’s going on first. Any help is appreciated.
Well, there are a couple things that may be going on, but the first thing that jumps out when looking at the system is that the thermostat is the only Z-wave device.
Z-wave is a mesh network, meaning that AC powered nodes, other devices like light switches, plug-in modules, etc., act as repeaters and help strengthen the network.
Z-wave range is fairly short, and range can be heavily affected by construction/layout.
What is the distance between your primary alarm panel and the thermostat? Any appliances, etc., in between as well? Are the two on separate floors of the home?
If you have tried two separate thermostats in the same spot it is likely you have some sort of environmental cause.
The thermostat is probably 15 feet from the home unit, on the other side of the pantry. The only thing that makes it not direct line of site is the duct work for the upstairs HVAC. No appliances and only a wall in between. At this point I’m just looking for a recommendation for a thermostat that doesn’t suck.
The ducts may be enough to impede the transmission, especially if they are close by the panel or thermostat. From above, the important thing to remember with Z-wave is that it is a mesh network, and single device may not have a reliable route.
I’ve used a CT100 on my own home system for years now without concern. However, if you intend on only using the one thermostat without additional devices and have noticed a pattern of signal failure, you may be better served by a non-Z-wave thermostat. Nest thermostat accounts can be linked to your Alarm.com account with limited integration.