ALL Local Control Thermostat with MQTT and Home Assistant - Venstar T7900
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- čas přidán 2. 07. 2024
- Why did I wait this long to control my air conditioner without the cloud!?!? Something so simple and yet so awesome. The Venstar local API changes things in my smart home.
Venstar T7900 Color - amzn.to/3u1fjdV
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Venstar T7900 (Ebay) - ebay.us/ipA9FG
Venstar T2000 (Ebay) - ebay.us/ZKRAjC
Venstar Sensors - ebay.us/Q3qZri
Venstar Add A Wire - amzn.to/2QxqRrC
Venstar Wireless Sensor - amzn.to/3wdokSD
Venstar Wired Sensor - amzn.to/33Tk3aX
Venstar Amazon Canada - amzn.to/3ylzd6x
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Home Assistant Venstar Integration - www.home-assistant.io/integra...
Venstar MQTT - github.com/terafin/mqtt-venst...
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#Venstar
#LocalAPI
#MQTT
00:00 Intro
00:40 Hands On
05:32 Install
06:12 Why did I remove Nest?
07:20 Different Models
08:28 Issues
09:38 Home Assistant Integration
10:41 Using MQTT
12:03 Cloud App
14:15 Custom Backgrounds
15:22 How to Load Firmware/Graphics
17:09 Closing Thoughts - Věda a technologie
A few years ago I tied in a Venstar thermostat (an older version that still had local API control) to Homeassistant and my window/door sensors. If any windows/doors are opened for more than 5 minutes, the HVAC is turned off through Homeassistant. The reverse happens (HVAC turned on) when all the windows/doors are closed for 5 minutes. If someone tries to override the thermostat directly (they try to turn it on) and windows/doors are opened, the HVAC is shut back off and we get a telegram message from Homeassistant telling us what windows/doors we need to close first. This has made it so we don't heat or cool the outside anymore.
My house is outfitted with four T3900's and they work fantastic with Hubitat and SmartThings. Love the local API, makes them fast.
I've had this Thermostat for over a year now and I love it. Great video
Awesome to hear from someone using it long term. Much appreciated!
Can you give a longer review? What you like and what you dislike?
Do you have the same model or a different model or model version?
Thanks
Great video Travis! Glad to see some manufacturer recognizes the values of local API/control. Looks like a nice unit on top of that! I really appreciate your easy-to-follow, informative videos. 😁
FINALLY a decent thermostat with local control and optional cloud. Thanks Travis, ordered today. Hopefully manufacturers take note here!
thank you for making videos on devices with local control! exactly what i was looking for.
Thank you Travis! Have been waiting for a local control Thermostat for the US!
It's an amazing thing.
Really appreciate your videos, man. Very helpful.
I have a T7850 sitting, waiting for installation, very awesome to see a video from you on a very similar model!
Hope you enjoy it!
I picked this thermostat up a few weeks ago. I'm really happy with it. And WAF was a huge factor in my decision. I didn't know about the MQTT stuff, I'm going to check that out -- thanks!
You can do JSON right to the thermostat API but man that would be awesome if it had native MQTT but I'm fine with the container running right next to my MQTT container. Been pretty solid and slick to control it by anything, even with a light switch to long press and change modes/temps. Tasmota push right to it.
I'm going to be getting this thermostat. I'll make sure to get it from here. Thanks.
Still rocking mine and love it.
I have a very complex HVAC system.. I have been playing with Venstar for a very Long time.. I have 3 zones.. 3 minisplits (2 china splits, and 1 brand new fujitsu).. these are ducted minisplit heat pumps.. theyare ducted units, 1 for each zone.. the china units are custom ducted (I built them myself as ducted didnt exust in 2008).. the fujitsu is sold as a ducted commercial unit.. anyway I used to install venstar surveyor in retail locations (think grande venti).. I built my own interface boards (hacked the protocol) for my china splits and use an intesis device for the fujitsu.. I wrote an extensive software program to cxontrol everything and keep it all online.. the Venstar Local API is a game changer.. I have several models at my house.. I prefer the commercial models as they offer many more options as far as staging and humidity control.. one of the niceties about the Venstars is they can be Local and cloud control at the same time.. since I built my home automation system to be transparent.. (me or my roomie can walk up to the wall thermostat and adjust.. or the HA system can auto adjust (ie burglar alarm is set to away the units go setback).. along with phone app.. the Venstar Skyport can be used along with the Local API.. so I can see and control all the house themostats (4 of them.. 3 zones plus the basement heat-only.. {soon to be zone 5 as i add heat / air to my garage}).. the Intesis WMP devices has a LOCAL and simple ASCII API as well if you are looking to control Minisplits.. (fujitsu, Daikin, Mitsubishi, ) and others are supported.. they also have one to control minisplits via IR... I use Homeseer along with my own software to control it all.. again Local control (homeseer also offers alexa and google)... to me the beauty is when you can have a system that will function fully as a Local-only (internet is down) but also gives you the ability to control via cloud (voice, or cell app) when connected.. the newer Venstar IAQ models offer the ability to use wireless remote sensors which is something really nice (albeit I havent seen that offered yet on a colortouch).. the colortouch does support wired remote sensor that works very well.. I use the humidity control functions of the 89xx series.. all of these minisplits sit inline with a gas furnace (multi stage variable speed) for when its winter cold (I usually swap over about 30 degrees)... the Venstar allows me to have one thermo per zone and no guessing whether t oturn on the split heat pump or the gas heat.. the system heat source gets changed and the venstar still provides status data (and as a mechanical backup, W1 is phyiscally connected )... love this stuff.. highly recommend Venstar (even if they arent as pretty as nest or ecobee)
Very nice. I have been looking for something to replace a dying thermostat. but didn't like the limitations of the nest. I may give one of these a try. Keep up the good work!
Still loving it here. So nice to have it just work and automations easily change it.
I'm really feeling the way this guy does reviews.
I like him a little bit as well.
@@digiblurDIY 🤣
His kid in the end of some of his videos is my fav!
The Radio Thermostat CT-50 and the 3M-50 do have a local REST type API. They are pretty old at this point, but do work well. I have been using a 3M-50 for several years with local control of set points and schedules.
Thanks for the video! Ive been thinking of the venstar t7900 for quite a while now. Weve got 5 freakin heating zones in the house though, so its quite the investment for us. Thanks for the in-depth tour! makes the $179 a little easier to accept knowing it works so well with HA.
Wow. The lesser model might work as well and let you save some coin.
@@digiblurDIY yep. I'm considering them for some of the less used areas of the house. Plus we've got one for ac all by itself. I may move that to one of the other thermostats since they can do both.
Man, you and I are sync'd up these days. You keep releasing videos on the topics I'm working on myself. That's a man who knows his audience.
Anyway, I'm building my own MQTT based touch screen thermostat. This one gives me some ideas on how to improve my project.
You need to take your kid on some more adventures for your outro reel! Well, that and all the fun of the adventure, of course!
I went back and forth with this one. I was close to doing a full DIY one but then I remembered my luck. It would be I just left for a week and the wife calls on night #1 the AC is down because something stupid died on the network. So I made a few rules for this one, given I live in the South US, cooling is a must. It must work standalone with power as the only requirement, be controllable from the wall, ability to opt in to some cloud control for the wife, and local control for my needs. Now with that said.. I would love to see what you come up with.
I have a problem with the outros... :) I raised the bar too high with the flight and the ziplining! Take him skydiving next or something? I'm hoping to have some cool footage in a few weeks. He's so excited as I got him a new Gopro as his old one was giving him trouble. Well, let's be real, I got it for me too.
@@digiblurDIY No, I completely agree that the thermostat must work like a thermostat regardless of any network or remote control issues. That is a fundamental requirement for all of my projects. I'll send you some info on it a bit later if you like.
As for outros, if that kid would go skydiving, then I seriously need to adjust my fear threshold! He's already pretty fearless and I admire his courage with what you all have done already! Personally, I love to see kids' first exposure to anything. They can get excited about a snowcone - if it was the first one they ever had. I know with my own son, he keeps me honest and reminds me to try to not take things for granted. I think that's what kids do best.
Great video I had one in my cart to get next month I changed the link to your affiliated link already ..Thanks for the content .
Awesome! Thank you!
Thanks for this,. I really enjoyed the footage of the Nest removal. I finally rid my house of all Google hardware this spring, replaced it with local devices. I’m running six Honeywell T5 ZWave Thermostats now....all controlled with Home Assistant automations...could not be happier with it.
I wish they had more zigbee options on thermostats.
@@digiblurDIY Agreed. There is however a lot to like about these T5/T6 Z-Wave devices...full local control, home assistant integration, and a battery life of 6 months plus with lithium AAs...if you don't have a C-Wire like me.
I can't use Zwave unfortunately so that's an issue for me.
Thanks for the video! This is exactly what I'm working on. Just brought a cheap TUYA 24V AC Thermostat on Aliexpress. Not sure if it has complete TUYA thermostat API. It also has Modbus port so I can play around with it if API doesn't work.
Been using these for a while now and they are really solid.
As to the wife acceptance..... I've had both explorer and the colortouch. The wife didn't like the touch as much as the actual buttons.
Thankfully also, they have finally made it so you can use their app as well to set the schedule.
Totally agree, for the few random times we need to just press the buttons I'd rather just walk by and mash on a hardware button.
Great video. Got myself one of these last year when I had my furnace and A/C replaced and added a whole house humidifier. Downside: Home Assistant has issues controlling the Humidifier, but I didn't know about the MQTT docker container, so guess what I'm investigating now...
I didn't find the climate controls really straightforward in HA either myself, I've been using the docker container stuff to do things as I usually try to decouple stuff from going through HA anyways and keep it as my states machine which it does a great job of.
Great video! I probably would have purchased this if I knew it was out there. I made one with relays, bme280, d1 mini and esphome. Its worked great and I use HA/NodeRed for all of the automations.
I went back and forth with this one. I was close to doing a full DIY one but then I remembered my luck. It would be I just left for a week and the wife calls on night #1 the AC is down because something stupid died on the network. So I made a few rules for this one, given I live in the South US, cooling is a must. It must work standalone with power as the only requirement, be controllable from the wall, ability to opt in to some cloud control for the wife, and local control for my needs.
@@digiblurDIY That is and was a fear of mine. I'm using the thermostat component with esphome so it has default high and low targets. I have it set to create it's own AP if wifi fails so that I have some control, but it would just be me. It would be hard to explain how to connect to it and control it manually if necessary. It's done well though even through power outages during the winter. I'm in the south too and need ac when the humidity it high!! This thermostat for this video is great though.
I got my Venstar T7850 from supplyhouse dot com about a year ago. It took about 5 minutes to install and has been bulletproof ever since! according to their website, the only difference is yours also Controls humidification, dehumidification & reheat.
Awesome to hear from someone using it long term. Much appreciated!
Welp, because of this video, I replaced my Ecobee4 with the Colortouch. Nice going dude! I'm really surprised at the depth of configuration within the thermostat itself. I'm going to check your videos to see if you expanded on MQTT. I've got everything working in HA. It took me about 10 minutes to install the thermostat and about 20 to get it set up and useable in HA. Saaaweet!
I use the MQTT for some quick changes via NodeRed and grabbing a few status things. It's just more my preference for less breaking changes in the future.
It's very tempting. I live in Florida and the summer time is brutal. I think last year my electric bill was in the 300's.
Queue Good Morning Vietnam weather reports...czcams.com/video/sPnayr6iSpY/video.html
@@digiblurDIY nailed it.
I mocked up a design to replace the solid state thermo in the camper w/ a touchscreen/esp32/BME280 a couple yrs ago. Nextion screen design isn't the most user friendly. Probably half the cost of this product, but only suited for a person like me who can (sort of) code.
I really like my honeywell zwave!
That's what I used to have a good while back until I figured out I had too much interference on 900mhz.
@@digiblurDIY ah, i see.
i use a venstar T3800 but you need the wifi module add-on. no webpage for control, but has the local API to use with HA.
Thanks for the video. You mentioned an istaller for the venstar-mqttt-bridge. Any progress?
I believe I linked it the docker container.
Thanks for the video. Is this still working well for you in 2022? I was looking into the T2000 but right now, it seems to be the same price as the T7900.
Yep. I still use it today as my main HVAC thermostat.
Still no scheduling to use AUX during certain hours instead of main heat source?
I have had several Venstar Thermstats dating back to 2014 with the T5800. I now have a T7900 and a T7850. I actually have 10 wires ran to my T7900,.. 2 stage HP , dual fuel and a humidifier. I noticed you also have videos discussing zwave and zigbee. Have you figured out how to add these thermostats to Smartthings?
I haven't had smartthings in about 3 or 4 years now. Someone might have a handler for it but I really don't know. It just uses HTTP via the API.
Question about the Fan settings. Is there a setting that allows a "run this many minutes of every hour" setting. Not sure what this feature is really named. I find my system actually runs the compressors less if I have a setting that lets the fan do some air mixing when the unit is not heating/cooling.
They call it Smart Fan. I see the ability to enable it, minimum hourly run time, the time range for the day and then the days you want it enabled. So indeed it does. There's also some other settings to set a larger delay to run the fan after a cycle.
Great job.
Thanks Travis you rock.
The add a wire kit is that for a transformer or battery for no c wire ?
In my area of air handlers typically only 4 wires were run as that was all that was needed. Well fast forward to smart thermostats and we need 5 for power all the time. I actually ran a fifth wire myself many years ago to stop changing batteries on a dumb digital thermostat. I saw they had this kit on their site and found a lot of people having success with it on reviews to convert the 4 wires into 5. The irony is most of them were Nest customers. Ha. Sounds like Nest is missing out on a product accessory up sell.
@@digiblurDIY I get that
I'm a past HVAC contractor but now only deal with hearth appliances. I really need to come up with a 100$ option for a user friendly smart thermostat that works with 2 wire 250 mV systems. That don't require HA or other expensive cloud based hubs to set up my customers with vacation homes.
I'm tinkering with esphome and blynk for diy now that it's my slow time for service and have time to tinker.
They have the wiring diagram here. files.venstar.com/accessories/ACC0410ManualRev2.pdf
Thanks Travis a thermostat is still on my list to automate -- does it support degrees Celcius?
Yep. General settings option to change the units and languages.
I am new to the whole mqtt. I was just checking to see if you could explain to me how to set up the mqtt part.
What system of home automation are you using?
@digiblurDIY Home Assistant in virtual Box
What do you mean when you say “self heating issues”?
The device internal electronics can sometimes cause invalid readings. The temperature sensor is at the bottom to help prevent this.
In the add it states, you probably do as well, but thought I would amplify the note: It states in the ad on Amazon that you need the Echo Dot (says required) to use with the Venstar T7900, why?
I haven't seen that nor do I have an Echo dot. It isn't required. The only thing required is an air conditioner.
Hey is this still the latest and greatest in terms of a locally controlled Home Assistant compatible thermostat?
I haven't seen another with local http API and no forced app usage. Still using mine.
What HVAC system do you use for these smart thermostats? We are looking at a Daikin HP+Furnace hybrid system, but seems we can only use their thermostat!?
Standard residential unit with the air handler inside and compressor outside.
How’s this things Wi-Fi connectivity? Have had some thermostats constantly disconnect from Wi-Fi in the past although the Wi-Fi network is solid.
I haven't had issues nor have I heard of any.
any updates on this ? are you still happy? how is the integration
No news is good news. Loving the ease of integration being local and no hoops to jump through. Works great on heat too now.
Hello, thanks for your video, it helped me a lot. I have the same model. I just bought it, but when installing it, I have a question in your video at minute 5:52, where do you put the white cable in the middle or next to the yellow one? , I mean that after the yellow you put the white one or you left one empty and you put it on the next one, what would the middle one do?
When I pulled the previous thermostat I marked what each wire was connected to. Never trust the color as I've seen them switched around to some other scheme. Take a picture before you remove any wires and then just match them back up.
@@digiblurDIY thank you
Is there really no other smart thermostat with local control? I wish someone would just stick an HTTP server in one of these things.
Hello Travis,
Can you offer any insight into getting the entities into home assistant? I am already using the mqtt integration with the ring-mqtt container to get my ring alarm devices into home assistant. However, the mqtt auto discovery is not finding another device or any entities. On the MQTT settings page, there is a "Listen to a topic" option I can enter "/venstar/#" and I can see all of the options the venstar container is publishing, they just don't seem to be automatically integrating into home assistant like the ring-mqtt setup does. I assume I'm doing something wrong, just not familiar enough to know what. Really appreciate any help you can offer regarding this.
Ryan
You do have to manually put them in the YAML, I used MQTT explorer and found the sensors I needed and put them in the GUI.
I can see that the Venstar Setup Assistant would be very handy for setup on a new thermostat without having to stand in the hallway pressing buttons for a rather extended period. The owners manual only has a basic description of that process though. If I do the setup online using the assistant are the settings saved online or are they saved locally to the thermostat?
Settings are saved in the thermostat itself. It's cloudless in that aspect.
@@digiblurDIYThanks. Not sure if its true but I saw several reviews on Amazon complaining about Venstar having access to all the thermostats they sell without any approval from the owners. Might not be true but I may set up a blocking rule on my firewall anyway.🤷🏼♂️😁
Conspiracy theories abound of course but if you are just using it locally then probably no harm in isolating it.
@@digiblurDIY Yeah, I'm looking on Amazon for a tin foil hat but haven't found one. :)
They have it all. www.amazon.com/dp/B07CXZBRW5
How does it do humidity control? Is it using the AC compressor or does it require a humidifier unit attached?
All depends on how you configure it as they designed it to fit multiple setup types. Page 34 or so of this PDF (marked as 26 in the PDF itself) - files.venstar.com/thermostats/colortouch/documents/T7900_OM_Install_FINAL.pdf
@@digiblurDIY Thx for the link. Trying to decide if I want to pay the extra for humidity control since i don't have the de-humidifier.
Hi - this popped up magically on my CZcams feed - I've had the T7900 since 2018 and mostly like it. I've had trouble keeping it connected to WiFi in my home. No matter how many times I try, it won't connect to WiFi now - though it used to in the first year or so that I had it. Not sure what changed. I have the Venstar app, but my version of it requires their Skyport account and Venstar app. Is that what you're talking about? Or is there something else/newer on the installer web site? I'm just a lowly consumer... I don't really need/want the Home Assistant stuff... any idea why it won't stay connected? Thanks!
Welcome to the channel! Do you know what kind of wifi router you have? There hasn't been anything changed in the models.
@@digiblurDIY Hi - it's a Netgear Nighthawk X6S AC4000 tri-band router. It runs at 2.4 or 5ghz. I wonder if I've inadvertently disabled the 2.4ghz band. I'm not sure the T7900 is compatible with 5ghz WiFi. I'll have to look into that. Do you use the Skyport functionality? Is that the Cloud part of what you're talking about?
Disabling 2.4 would definitely do it. The Skyport is indeed the remote cloud control method.
@@digiblurDIY The Nighthawk X6S has a mode that unifies the signal, but I imagine it leaves out legacy devices like this. I'll be checking out the API local control as well. Thanks for replying!
@@digiblurDIY - Yup, that did it. As soon as I disabled the automatic mode, I was able to instantly log into the T7900. Thanks!
can you send messages to it from home assistant? interesting "notification" endpoint if you can lol
Unfortunately I haven't seen that documented in the API.
It's just a normal 10k thermistor. same as 90% of the hvac sensors if you had an outdoor sensor already
Nice! I'm off to go look up some additional ones to a DIY a sensor or two.
It accepts any two wire 10K Ohm temperature sensor that follows the 16L resistance curve (similar to Honeywell sensors). It does not follow 10K Ohm Type 1, 2, or 3 resistance curves.
Can this thermostat make my fan run for a few minutes whenever the fan has not been on for the past hour with existing options? If not, is there information I can grab from API request to determine the last time the fan was on, or would I need to query the device every so often to store state so I can determine that myself?
There is a Smart Fan option on it where you can set a minimum fan run time per hour and day that would do this for you.
@@digiblurDIY Thank you!
Thanks for the great video. Can anyone confirm that these Venstar thermostats will work properly without "Skyport Cloud Services"? According to their web page, outbound TCP ports 9001, 9002, and 41414 are required for cloud, but does it still connect to skynet :) ? For instance, if these ports are blocked, does the device lose the clock (ntp settings) / remote firmware updates ? Thanks again.
I know several people who run these on isolated vlans. They do not require wifi to be even active to work.
does it supports opentherm protocol ?
Not that I know of.
Can you access its little website locally by visiting its IP address? Or do you have to enable the cloud for that? I'd like to control it via the Android app but locally only. I have my own VPN server at home which I can hook up to if I need to control it from outside the house. Let me know! Thank you!
there is a web server locally but it isn't a web GUI, it sends data back and forth. See the API info here developer.venstar.com/documentation/
@@digiblurDIY thank you very much for verifying! Do you know of any thermostat with a local site and or local app control? Thank you!
@@AlTheEngineer not sure of one. I use Home Assistant and NodeRed with this one for local control and automations on it.
@@digiblurDIY thank you very much. I am just looking for a super quick solution that doesn't require an external server for now. I guess the search continues! I tried to buy the color screen one today and it shot up to $270+! I'm not gonna pay that much for it, Jesus Christ prices are insane!
Is there any way to hook this up in a 12V DC system?
That's a good question. It would definitely need a conversion kit of some sort as it is 24vac. Any RV forums or groups have any info?
@@digiblurDIY Thanks, that's a tough conversion. Bummer, this looks nice. Been waiting for a good HA thermostat vs building my own from scratch.
Shoot me an email at the channel name on the Gmail domain. Might have something.
@@digiblurDIY would certainly be interested in applying these home automations to mobile living applications like RV, vans, busses, etc.
thanks for the video! Can this use our own sensors (send in the current temp to use)? Their remote sensors are crazy expensive for what they are... a simple esp8266 and bme sensors is like $10 :)
After further digging and comments it seems the 10k AC thermistor is a common thing and cheap. I cross referenced a couple of the resistance charts and they match up too.
@@digiblurDIY i don't want to have to poke holes in the walls to run more wires :P :)
Their wireless ones are expensive indeed. I haven't searched to see if someone reverse engineered one of those yet
@@digiblurDIY I have been searching and have not found anything. We just need the API so we can make them with an esp8266
I ordered a sensor. Hoping it is just some sort of unencrypted protocol. Reverse engineering is fun!
I had no luck with their Add A Wire solution. I triple checked I had it wired correctly and it didn't work. :-(
I wonder why that was... I saw comments on Amazon of even a lot of Nest users saying it worked to go from 4 to 5 wires.
You cannot use the Add-A-Wire on either the R or C wire. Here's the official Venstar video: czcams.com/video/R3pea5qtygo/video.html
The Add-A-Wire was designed for adding either the Heating or Cooling or Fan signal on 18-guage wires that are up to 75 feet in distance max.
How do you add an external thermometer to even out the temp throughout the entire house? I tried the project you mentioned with docker and HA refuses to connect the MQTT via the MQTT plugin in HA no one will answer this question on reddit thinking of switching to ecobee if I can't get this working.
You can use the HA integration built in unless you want the extra data from it like with NodeRed.
I added a wired sensor to mine but they do make a wireless one that connects to it.
Thanks for responding I'm not quite understanding what you mean. I have a bunch of govee sensors with a BT proxy. And HA refuses to connect to the Venstar MQTT docker container on a Linux VM on esxi I also verified the port isn't being blocked. @@digiblurDIY
A tutorial might be great for this.
Which one? The wireless one is just put in the batteries and add it to your network.
@digiblurDIY Sorry I have the Govee thermometers if I can't get them to work with it I'm thinking of going with a DIY thermostat.
Rx188
Can't wait to trash my Nest E.
Sell it or repurpose it with someone that needs it.
@@digiblurDIY Finally got the T7900 installed and I love it. Thanks for the recommendation.
how can you call this a 'NO FRILLS' thermostat, ,thats TOO funny, this is a very very powerfull thermostat!!! LMAO! sorry had to laugh at that!
Probably because when you power it up.. It just works. No account mess and you can control it locally out of the box.
@@digiblurDIY agreed, but i would say its 'very user friendly' and of course very powerful too..
have you been able to find a more straight-forward way of changing the pictures?
No I haven't.
Shame it is WiFi and not PoE.
It's tough for some to have that C at the thermostat so I get the design. I like my wired devices as well but this one hasn't been an issue.