I have been extremely satisfied with my Honeywell T6 Z-wave thermostat.
Completely local. No vendor phone apps. No accounts.
https://static.xtremeownage.com/blog/2021/full-local-z-wave-hvac-control/
this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2023
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I seem to remember that the Honeywell T6 Pro Z-Wave comes up a lot when this question is asked. I'm not running Z-wave yet, though, so I can't comment.
Thanks! Per my other comment, I guess I've gotta look at Z-Wave if there are no wifi-only options available. Checking out the T6 Pro now
Another +1 for the t6. It's been running great for 6+ months
I believe there are a few Honeywell models that are Z-Wave, so that'd be fully local. I'm using EcoBee, which does have cloud control, but I've added it to Home Assistant via HomeKit, and that is local control. It's a little annoying because EcoBee doesn't expose it's fan setting via HomeKit, so I can't have HA kick on the fan when the AC isn't running, for example.
Thanks - I'll take a closer look at Z-Wave again. I'm only running wifi based devices so far but if this is the only way to get better thermostat control I might have to compromise.
I have two Centralite HA 3156105 ZigBee ones I use for two zones. They work pretty well. They are the older Centralite units with xfinity markings on them, can be found on eBay for about $15 - $20. Both Z2M and ZHA support it.
When Lowe's Iris home automation platform was shut down, they liquidate everything. I picked up a couple of CT101's made by Radio Thermostat. They're based on Z-Wave and have been great.
I also have a Honeywell Z-Wave model that our AC service company had to replace when one of the CT101's when they fried it. It's not as full-featured as the CT101's as it doesn't expose some entitities.
Both devices can work with heat pumps.
You can find CT101's on eBay for as little as $23. (Which is a steal, compared the original retail price.) Just make sure that if it's pre-owned that it's been excluded from the previous Z-Wave network. I've found that resetting Z-Wave devices to factory settings can be a PITA.
It's more of DIY solution, but works fine, did you check with https://esphome.io/ if your heat pump system couldnt be connected ?
Most of them have a way to communicate as they already have an offline thermostat
I really like my zigbee thermostats and would recommend them not cloud at all. I have not found a tasmota or esphome compatible thermostat. You could make your our with relative ease use a simple relay board. But I don't think that it would look great