Better Thermostat - Intelligent Heating Control

Medium 30 min

Better Thermostat is a HACS integration that makes your “dumb” radiator thermostats smart. It uses an external temperature sensor, window sensors and weather data to optimize heating and save energy.

Open Source

Better Thermostat is open source! Check out the Better Thermostat GitHub for documentation and feature requests.

🤔 Why Better Thermostat?

Radiator thermostats (TRV) measure temperature directly at the radiator - which is typically 2-5°C warmer than the rest of the room. Better Thermostat solves this:

Problem	Better Thermostat Solution
Wrong temperature	Uses external sensor for real room temperature
Open window = waste	Automatic stop on open window
Manual adjustment	Presets: Eco, Comfort, Away, Boost
Multiple radiators	Group TRVs in same room
Calibration	Automatic offset calibration

Energy savings

By using an external sensor and window detection, you can typically save 15-25% on heating bills!

📦 What You Need

Component	Examples	Required?
Radiator thermostat (TRV)	Shelly TRV, TRÅDFRI, Sonoff TRVZB, Aqara	✅ Yes
Temperature sensor	Shelly Wall Display, Aqara, IKEA Vindstyrka	✅ Recommended
Window sensor	Aqara, Sonoff, Shelly	⭐ Optional
Home Assistant	With HACS installed	✅ Yes

🔧 Installation

Step 1: Install via HACS

1. Open HACS in Home Assistant
2. Click Integrations
3. Search for Better Thermostat
4. Click Download and restart Home Assistant

Step 2: Add Better Thermostat

1. Go to Settings → Devices & services
2. Click Add integration
3. Search Better Thermostat
4. Follow the setup wizard

⚙️ Configuration

Basic Setup

When creating you need to specify:

Field	Description	Example
Name	Name of thermostat	”Living Room Better”
Thermostat	Your existing TRV	climate.shelly_trv_living_room
Temperature Sensor	External room sensor	sensor.living_room_temperature
Window Sensor	Window sensor (optional)	binary_sensor.window_living_room

🎯 Presets and Schedules

Standard Presets

Preset	Default Temp	Usage
None	20°C	Default
Eco	19°C	Energy saving
Comfort	21°C	Home and active
Boost	24°C	Quick heating
Away	16°C	Not home
Sleep	18°C	Night

🤖 Automations

Switch Preset Based on Presence

automation:
  - alias: "Heating: Away when no one home"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: group.people_home
        to: "not_home"
        for:
          minutes: 30
    action:
      - service: climate.set_preset_mode
        target:
          entity_id:
            - climate.living_room_heating
            - climate.bedroom_heating
        data:
          preset_mode: away

  - alias: "Heating: Comfort when home"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: group.people_home
        to: "home"
    action:
      - service: climate.set_preset_mode
        target:
          entity_id:
            - climate.living_room_heating
            - climate.bedroom_heating
        data:
          preset_mode: comfort

Night Mode

automation:
  - alias: "Heating: Sleep at night"
    trigger:
      - platform: time
        at: "22:30:00"
    action:
      - service: climate.set_preset_mode
        target:
          entity_id:
            - climate.living_room_heating
            - climate.bedroom_heating
        data:
          preset_mode: sleep

  - alias: "Heating: Comfort in morning"
    trigger:
      - platform: time
        at: "06:30:00"
    condition:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: group.people_home
        state: "home"
    action:
      - service: climate.set_preset_mode
        target:
          entity_id:
            - climate.living_room_heating
            - climate.bedroom_heating
        data:
          preset_mode: comfort

🪟 Window Detection

Better Thermostat can automatically stop heating when a window opens:

With Physical Sensor

window_sensor: binary_sensor.window_living_room
window_delay: 30  # Wait 30 sec before reacting

Without Sensor (Temperature-based)

Better Thermostat can detect open windows via sudden temperature drop:

window_detection_method: temperature_drop
window_detection_threshold: 0.5  # °C drop over short time

📱 Dashboard Card

Better Thermostat UI Card

Install the matching UI card to see extra info:

1. Open HACS → Frontend
2. Search Better Thermostat UI Card
3. Install and restart browser

type: custom:better-thermostat-ui-card
entity: climate.living_room_heating
eco_temperature: 19
disable_window: false

🔧 Calibration

Better Thermostat automatically calibrates your TRV based on the difference between the TRV’s built-in sensor and your external sensor.

How It Works

1. TRV measures 24°C (at radiator)
2. External sensor measures 21°C (in room)
3. Better Thermostat calculates offset: -3°C
4. Sends calibration to TRV

🔧 Troubleshooting

TRV not responding?

1. Check that TRV is online in Home Assistant
2. Verify that Better Thermostat uses correct entity
3. Check that TRV supports temperature calibration
4. Restart Better Thermostat integration

Temperature jumping?

• Reduce update frequency on external sensor
• Enable “smooth temperature” in Options
• Check sensor isn’t affected by sun/draft

📈 Next Steps

🌡️ Shelly Wall Display

Perfect temperature sensor for Better Thermostat.

Set up Wall Display →

📊 LD2410 mmWave

Combine presence with heating control.

Build presence sensor →