Im looking to replace my HVAC system and the installer recomended me this fancy Ruud system. https://www.ruud.com/product/RD17AZ-endeavor-line-achiever/
To use its fancy features (fan/compressor speed control for super heat stuff) it needs one of these fancy thermostats which they want $250 for. https://www.ruud.com/econet-smart-thermostat/
from the docs this is a 2 wire bus system connecting thermostat, indoor unit, and outdoor unit (not sure which is the master) using a ‘standard’ called EcoNet.
My question is two fold: is this EcoNet feature worth the extra cost of equipment and loss of connectivity (home assistant integrations); is there a way to make an Ecobee use this ‘standard’ with alternate firmware (willing to contribute to code) or some sort of secondary control box?
I wouldn’t personally go with any system that requires a specific thermostat to make work. Proprietary requirements most often end up worse than other big brands and sometimes mean you end up needing to replace the whole system just cause 1 part goes bad and they wont sell it to you anymore.
I would recommend going with a unit with less proprietary parts/standards. The amount of headache that can be involved in fixing it is generally not worth it and you are at the mercy of the OEM for any support/parts.
I did take a quick second to read that documentation and do some quick searching. To the best of my knowledge there is no way to make it use that standard and it’s hard to tell if it could be easily hacked to do so. However, I’ve had limited experience working with HVAC systems and have a 8 year old system in my house that I run with this: https://hestiapi.com/. I would check consumer reports or a HVAC forum/subreddit for more detailed advice.