Re: Re: Thermostat which is doubly wireless...

[James Reed <james@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi

This system is still available. It will work autonomously or with=20
computer control, and you have quite a few options.

It is based around valve motors which replace the heads on TRVs, and=20
these are paired to room thermostats which adjust the percentage opening=20
of the valve according to the ambient temp or the room. Then there is a=20
boiler control unit which fires up the boiler when the valves reach a=20
certain percentage opening.

The boiler control unit is an FHT 8W:

http://www2.conrad-uk.com/goto.php?artikel=3D560098

I've since found it much cheaper on a German website (www.elv.de) at=20
about 55 euros. If I'd known I would have ordered it from there,=20
although the whole site is in German so it's tricky to navigate. One=20
possible issue regards how your boiler is switched. This unit offers a=20
'zero volt' switching whereas some boilers use a switched 240V. If you=20
need the latter you may need an additional relay unit altohugh these can=20
be obtained for about =A350.

The thermostat / valve actuator packs are these. There are cheaper ones,=20
but these don't allow for external control by the 'whole house=20
controller' and so are less flexible. If you buy a pack like this then=20
you get the 'window open' switch as well although I haven't found a use=20
for these yet. You do also need to have TRVs with 30mm diameter head=20
threads. Some of mine were, and some of the older ones were 28mm heads=20
and I had to buy some adaptors.

http://www2.conrad-uk.com/goto.php?artikel=3D646463

Or you can buy the actuator and the control units separately:

http://www2.conrad-uk.com/goto.php?artikel=3D750404

http://www2.conrad-uk.com/goto.php?artikel=3D570056

Finally this is the 'whole house' controller - this I think takes the=20
place of one of the thermostat units. It also allows you to reprogram=20
all the slave units in one go, and does a few other clever things.

http://www2.conrad-uk.com/goto.php?artikel=3D617500

An alternative is to spend about =A350 on a USB stick (CUL from=20
www.busware.de) and do a similar job in software (FHEM - www.fhem.de).=20
The software is a bit more DIY, but does offer a lot of flexibility not=20
to mention logging data, plotting temp graphs, controlling remotely etc.=20
I don't have one yet but probably will get one in due course. The=20
FHZ1000 unit is probably rather easier to get to grips with! It's not=20
essential, and depending on how mnay thermostats you have it may not be=20
much effort to reprogram them by hand when you need to.

Finally there is also a FHZ1300 unit which is similar to the CUL stick=20
but is 'official'. There is some official software but I understand it=20
is all in German and not very good.

You can also see the english instructions on most of these product pages.

There is a small group of people around who've had some success with=20
this. I'd recommend it, and I'm excited about the prospect of the USB=20
control. If you were willing to have it completely computer controlled=20
you could get rid of the boiler control unit and use a simple switched=20
relay unit which could be controlled from the computer.

There is also an XAP gateway to FHEM which allow you interface with=20
other HA stuff.

James


On 10/02/2012 4:24 PM, Peter Church wrote:
>
> "Sorry but this might be a dead end! "
>
> Actually, maybe not! If you Google the product description from the AH
> article you get this link to Conrad.
>
> http://shop.conrad-uk.com/1/2-a2-uk0620371__conrad-fhz-1300-radio-home-ce=
ntr
> e-pc-652-22-.html
>
> seems like the computer interface might still be available just not
in=20
> their
> product hierarchy.
>
> P
>
> From: Peter Church [mailto:petechurch@xxxxxxx=20
> <mailto:petechurch%40praeda.co.uk>]
> Sent: 10 February 2012 16:22
> To: 'ukha_d@xxxxxxx <mailto:%27ukha_d%40yahoogroups.com>'
> Subject: RE: [ukha_d] Re: Thermostat which is doubly wireless...
>
> I can't find it either. There used to be a product called but it does
not
> seem to be available anymore.
>
> If you have a look at the following thread it explains how it
> works(/worked!).
>
> http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=3D2935
>
> P
>
> From: ukha_d@xxxxxxx <mailto:ukha_d%40yahoogroups.com>=20
> [mailto:ukha_d@xxxxxxx <mailto:ukha_d%40yahoogroups.com>]
On=20
> Behalf Of
> jabberwockpl
> Sent: 09 February 2012 21:47
> To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx <mailto:ukha_d%40yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [ukha_d] Re: Thermostat which is doubly wireless...
>
> Thank you for the link, however, I cannot locate anything like that...
Al=
l
> systems refer not to furnace control, but only to radiator control=20
> (which I
> need to look into - it's an option, too). No computer communication,
> either...
>
> Do you remember more details, maybe?
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>=20



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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