TL;DR: How do I make the thermostat send a ‘heat’ request to the boiler without making the boiler use way too much gas?
Hi all,
I have a question about automating central heating. My current setup:
Ground floor:
- Main thermostat linked to boiler (Honeywell T6 on WiFi through Honeywell integration)
- One radiator with Sonoff TRV-ZB, zigbee
- Three radiators with non-smart knobs that are usually open
- The main room has a Sonoff Presence sensor
First floor:
- Three rooms that can be occupied with Sonoff TRV-ZBs.
- Two of three rooms have Sonoff Presence sensors
All rooms that can be heated smartly are controlled through a blueprint once shared here called ‘Advanced heating control V5’.
I have a helper called ‘Comfort Temp’ which is a slider that controls the setpoint on the main thermostat and the TRV of an occupied room.
So the obvious question is: is there any good way to get the main thermostat to send a heating request to the boiler?
I’ve seen something about a WiFi module that you can put in between the main thermostat and the boiler that offers more control (Nodo OpenTherm Gateway, OTGW). Does anyone have experience with this? Or do I solve this with more TRVs on my ground floor? I’ve heard about central heating systems not enjoying a fully thermostatic valved circuit. More TRVs also means I have to replace the valves on a couple of radiators.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Just to make sure: You have zero buffer tank between your pipes and the boiler?
Just chiming in to say I think this guy’s got the right idea. I realize what community this is posted in, but sometimes when you’re really into your hammer everything starts to look a little too much like a nail. If you have room for it (sounds like a pretty big house) a buffer tank would make a huge difference
‘Big’ is relative. It’s a house in between two left and one right in a block of four. It’s big enough for two people, but it’s not huge.
I’m not sure I understand the function of the buffer mentioned. Is it a heated buffer that can pump around hot water without having to expend gas to heat? How does that differ from the expansion vat I have? Is that just to soak up excess pressure?
Sorry about all the questions, I’m just not sure about all of this stuff.
Ah no there is one of those expansion vats in between. It’s not huge but it doesn’t need to be.
Okay. Shame. Because basically that’s what would help you most.
English is not my first language and although I can kinda get my point across, technical jargon is a bit of a blind spot. So just to clarify: I have a little vat of say 10 liters connected to the heating pipes. It’s next to the boiler. It contains a rubber membrane in the middle to expand if pressure builds. Is this the type of buffer you’re referring to?