Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

Posted on
Wed Feb 01, 2017 10:48 am
yassi offline
Posts: 468
Joined: Sep 06, 2015
Location: Germany

Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

autolog wrote:
Hi Yassi,
Another thought - Have you done the reset process for the wakeup time as noted in my post here

I mention it again as you said the batteries had been taken out. :)

I think this issue will be hopefully fixed in a future Indigo update. :?:


Ok, I will try to reset it again like in our post (I did that a few weeks again as I had issues as well, then worked for a while).

Yassi

Posted on
Wed Feb 01, 2017 12:41 pm
autolog offline
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Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

Hi Yassi,

I have just uploaded to Github a pre-release (beta) version of my Stella-Z plugin which should hopefully support your Comet Thermostat and also the Popp TRV.
You can get it here: https://github.com/autolog/Stella-Z_Controller/releases

Not sure if using this plugin will help but one of the things the plugin does is to track Z-Wave activity on the thermostat and notify you if it has failed to wake-up. :)

I haven't put the documentation on GitHub (yet), so you need to look at Stella-Z Thermostat Controller (V2.1.5) Information for how to use it.

I would suggest that you read through the documentation to make sure you understand what needs to be done to get this to work (particularly what you need to do for the Z-Wave Trigger Configuration). :)


Please note that I am not going to do a formal announcement as I have added the Popp TRV support for my own system and the Comet support for yours. :)
I still need to do some tidying up and move the documentation across into a README file and this isn't at the top of my to-do list for the moment. :)

Posted on
Wed Feb 01, 2017 1:40 pm
yassi offline
Posts: 468
Joined: Sep 06, 2015
Location: Germany

Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

Jon, I wasn't able to wake it up with the reset procedure.

In the meantime I've downloaded the beta plugin, thank you very much!
Please give me a day or two to read again the docs, then I will test the new plugin!

Yassi

Posted on
Fri Sep 15, 2017 6:34 am
benip offline
Posts: 34
Joined: Mar 08, 2016

Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

Jon, I'm grateful for the tip about setting up a virtual device for the heat controller - it works brilliantly.
I do have a question; I wondered why the plugin controller adjusts set point during a scheduled period of ON heating in response to the temperature, rather than letting the TRV handle it? Will it not reduce battery life?
Thanks again
Ben

edit: Now that I've configured a remote thermostat it makes sense!

Posted on
Sat Sep 16, 2017 4:32 am
autolog offline
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Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

benip wrote:
... I wondered why the plugin controller adjusts set point during a scheduled period of ON heating in response to the temperature, rather than letting the TRV handle it? Will it not reduce battery life?
Thanks again
Ben

edit: Now that I've configured a remote thermostat it makes sense!

I was just about to reply when I noticed the edit. :)

The main problem with TRVs is that they work fine when the radiator is cold but as soon as the radiator heats up they get affected by the heat from the radiator and switch off too soon. The plugin forces the point at which the TRV turn off to a higher value (say +7 deg C) so it won't be turned off until the Remote Stat has reached temperature. It is a bit binary as far as the TRV is concerned but it seems to work. :)

Posted on
Sun Sep 17, 2017 5:53 am
benip offline
Posts: 34
Joined: Mar 08, 2016

Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

Jon
I've got my four POPP TRVs setup nicely, and am monitoring them remotely for temperature with my Oregon Scientific Sensors. It seems to be working right, but of course I can't setup the trigger for the remote thermostats as described, as they aren't z-wave. Do I need to have these triggers?
Thanks again

Posted on
Sun Sep 17, 2017 7:03 am
autolog offline
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Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

benip wrote:
... Do I need to have these triggers?


I don't think so :)

The triggers are mainly to make sure that the TRV is responding on the defined regular basis. The plugin will warn if it hasn't heard from TRV as that might mean it hasn't been able to read/alter the temperature.

autolog_example.png
Autolog Example
autolog_example.png (102.97 KiB) Viewed 5030 times

In the example above, which is the control page for my dining room, the Popp TRV is reporting every 5 minutes and when and how long ago is updated every 5 seconds. The Remote is also monitored and in this case it is updated every hour. The remote will automatically report if the temperature changes by (I think) 1 deg C (this is device customisable). The graphs are produced courtesy of the the Matplotlib plugin by DaveL17. :)

The Stella-Z plugin was the first plugin I wrote and is showing its age and my lack of knowledge at the time on how to write a plugin (it was a learning experience).
I didn't for example, set-up the Stella-Z devices as Thermostats, which I would do now as I understand how to do it.

I am intending to update it to a more generalised TRV plugin and I have made a start but it got put on the back-burner. :)

Posted on
Sun Sep 17, 2017 8:04 am
benip offline
Posts: 34
Joined: Mar 08, 2016

Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

Good to know, thank you. Everything certainly looks to be working properly. :D

Posted on
Mon Sep 18, 2017 1:29 am
Shutter offline
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Joined: Mar 07, 2014
Location: London, UK

Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

With winter fast approaching it's time to think about a replacement for my failing Stella-Z - it keeps showing up as delayed, sometimes it connects, but more often than not it doesn't. It's out of warranty, and to be honest, I think these TRVs are a bit crap. I've had to replace nearly all of them at some point. Not only did it go through batteries, but now even fresh ones do nothing to keep it from connecting. Pressing the little green button wakes it, but that's about it.

What's the recommendation for alternatives that work with this plug-in? Z-Wave TRVs have always been poor, IMHO, but is there anything better than the Stella now?

Thanks,

Simon

Posted on
Mon Sep 18, 2017 2:06 am
autolog offline
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Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

Shutter wrote:
... What's the recommendation for alternatives that work with this plug-in? Z-Wave TRVs have always been poor, IMHO, but is there anything better than the Stella now?


I have replaced all my Stella-Zs with the Popp TRV. They are similar to the Danfoss LC-13 but are meant to have improved firmware and report the temperature back to Indigo (unlike the LC-13s which don't).

Compared to the Stella-Z the Popp Thermostat enables you to alter the temperature at the radiator and also more easily wake up the TRV - the buttons are a lot more accessible.

There is another thread on the forum which mentions an upcoming thermostat: Best radiator controller? See the discussion towards the end of the thread..

If you google for eurotronic spirit z-wave plus then one of the pages listed will give you more info (but needs google translate): https://www.eurotronic.org/produkte/spirit-z-wave-plus.html

It has FLiRS (Frequently Listening Receiver Slave) which I think Z-Wave locks use - if it works then this could be good and save a lot of battery. When it becomes available, I might get one to see how well it works. In the meanwhile, the Popp Thermostats are the best I have found that work with the plugin. :)

Posted on
Mon Sep 18, 2017 2:42 am
Shutter offline
Posts: 345
Joined: Mar 07, 2014
Location: London, UK

Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

autolog wrote:
If you google for eurotronic spirit z-wave plus then one of the pages listed will give you more info (but needs google translate): https://www.eurotronic.org/produkte/spirit-z-wave-plus.html

It has FLiRS (Frequently Listening Receiver Slave) which I think Z-Wave locks use - if it works then this could be good and save a lot of battery. When it becomes available, I might get one to see how well it works. In the meanwhile, the Popp Thermostats are the best I have found that work with the plugin. :)


Hi Jon,

I forgot about that.

According to the google translate it should be out at the end of this month. https://www.siio.de/z-wave-thermostat-mit-flirs-spirit-z-wave-plus-update/
If I can get one soon after that, then I might wait. Hopefully they've learnt from their previous ones.

Anyone know if FLiRS requires a Gen 5 stick? I'm still using the previous gen.

Posted on
Mon Sep 18, 2017 3:49 am
yassi offline
Posts: 468
Joined: Sep 06, 2015
Location: Germany

Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

I'm thinking too to replace my Comet ones (see here, had troubles too).
Have only two of them, so I have to buy a few more, the question is as always if I should buy the Popp or wait for the new ones. :roll:

Yassi

Posted on
Mon Sep 18, 2017 4:17 am
autolog offline
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Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

yassi wrote:
..., the question is as always if I should buy the Popp or wait for the new ones. :roll:

A difficult one to answer.
Even though they say available in September (i.e. this month and we are already over half-way through) I suspect it may be a number of months until they are available at suppliers such as Vesternet.

Reading the link that Simon posted above - it seems to imply that they still only have developer versions and not the final product. :|

Posted on
Mon Sep 18, 2017 4:23 am
autolog offline
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Joined: Sep 10, 2013
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Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

Shutter wrote:
... Anyone know if FLiRS requires a Gen 5 stick? I'm still using the previous gen.

I think it requires a Gen 5 Stick - see this comparison page from A Z-Wave 500 series..

This page from Open Z-Wave seems to suggest that if the mesh network traverses across other devices before it gets to the FLiRS device, they all need to support beaming: Dropped Messages

Posted on
Wed Oct 18, 2017 4:51 am
yassi offline
Posts: 468
Joined: Sep 06, 2015
Location: Germany

Re: Autolog Stella-Z Thermostat Controller Discussion

At least here in Germany, the Eurotronics Spirits will be available from November 5th.

Yassi
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