TRV Controller Discussion Thread

[Stoutjesdijk]

Hi all,

I would like to use my NEST thermostat to provide heat to my TRV controllers, but I don't see this thermostat in the Heating Source list. In fact, I see nothing there. Is there any way to convince the TRV plugin that the NEST thermostat should used for this?

Thanks.

Mark

[Stoutjesdijk]

... Found my answer here: viewtopic.php?f=113&t=19044&p=145062&hi ... RV#p145062.

[Stoutjesdijk]

Hi,

I have one or two misbehaving thermostats. They have a set point at 18 degrees, a room temperature of about 20 degrees, yet their valve is 100% open. The heating status is TRUE.
Since there are 11 thermostats in the house, it does not look like a bad score but it becomes a problem if these are the only ones requesting heat from the boiler!

Question: why does this happen? And of course, how do I make these thermostats behave as they should?

Thanks,
Mark

[autolog]

Hi Mark,

I have one or two misbehaving thermostats. They have a set point at 18 degrees, a room temperature of about 20 degrees, yet their valve is 100% open. The heating status is TRUE.
Since there are 11 thermostats in the house, it does not look like a bad score but it becomes a problem if these are the only ones requesting heat from the boiler!

Question: why does this happen? And of course, how do I make these thermostats behave as they should?

I assume that the thermostats are Eurotronic Spirits?

Assuming this is the case, there are numerous reports on the web concerning these thermostats misbehaving at random. It looks like a firmware issue, possibly related to hardware.

@Busta999 gave me a heads-up on a forum post for a different HA system that had a potential work-around for this Spirit issue.

I have now programmed this into the TRV plugin and it is currently undergoing testing with a number of beta testers. I have sent you a PM with the link to the this beta version. The instructions of what specific settings are need is in the PM. Let me know if you try it and what your results are.

I will be posting it as a pre-release version on Github once I have completed a few more changes (probably a few weeks time).

[siclark]

Hi Jon

First problem of the “season” and on the beta that I presume I’m using?

The valve appeared to start on and even the Spirit TRV itself when i pressed the button on the front reported as Off.

I had to force set set point to 28 then back to 18 to force it to reset.

Is there an action you could code that we could call with a trigger when the temperature reaches a threshold that could do this?

[autolog]

Hi Simon,
Are you running with the Edit settings > Advanced Options = Firmware Workaround on that TRV Controller?

[siclark]

Yes, Firmware workaround and TRV ON/OFF is ticked.

[autolog]

Hi Simon,

Is this error a one-off or does it happen on a regular basis?

Maybe try unchecking ON/OFF. Have you got a delay set - I recommend 3 seconds.

Whilst I was walking through the TRV code a month or so back, I realised that my efforts with interpreting the incoming and outgoing Z-Wave could do with improvement.

So I decided that part of the code needed revamping. As a sub-project I have developed a standalone python package that can interpret Z-Wave messages that is capable of being invoked by a plugin. The first plugin to get this package is the one I have been using to test it - still Alpha at this stage. I will PM you the link to it. Next stage is to incorporate it into the TRV plugin. When I do that I will take your suggestion and look at how to monitor whether a desired action e.g. turn off TRV has been effective or not.

[siclark]

Hi

I was going to say one off but 2 spirits, each in a kids bedroom went wrong this evening.
One clearly showed it responded to the change in set point and reported valve open 100% but temperature didn’t change. Only when I changed set point in indigo manually did the valve mechanically open and it start heating
The valve on its display was showing 21c but valve was physically closed. This one uses TRV temperature





The second the temperature started increasing before the set point change ( it does face west so could have been sun shining on window, actually 4:30 maybe not).
But either way radiator was on full despite the valve reporting closed and room temp never being below set point. Valve only closed when I boosted set point to 28 then back to 18. This one uses remote temp

[autolog]

Hi Simon,
Apologies for the delay - it has been one of those weekends were other things have had to take priority.

Can you just confirm that you are describing a hardware/firmware issue with the Spirits or do you think there is a bug in the plugin?

I think it would be useful if you downloaded the latest version (v0.2.40) of the Z-Wave Interpreter from the pCloud link I sent you.
Then set it up to monitor your Spirit TRVs and any associated Z-wave remote thermostats. I will PM you further details of how to do this.

We should then be able to see exactly what is being sent to Spirits / Remotes and what is being received. This should help confirm or otherwise what is happening.

[siclark]

Hi. No worries Jon.
I’m not sure if it’s firmware or not. I think it might be in which case I’m wondering how we can handle those cases. Ie have a trigger if actual temp > set point + x and an action that can force the spirit to “reset” the valve operation.
Harder to test if the valve doesn’t open.

I’ll have a look at the zwave plugin tomorrow

[Stoutjesdijk]

Hi,
I noticed that when heat is needed, the valve of the thermostats in that room are often not fully opened (more likely, they are <30% opened). How does the plugin (or the HW?) determine how far open the valve should be?
Thanks,
Mark

[siclark]

The TRV itself determines the valve open % with temperature vs set point. As temperature approaches set point it reduces the valve open.

It works differently to other thermostats that overshoot the temp by a degree, turns of the heating then drops to a degree below.
These tend to stay open a little to keep a more stable temperature.

If you want it to stay on fully until the set point is hit then you can adjust the plugin device to set a higher set point in the device.

[shapa]

Any plans to develop the plugin further?

Purchased apartments near from home (3 toddlers + wife + lockdown -> I'll better work not from home) to work, only electrics (no gas) and electric heaters.

Don't need anything except:

1) setpoint (UK available Heltun relays with thermostat functionality works just fine) by the daytime per room
2) do not engage heating when I'm not at the apartments ("presence" variable is fine)

[autolog]

Any plans to develop the plugin further?

Purchased apartments near from home (3 toddlers + wife + lockdown -> I'll better work not from home) to work, only electrics (no gas) and electric heaters.

Don't need anything except:

1) setpoint (UK available Heltun relays with thermostat functionality works just fine) by the daytime per room
2) do not engage heating when I'm not at the apartments ("presence" variable is fine)

I am not sure I want to develop it further as I don't seem to have enough time to fully support the current version!.

That said, can you elaborate on what you want added to the plugin.

I am currently working on the plugin (as a background task) to rationalise how it works and streamline it a bit. So I might be able to add in some extra functionality whilst doing that. process.