Honeywell CM Zone - how to extend range?

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  • CharlesW
    Automated Home Lurker
    • Jan 2008
    • 8

    Honeywell CM Zone - how to extend range?

    We have a Honeywell CM Zone system here, with about 15 radiators in 10 rooms. It's worked well; a radiator unit fails every couple of years, but that's it.

    But we do have problems with one or two radiators's HR80UK units not talking to the HC60NG boiler control unit. I didn't understand this until last week when a friend of mine pointed out that the communication is direct between from the HR80UK to the HC60NG, not via the CM67Z controllers as I'd been thinking for the past 5 years!

    And our boiler, with it's HC60NG, is at one end of a long house with thick walls; and the problem radiators are at the other end.

    So ideally I'd move the HC60NG unit away from the boiler room and to the middle of the house. But I can't - there's no wiring available to connect it back to the boiler.

    Is there any repeater unit available for the HC60NG? Or a more generic radio based mains switch relay (when mains power received to master unit, switches mains relay on in the slave unit, and ditto off)?

    - Charles
  • SensibleHeatUK
    Moderator
    • Feb 2009
    • 228

    #2
    Can you not move the CM67s to the centre of the house instead? That should be easier to achieve than rewiring the boiler relay.

    If you have 10 rooms then have you considered upgrading the CM67s to Evo Touch? The new colour controller would be a straight swap for your collection of CM67s and give you nor flexibility in operation with the further option of adding hot water control and/or App control with the internet gateway.
    Sensible Heat
    SensibleHeat.co.uk

    Comment

    • CharlesW
      Automated Home Lurker
      • Jan 2008
      • 8

      #3
      Clarification?

      [QUOTE=SensibleHeatUK;19034]Can you not move the CM67s to the centre of the house instead? That should be easier to achieve than rewiring the boiler relay.

      Perhaps I didn't explain very well. The CM67s are already in the centre of the house. It's the boiler relay that isn't.

      So I've got

      Boiler relay -------- 20m and walls--------- CM67zs -----------20m and walls---------- Radiator controllers

      I thought that was fine, but I understand now that the radiator controllers talk directly to the boiler relay - that's 40m plus lots of walls, which is clearly too much.

      Or is that wrong?

      Comment

      • CharlesW
        Automated Home Lurker
        • Jan 2008
        • 8

        #4
        Oh - and thank you for the suggestion about Evo Touch. That would be fun, but I can't see how it'll solve this particular problem. - Charles

        Comment

        • SensibleHeatUK
          Moderator
          • Feb 2009
          • 228

          #5
          The HC60NG does not talk directly to the HR80s, but to the controller to which the HR80s are bound. So if any HR80s are loosing comms then it is their physical location in relation to their CM67 which is the issue, and with thick walls in the house you are running close to the wireless limits at 20m. Unfortunately due to the nature with how the Honeywell wireless system works there is no repeater available, so if the HR80s repeatedly loose their link then these may always remain outside the range of your current setup unless you could move the CM67 to improve the signal proper gratin without loosing the comms with any other HR80s or the HC60NG.
          Sensible Heat
          SensibleHeat.co.uk

          Comment

          • CharlesW
            Automated Home Lurker
            • Jan 2008
            • 8

            #6
            Ah - very many thanks for that clarification. Then my friend was wrong.

            The HR80UK radiator units seem to receive the signal from the CM67z controllers; the problem is that the back signal from the radiator units to the controllers don't seem to get through.

            Is there any way to get debug information out of the CM67z's - to see when they're demanding boiler on, for example? And is there any way to put an additional aerial on them?

            Comment

            • SensibleHeatUK
              Moderator
              • Feb 2009
              • 228

              #7
              There is a wireless strength test you can run between hr80s and the cm67, and between the cm67 and HC60NG. That might help identify the issue. However if the comms breaks down between the CM67 and HC60NG you should see a flashing red led on the relay, and if the comma to the HR80s fail the radio symbol on the HR80 disappears and it shows a setpoint of 20 degrees. The HR89s only communicate with the Cm67 every 5 minutes, and it takes several missed messages before the failure modes operate.
              Sensible Heat
              SensibleHeat.co.uk

              Comment

              • CharlesW
                Automated Home Lurker
                • Jan 2008
                • 8

                #8
                Aha! How do I run the wireless strength test between HR80UK and the CM67z? I've not found that one.

                Comment

                • SensibleHeatUK
                  Moderator
                  • Feb 2009
                  • 228

                  #9
                  You will need to check the CM67 documentation on how to send test messages and put the HR80s into test message receive mode. I've not worked with a CM67 for nearly 10 years so cannot remember the procedure I'm afraid!
                  Sensible Heat
                  SensibleHeat.co.uk

                  Comment

                  • CharlesW
                    Automated Home Lurker
                    • Jan 2008
                    • 8

                    #10
                    Oh I did - the documentation completely beat me; what it suggested didn't seem to work! Sigh...

                    Comment

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