Well every time I start to look deeper into Cortex I find more and more sophistication - it certainly is a very different HA application. Enjoying it...
I've been looking at the heating control and it seems really thorough in some aspects, yet appears, although perhaps I have missed something, to not address more typical opportunities.
For example I was interested to see support for the outside temp as a modifier for internal setpoints based on the users perception of 'comfortable'. I believe that one of the German car manufacturers found that inside temperatures had to be higher at night than during the day (also when you can see snow) so maybe light level is a consideration too. Certainly very fancy stuff.
... Yet at a more fundamental level I can't see any support for optimised start. The aspect of calculating in advance the time to start your heating (at a zoned/room level) such that at your chosen time it just reaches the setpoint temperature. The same for hot water too. This I believe would be a great addition.
The outside temp obviously has a significant bearing on this as does the current room temperature. I'm not sure though that I see a way of employing the outside temperature sensor to estimates heat loss based on this temperature differential - although maybe it is already included as the objects do seem very sophisticated. Perhaps I just need to explore fuzzy logic more. I guess the loading a radiator applies is dependent on its temperature differential to the room too, perhaps having a temp sensor on the radiator would be a useful sensor input .
This aspect of the radiator temperature is an interesting one for me as my current system - which I now want to overide with Cortex , lowers the flow temperature by modulating the boiler down to balance the system as setpoint is approached. Unfortunately it can only do this for one room and I would like something similar in several independent rooms . The problem is that if that one room is satisfied and I wish to change another room upwards in temperature the flow temperature has been reduced to make it very slow or even impossible :-( Also I am not sure the aspect of a varying flow temperature would sit well with Cortex and its proportional / PWM control , I guess the key aspect is the radiator temperature. - but I need to play more and see.
I wonder if Cortex calculates and uses thermal gradients for each room ?
Anyone else exploring this route ?
Kevin
I've been looking at the heating control and it seems really thorough in some aspects, yet appears, although perhaps I have missed something, to not address more typical opportunities.
For example I was interested to see support for the outside temp as a modifier for internal setpoints based on the users perception of 'comfortable'. I believe that one of the German car manufacturers found that inside temperatures had to be higher at night than during the day (also when you can see snow) so maybe light level is a consideration too. Certainly very fancy stuff.
... Yet at a more fundamental level I can't see any support for optimised start. The aspect of calculating in advance the time to start your heating (at a zoned/room level) such that at your chosen time it just reaches the setpoint temperature. The same for hot water too. This I believe would be a great addition.
The outside temp obviously has a significant bearing on this as does the current room temperature. I'm not sure though that I see a way of employing the outside temperature sensor to estimates heat loss based on this temperature differential - although maybe it is already included as the objects do seem very sophisticated. Perhaps I just need to explore fuzzy logic more. I guess the loading a radiator applies is dependent on its temperature differential to the room too, perhaps having a temp sensor on the radiator would be a useful sensor input .
This aspect of the radiator temperature is an interesting one for me as my current system - which I now want to overide with Cortex , lowers the flow temperature by modulating the boiler down to balance the system as setpoint is approached. Unfortunately it can only do this for one room and I would like something similar in several independent rooms . The problem is that if that one room is satisfied and I wish to change another room upwards in temperature the flow temperature has been reduced to make it very slow or even impossible :-( Also I am not sure the aspect of a varying flow temperature would sit well with Cortex and its proportional / PWM control , I guess the key aspect is the radiator temperature. - but I need to play more and see.
I wonder if Cortex calculates and uses thermal gradients for each room ?
Anyone else exploring this route ?
Kevin
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