HouseHeat system

[sooty7]

Further to previous post it looks like the above meter should be 'ready' for pulse output facility ?

Anyone know if it is ?

Looking here http://www.actaris.com/html/products-56.html would suggest that it is pulse counter ready.

Here's a link to the pulse module at the same site http://www.actaris.com/html/index.ph...edia&idmp=9761

Paul..

[sooty7]

The meter was replaced about a year ago with an Actaris G4. I have rigged up a infra-red reflective sensor to read the silvered digit zero. A PIC monitors and counts pulses and transmits to a PICAxe based logger which dumps a csv file. I STILL haven't finished it yet but dug it out before Xmas with the best intentions !

Another unfinished project is decoding the RF data from an Electrisave electricity monitor

http://forums.automatedhome.co.uk/sh...isave+protocol

Seems like I should just buy a RFXCOM system and be done with it like you have done !

I am a bit of an RFXCOM collector. I do have links to the RFXCOM creator, so I am probably biased towards the products, nevertheless they do work very well and particularly in combination with Homeseer and the RFXCOM plug-in which is the way I am doing it.

If you enjoy the challenge of creating your own hardware solutions then I say why not have a go. I too (as I'm sure most home automators do) like playing around at creating my own solutions, but sometimes I just bite the bullet and buy a ready made solution.

Back on topic:
The economics of upgrading my heating system did not do anything at all for the WAF, but there you go.

If the househeat system had been a bit more prevelant when I upgraded, then I would probably have gone down that route and created a Homeseer plug-in for the USB interface. As it is I have the Honeywell system and some basic integration with Homeseer via an RFXIO and Honeywell IO module. This allows me to set lifestyles on the Hometronic manager from Homeseer which works pretty well although it doesn't give me full room by room control.

We also have a ducted air con system here in 2/3 of the house which is actually cheaper to run in heating mode than using the gas boiler when the outside temperature is above 5 C, but I haven't got round to adding any sort of room by room control to it yet.

Paul..

[MikeM]

Here's a link to the pulse module at the same site http://www.actaris.com/html/index.ph...edia&idmp=9761

Thanks - you obviously know where to look for the info. I searched when the meter was installed but didn't find that link.

I will experiment with hooking a reed switch near the zero digit this weekend. Zero power and no need for careful alignment.

[al1234567]

+1 for rfxcom+rfxmeter

I use rfxmeter to count pulses from the gas meter, and count reflections from the water meter.

I have an OWL clamp wireless electric consumption monitor. The signal is picked up by the rfxcom and fed into Homeseer.

[autolog]

I can think of a couple of ways to do this: ....

2) Is you do want to integrate the kickspace heater into the HouseHeat system (I would if it were me) then I'd insert a TRV in the flow pipe to it and control the flow with an FHT80B / Actuator pair. Then I'd put a flow switch (such as http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/level5/mo...cpc/265321.xml) in the flow pipe after the TRV to control the heater on/off fan. In theory the Actuator / TRV will control the heat flow (and talk to the HouseHeat Boiler Relay) and the flow switch will power the fan on/off as needed.

I have investigated this a bit further with a neighbour and he has pointed out that the kickspace heater has an integral heat sensor that won't switch the fan on until the water gets hot (43 C) - therefore the flow switch is not needed. So it makes this solution even easier - thanks again for the suggestion

[sooty7]

I have investigated this a bit further with a neighbour and he has pointed out that the kickspace heater has an integral heat sensor that won't switch the fan on until the water gets hot (43 C) - therefore the flow switch is not needed. So it makes this solution even easier - thanks again for the suggestion

I have 2 kickspace heaters and all I have done is to install TRV valves and the motorised heads in the flow line, as previously sugested. They do indeed have a temp sensor that only switches the fan on when water temp is above a given level, so a few minutes after the valve closes the fan stops.

It was a little more difficult for me using the Honeywell valves as opposed to House Heat. Because the HR80's don't have an external temp sensor, therefore the valve needs to be installed inside the room and can't be hidden under the kitchen units.

Basically I altered the pipework to bring the TRV valve out of the side of the end kitchen unit about 2' from floor level. This stops it from getting damaged by vacuum cleaners etc and makes local adjustment and battery changing easier.

I suppose you won't have this problem with the House Heat valve as it can be installed under the units and the remote stat installed in a convenient location. You will only need to gain access to change the batteries.

As I previously mentioned, I wish House Heat had been as popular 2 years ago. I would likely have chosen it over the Honeywell, just for its better integration possibilities.

Despite the fact that the Honeywell system does not use external temp sensors, it does a pretty good job of maintaining the set temperature. I have monitored it with external room sensors and it is generally within 1 degree of the set point. I suppose they must have built in some kind of logic to compensate for the valve being located close to the radiator.

Paul..

[SensibleHeatUK]

The Hometronic range has 2 models of room temperature sensors that can be used in zones where HR80s are not in locations that allow reasonable room temperature measurement (radiators in cabinets etc). One model is a basic sensor, the other includes a setpoint offset dial to allow the setpoint to be trimmed by upto +- 12 degrees (the dial is a simple mechanical dial so whatever setting is selected is aplied to whatever setpoint is in use).

[sooty7]

The Hometronic range has 2 models of room temperature sensors that can be used in zones where HR80s are not in locations that allow reasonable room temperature measurement (radiators in cabinets etc). One model is a basic sensor, the other includes a setpoint offset dial to allow the setpoint to be trimmed by upto +- 12 degrees (the dial is a simple mechanical dial so whatever setting is selected is aplied to whatever setpoint is in use).

Can you give some model numbers of the 2 types of sensors and the method used to interface them to the Hometronic manager please?

It seems to work OK by moving the HR80 away from the kickspace heater, but I have another application that could benefit from a remote sensor.

Perhaps we should move this topic to the Hometronic section!

Paul..

[SensibleHeatUK]

The current models are HCF82 & HCW82 (the latter has the adjuster), both need V7.0 firmware or later on your HCM200D. Note that none of the recent modules are compatible with older single frequency (433MHz) Managers, they newer modules all operate on 868 MHz.

As soon as either module is bound as a room sensor then it becomes the controlling sensor for the zone so all HR80s within that zone use the HCF/HCW for the sensor value instead of their built-in sensor.

[MikeM]

Reference:

http://www.actaris.com/html/products-56.html[/url] would suggest that it is pulse counter ready.

Sooty7,

Thanks to your info on my Actaris G4 gas meter I hooked up an ultra cheap remote reader using a reed switch and a 'hacked' Pedometer I found in the street !

I just opened and removed the pedometer switch and soldered a couple of wires to the PCB where the switch contacts were. I ran these out to a reed switch and away I went ! Of course, you need to note the actual Gas meter reading when you zero the counter. The reed switch seemed to work almost anywhere around the casing and I used double sided foam tape to stick it on. Much better than poking around a dim cupboard.

You have also spurred me on the finish my RF Pulse counter. Thanks again for the info