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Thread: Is Z Wave suitable for my building Heating Control Project ?

  1. #1
    Automated Home Lurker
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Posts
    1

    Default Is Z Wave suitable for my building Heating Control Project ?

    I am looking at adding some automation to the control of the heating system into our work building. We occupied this 6 year old building last Summer so have experienced the challenges last winter of controlling its temperature with the very limited controls currently fitted to the system.

    I am determined to have a better situation this Winter , so Ive started looking at some of what is available and have focused in on Z Wave sensors, switches and controllers etc. I can see that there is quite a range of Z Wave products available but I coultnt find any sensors for measuring boiler water temperature.....either a thermocouple type probe to insert into the piping or something that could be fixed to the outside of a pipe ??

    My system comprises

    An Oil fired boiler, circulating hot water to areas 1 & 2 below (pump runs when boiler is powered)
    Hot water is circulated to area 3 by an additional pump, operated by a manual switch.

    1. Workshop area heated by 2 fan assisted radiator type ceiling height heaters
    2. Showroom area heated by 2 fan assisted radiator type ceiling height heaters
    3. Office / other space heated by regular radiators.

    Currently the only controls are

    Boiler: A 7 day timer controlling the boiler on / off + onboard jacket water temp thermostst

    1. Workshop : A 24 hr (basic manual 1/4 hr ) Timer controlling the 2 Air Fans on / Off
    2. Showroom: A 24 hr (basic manual 1/4 hr ) Timer controlling the Air Fan on / Off
    3. Office Some TRV's

    There are no air temp thermostats fitted anywhere in the building
    Area 2)... Showroom has large windows and gets a lot of heat from sun on bright days

    I can see how I can greatly improve the situation by having some more intelegent control, by installing ;

    A Controller capable of remote control
    A Wall Thermostat in each of the 3 “Zones “ above....workshop / Showroom / Office
    A Boiler receiver unit (or 2 channel receiver....boiler & Office area circ pump)
    Some Radiator Thermostat Valves

    I need to be able to monitor the circ water temperature also, and while I could switch the fan s on heaters on / off by wiring in a pipestat in series with the power to these....Im wondering can I do this wirelessly by a wireless water temp sensor ?
    Currently the 24 hr timer will run the fans blowing cold air if water circ temp is not sufficient.

    Also, how best can I incorporate the external temperature into my system to allow different start up times depending on the outside temp ?

    I would appreciate any pointers on this project.

    Many Thanks
    Tom

  2. #2
    Automated Home Sr Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    50

    Default Heat Genius - Z-Wave solution for your project

    Quote Originally Posted by A Few More Words View Post
    I am looking at adding some automation to the control of the heating system into our work building. We occupied this 6 year old building last Summer so have experienced the challenges last winter of controlling its temperature with the very limited controls currently fitted to the system.

    I am determined to have a better situation this Winter , so Ive started looking at some of what is available and have focused in on Z Wave sensors, switches and controllers etc. I can see that there is quite a range of Z Wave products available but I coultnt find any sensors for measuring boiler water temperature.....either a thermocouple type probe to insert into the piping or something that could be fixed to the outside of a pipe ??

    My system comprises

    An Oil fired boiler, circulating hot water to areas 1 & 2 below (pump runs when boiler is powered)
    Hot water is circulated to area 3 by an additional pump, operated by a manual switch.

    1. Workshop area heated by 2 fan assisted radiator type ceiling height heaters
    2. Showroom area heated by 2 fan assisted radiator type ceiling height heaters
    3. Office / other space heated by regular radiators.

    Currently the only controls are

    Boiler: A 7 day timer controlling the boiler on / off + onboard jacket water temp thermostst

    1. Workshop : A 24 hr (basic manual 1/4 hr ) Timer controlling the 2 Air Fans on / Off
    2. Showroom: A 24 hr (basic manual 1/4 hr ) Timer controlling the Air Fan on / Off
    3. Office Some TRV's

    There are no air temp thermostats fitted anywhere in the building
    Area 2)... Showroom has large windows and gets a lot of heat from sun on bright days

    I can see how I can greatly improve the situation by having some more intelegent control, by installing ;

    A Controller capable of remote control
    A Wall Thermostat in each of the 3 “Zones “ above....workshop / Showroom / Office
    A Boiler receiver unit (or 2 channel receiver....boiler & Office area circ pump)
    Some Radiator Thermostat Valves

    I need to be able to monitor the circ water temperature also, and while I could switch the fan s on heaters on / off by wiring in a pipestat in series with the power to these....Im wondering can I do this wirelessly by a wireless water temp sensor ?
    Currently the 24 hr timer will run the fans blowing cold air if water circ temp is not sufficient.

    Also, how best can I incorporate the external temperature into my system to allow different start up times depending on the outside temp ?

    I would appreciate any pointers on this project.

    Many Thanks
    Tom
    My answer to your question is YES. Z-Wave is definitely suitable for your project but it is all dependent on what you get as your solution. All your controls can be done as a wireless solution.

    My recommendation is for you to look at Heat Genius Hub as your main controller and then you would use their LC13 Smart TRVs for your radiators and you can place wall / Zone thermostats where they are required. You can control you ceiling fan radiators through Smart Plugs (Max 3000 Watts per Smart Plug) - all wireless. The Smart Plugs have dual role. You can control them through you mobile, tablet or PC and they also act as amplifiers for the Z-wave mesh network.

    The Heat Genius Hub has external temperature monitoring built in. The same Heat Genius Hub has 24/7/365 programmable built in and you will also get Charts with historical data to see what the temperature has been for each Zone in your property. All heating data is collected from the moment the system is activated and is available for you to view on your mobile, tablet or PC wherever your are located in the world.

    As for your your hot water tank - the Heat Genius system can control a hot water tank that is fed by your boiler. It does this in the same way as the programmer you already have controls the hot water. You can easily set time periods where you want hot water to be made on the app as well as boost it at the moments notice from the app if you think that you may run short of hot water for whatever reason.

    The system uses the existing thermostat to control the temperature of the hot water from the app. The installation of the hot water control is as simple as replacing the existing 7 day programmer with the Heat Genius 2 channel receiver.

    My advice is for you to give the guys and girls a call at Heat Genius and talk over any problems that you might think you might encounter. Every time I have contacted them they have been extremely helpful.

    However, if you have any questions or you are not sure about anything that I have explained here, don't hesitate to ask so I can clarify my recommendation.
    Last edited by Hot; 26th October 2014 at 05:18 PM. Reason: additional information

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