What would you like to see in evohome? (have your say)

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  • freddyq
    Automated Home Jr Member
    • Oct 2016
    • 40

    Originally posted by freddyq View Post
    Coming back to this thread after a while and interested to learn more about how Geofencing can be implemented using Life360. Can anyone share good/bad experiences and example scenarios?
    Also, I've not used optimisation yet so my schedule timings have all been based on the old method of estimating how far in advance I want the heating turning on in each zone and went to switch it off. I am now going to enable optimisation but can someone please confirm my understanding that with optimisation turned on, the time I set in the schedule for heating to start should be the actual time I expect to be in that zone from? And what about stop time? Should that be actual time I expect to leave the zone?

    Comment

    • bruce_miranda
      Automated Home Legend
      • Jul 2014
      • 2307

      If you want a zone to be 20C from 6am to 7pm. Set the schedule to 6am to 7pm and let Optimization figure out how long before it needs to start and finish to achieve that schedule.

      Comment

      • freddyq
        Automated Home Jr Member
        • Oct 2016
        • 40

        OK thanks - that's clear. I think I just got myself confused having used the old method of setting schedule times!

        Comment

        • bruce_miranda
          Automated Home Legend
          • Jul 2014
          • 2307

          Actually back to the topic on this thread. Honeywell, PLEASE bring back per zone optimisation.

          Comment

          • paulockenden
            Automated Home Legend
            • Apr 2015
            • 1719

            Originally posted by bruce_miranda View Post
            honeywell, please bring back per zone optimisation.
            yes please!!!!

            Comment

            • Fireblade69
              Automated Home Jr Member
              • Apr 2016
              • 30

              So been off this thread for a while so after 2 ½ years since starting it what are the actual results that have been implemented?

              Big thanks to @Rameses for partaking and staying tuned in on this.

              When I first got the Evohome system it was state of the art, best thing since sliced bread but I fear it is being caught up with the new boys in town with greater flexibility and more importantly, better home automation integration, particularly in Europe where we don't even get some of the stuff the USA have had for years!

              I'm giving Evohome another 6 months to catch up or it is getting replaced with something more advanced or at least, at the same level but more friendly from an integration perspective and with Global baseline products.

              When Evohome security came out, I was so disappointed in some of the products - particularly the camera (I mean, 640 x 352 resolution photo only camera in 2017, WTF??) and other limitations that I've pretty much scrapped the idea of using it as an integrated home product. This is affecting my Evohome perception specifically and Honeywell in general.

              It would be nice to get back to the top of the game Honeywell, please at least keep the communications coming.

              Edited to add:

              I would be willing to purchase a new controller if that is what it took to 'upgrade' the system. I can't see that being insurmountable a reason not to bring in new features and functionality and yet still maintain backward compatibility with the valves & relays - it is after just ones and zeroes comms between them and the controller.
              Last edited by Fireblade69; 12 June 2017, 11:13 PM.

              Comment

              • paulockenden
                Automated Home Legend
                • Apr 2015
                • 1719

                Evohome might be behind the curve visually (the TRVs aren't as stylish as some of the competitors, the controller is a bit clunky, and the app isn't best of breed). But in terms of functionality I don't think there's anything on the market that can touch it. Others are catching up, and fast. But nobody else offers the same level of comfort and control.

                Comment

                • DBMandrake
                  Automated Home Legend
                  • Sep 2014
                  • 2361

                  Not really worth starting a thread of its own for, but I've just discovered a bug in the hot water override function that I thought I'd alert folks (and Honeywell) to.

                  I am doing some work to our hot water cylinder at the moment that has required it to be drained down for a couple of days (don't ask!) and of course while this occurs I want my hot water schedule completely off. So I set a "permanent" override for hot water to be off.

                  I then discovered that if I put the controller into away mode then back into any other mode my "permanent" off override for hot water is cancelled and the schedule resumes and tries to turn my hot water back on. Huh ??

                  In my case it won't actually cause any damage to have the heating coils in the cylinder get hot when there is no water in there but it would cause the boiler to run constantly at its flow temperature set point to try to heat up hot water - which can't happen as there is no water between the coils and the sensor...

                  This is inconsistent with the behaviour of permanent overrides for heating zones - if you set a permanent override for a heating zone then whilst the off quick action will force the zone to 5 degrees, when you cancel the off action the permanent override returns and the schedule is NOT resumed for the zone.

                  So for a permanent hot water override I would expect that if I say I want my hot water off permanently it should stay off permanently until I say otherwise, and not resume the normal schedule just because I pressed away when I left the house and cancelled away when I get back... permanent should mean permanent until the permanent override is explicitly cancelled.

                  Hopefully someone somewhere is adding that to their bug todo list.
                  Last edited by DBMandrake; 13 June 2017, 09:35 AM.

                  Comment

                  • Rameses
                    Industry Expert
                    • Nov 2014
                    • 446

                    Hi - which would you prefer? Your quick action to leave your previous manual instruction alone across the entire system? or the quick action to be holistic and act the same away across the entire system?
                    getconnected.honeywell.com | I work for Honeywell. Any posts I make are purely to help if I can. Any personal views expressed are my own

                    Comment

                    • DBMandrake
                      Automated Home Legend
                      • Sep 2014
                      • 2361

                      Originally posted by Rameses View Post
                      Hi - which would you prefer? Your quick action to leave your previous manual instruction alone across the entire system? or the quick action to be holistic and act the same away across the entire system?
                      I don't quite follow your question. I think the right thing for it to do would be to be consistent with how permanent overrides in heating zones are handled.

                      Whilst the away quick action temporarily "overrides the override" of a heating zone, when away is cancelled the previously set permanent override is put back in force. (Timed overrides are not) This seems to be reasonable behaviour.

                      This is not the case with a hot water "permanent" override where it will be cancelled by toggling away. None of the other quick actions being toggled cancels a permanent hot water override either.

                      I think its reasonable to expect that if I explicitly go into hot water, set it to OFF (or ON for that matter) and choose permanent override, (not timed override) that it will remain this way until I explicitly cancel the permanent override. It's reasonable for away to temporarily override the override to OFF (if the permanent override choice had been ON) however when away is cancelled the permanent override should go back to what it was like the heating ones do.

                      Comment

                      • Rameses
                        Industry Expert
                        • Nov 2014
                        • 446

                        Originally posted by Fireblade69 View Post
                        So been off this thread for a while so after 2 ½ years since starting it what are the actual results that have been implemented?

                        Big thanks to @Rameses for partaking and staying tuned in on this.

                        When I first got the Evohome system it was state of the art, best thing since sliced bread but I fear it is being caught up with the new boys in town with greater flexibility and more importantly, better home automation integration, particularly in Europe where we don't even get some of the stuff the USA have had for years!

                        I'm giving Evohome another 6 months to catch up or it is getting replaced with something more advanced or at least, at the same level but more friendly from an integration perspective and with Global baseline products.

                        When Evohome security came out, I was so disappointed in some of the products - particularly the camera (I mean, 640 x 352 resolution photo only camera in 2017, WTF??) and other limitations that I've pretty much scrapped the idea of using it as an integrated home product. This is affecting my Evohome perception specifically and Honeywell in general.

                        It would be nice to get back to the top of the game Honeywell, please at least keep the communications coming.

                        Edited to add:

                        I would be willing to purchase a new controller if that is what it took to 'upgrade' the system. I can't see that being insurmountable a reason not to bring in new features and functionality and yet still maintain backward compatibility with the valves & relays - it is after just ones and zeroes comms between them and the controller.
                        Thanks - its not just me - the product team read this forum - so Honeywell does take this feedback on board.
                        Speaking personally (as I always do as views are my own in all cases) - We (anyone in interested in the smarter connected home) are in a odd quandary. Heating systems are not mobile phones. They are supposed to be integral infrastructure to the home. For every one person that wants the latest gadget there is someone who is content. That said we (all of us) need to innovate and I can honestly say there is a good roadmap, both driving value to existing products and new exciting ones coming. All of this has to be done with the one goal of never losing that trust & performance and delivering what the product is primarily intended to so. We will never knowingly sacrifice performance over being first to adopt, so in this respect other products may deliver what someone else values, which is fine.

                        The input from this forum does get read and Honeywell will constantly innovate - so I know they 'thank you' for input as they see it as endorsement of the work they are doing (behind the scenes you cannot see)

                        With ref to evohome security camera. I just wanted to point out, the camera is 640 x 352 (its a wireless motion sensor with camera) , but you have to consider, this is because it is was intended as an easily install-able product. It runs from 2 AA batteries designed to typically last 2 years!!! It is transmitting secure images across a 868Mhz low power spectrum - it pushes the boundaries of current technology with the original goal in mind. Other products can offer faster speeds, greater resolution, at the expense of larger battery blocks or needing to be hard wired. It is designed to show you if really have a burglar or if the cat knocked over the plant pot, providing more information for you to see if there is real cause for alarm. It is not intended to zoom in on the burglars face or show the tattoo detail on their arm. If this feature is needed then another product will be needed.
                        Last edited by Rameses; 14 June 2017, 10:48 AM.
                        getconnected.honeywell.com | I work for Honeywell. Any posts I make are purely to help if I can. Any personal views expressed are my own

                        Comment

                        • mtmcgavock
                          Automated Home Legend
                          • Mar 2017
                          • 507

                          Surely the best way would be for the quick action not to interfere with any previous premanently made actions.

                          Also don't you think it would be a good idea to have a summer mode? I have it with various customers and my own Evohome that in summer when the quick action 'Heating Off' is applied you can't manually override a zone from the app or panel. I have to then set a custom mode which sets all zones to a temperature (For instance 16oc) and then you can override them. If this was built in it would be great.

                          Comment

                          • Rameses
                            Industry Expert
                            • Nov 2014
                            • 446

                            Originally posted by DBMandrake View Post
                            I don't quite follow your question. I think the right thing for it to do would be to be consistent with how permanent overrides in heating zones are handled.

                            Whilst the away quick action temporarily "overrides the override" of a heating zone, when away is cancelled the previously set permanent override is put back in force. (Timed overrides are not) This seems to be reasonable behaviour.

                            This is not the case with a hot water "permanent" override where it will be cancelled by toggling away. None of the other quick actions being toggled cancels a permanent hot water override either.

                            I think its reasonable to expect that if I explicitly go into hot water, set it to OFF (or ON for that matter) and choose permanent override, (not timed override) that it will remain this way until I explicitly cancel the permanent override. It's reasonable for away to temporarily override the override to OFF (if the permanent override choice had been ON) however when away is cancelled the permanent override should go back to what it was like the heating ones do.
                            Got it Thanks
                            getconnected.honeywell.com | I work for Honeywell. Any posts I make are purely to help if I can. Any personal views expressed are my own

                            Comment

                            • DBMandrake
                              Automated Home Legend
                              • Sep 2014
                              • 2361

                              Originally posted by mtmcgavock View Post
                              Surely the best way would be for the quick action not to interfere with any previous premanently made actions.
                              Yes and no.

                              Currently with heating zones if you set a permanent override for a zone to say 10 degrees, it will suspend the normal schedule for that zone and keep it at 10 degrees, but only when the heating is "on". If you use the heating off action the permanent override is temporarily overridden itself (to your heating off temperature, default 5 degrees) but when you cancel heating off it goes back to the previous permanent override and the schedule is still suspended for the zone - this seems like the right way for it to behave to me. Which is why I was surprised to find that the hot water zone doesn't behave the same way.
                              Also don't you think it would be a good idea to have a summer mode? I have it with various customers and my own Evohome that in summer when the quick action 'Heating Off' is applied you can't manually override a zone from the app or panel. I have to then set a custom mode which sets all zones to a temperature (For instance 16oc) and then you can override them. If this was built in it would be great.
                              Yes, I find this quite annoying too.

                              During the summer I sometimes use the Heating off action for days at a time to allow hot water to remain on schedule but no heating - not because it would get too hot if I left my normal schedule active (which it doesn't) but because early in the morning the heating would still come on for a short time to warm the rooms up to their set points even though the sun will do that for me a bit later in the day. Leaving it off means I get the best use of free solar heating...

                              But then you have the issue of what to do if you want to turn only one radiator on - for us it is typically the bathroom (as we still like to turn a bathroom radiator on with a towel over it for showers even in summer, also to help dry out the room afterwards) or some clothes on a radiator that need speedy drying, typically the large radiator in the hallway.

                              The control panel doesn't allow you to set an override in heating off mode so you have to engage some other mode - but what ? You could configure the custom mode to have all zones set to 5 degrees all day long from which you could then turn up a single zone, but that occupies the custom action and we already use that for something else. (Most than one, user nameable custom mode might help here)

                              Or you use Eco and then turn up one zone, (Leaving other zones "on" but a few degrees below normal, although rooms already at 17 or below won't drop) or you just turn the heating on normally then manually turn down every zone but the one you want which is a complete pain in the backside if you have many zones, since its up to 20 or so button presses per zone to do this, and nobody except a nerd like me would even have the patience to do this.

                              One final "unsupported" method is that you just turn up the zone directly on the HR92 - even though the control panel is in heating off mode a manually turned up HR92 can still call for heat. Although I have done this a few times when I have been feeling lazy I try to avoid it because:

                              1) The control panel doesn't show the change in set point in Heating Off mode, (it still just says off) so you can't tell from looking at the panel that something is turned up and its really easy to forget that you turned that bathroom radiator up to 22 for a shower and then forgot about it...... 6 hours ago....

                              2) The schedule is not running in Heating off mode, so there will be no automatic set point changes that will cancel your override if you forget to - in effect your manual override is a permanent one. If it happened to be in something like a spare room it could be days before you discovered it was turned up, unless you noticed the unusual boiler activity.

                              3) You can't use this method if local overrides are disabled for the zone, so it's not a general solution.

                              Something needs to be done to improve the ability to turn up just one or two zones from an initial heating off state without bringing the whole house on or having to manually and laboriously turn down every other zone, but there are many different possible approaches to solving the problem both in terms of system behaviour and UI presentation...
                              Last edited by DBMandrake; 14 June 2017, 01:01 PM.

                              Comment

                              • Kevin
                                Moderator
                                • Jan 2004
                                • 558

                                Is official SmartThings integration ever going to happen ? There's a lot of indirect finger pointing being made that it's not ST that are holding this up . It's 2 years 'late' now.

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