Evohome Actuator Comms Faults

[HenGus]

My system has been installed for just over 6 months. Three weeks ago, the fault log started reporting frequent HWV and Heating Actuator communications faults. My installer changed both BDR faceplates.

For two weeks, with the new BDRs, the system has been fine. Last week, however, the controller re-set itself whilst connected to its powered wall mount: some zones took over 90 minutes to re-synchronise. This evening, the actuator ( both hot water and heating) communications faults have returned. The BDRs have 12 inches separation and are mounted above and about 4 ft displaced from the controller.

Sadly, I am beginning to lose some faith in the technical reliability of the Evohome system. I now wait to hear what my specialist installer proposes to do to give me confidence in this expensive control system. At the moment, I do not think that I could leave my home empty without worrying that either my home was unprotected, or I would come to an enormous heating bill.

[Rameses]

Hi. I can tell from the 81 posts you are passionate about your evohome.
Can you DM me and let's see if we can resolve this.

[HenGus]

Rameses - I have copied Louise into my e-mail to my installer. The heating valve had a further fault at 00.26 this morning followed by the HWV at 00.45. Comms were restored at 04.08 and 04.46. There were no demands on the system. Optimisation has also gone awry. Yesterday morning, my system came on at 6.35 - as it has done for many days. Today, it came on at 06.55. Controller problems perhaps?

[Rameses]

The signal tests you confirm are at '5' - but you still have classic symptoms of EMI interference.

We have spoken to the Installer and he going to call you to arrange to come back in.

[HenGus]

Rameses - I am grateful but I am not sure that I concur with or understand his proposed course of action given that my system has worked well for 6 months. He no doubt will be speaking to you again.

As a follow on, I am sure that others might be interested in knowing:

a. Why does the remote app not report actuator comms faults? If it does, then My IOS app has never shown any.

b. If either the HWV or heating actuators (or both) develop a comms fault when the home owner is away from home, and the faults do not restore, what actually happens to the system? For example, is there any frost protection in this situation?

[Rameses]

You HW transceiver worries us as its closely positioned to the electric junction box. You're right it is odd that your system has been working, but as you say your system has been working - but something must have changed and we need to eliminate certain things - by implementing according our recommendations it would help us get to the solution quicker.

The app does communicate if zone data cannot be retrieved or a command cannot be executed. Other than that the stuff you see in the controller log is for information purposes only and would not serve a purpose in the app (ie if something regained connected etc)

If evohome cannot get a signal then it wont generate heat demand, until it has a reading that can act upon. If the comms lost is permanent then no heat demand will be generated for that area (as it should be) if its intermittent, evohome will operate on the data it has.

Combined with the fact that evohome has its own frost detection (in the controller unit) and boilers have inbuilt frost detection I would suggest you are covered in this instance.

However the above is not the desired state and only the result of something that needs to be remedied - we need to get you back to the system state before.

[HenGus]

Rameses - I have just e-mailed Louise with my concerns about moving the BDRs. I am only making this topic public because I read that other people have been having issues with boiler relays on systems such as Hive.

I confess that I do not understand all of your post above. Despite having communications faults on both actuators for 4 hours in the early hours of this morning, there is no remote notification yet the faults show up in the fault log. Let's say, for example, that there was demand for heat at 2am from one or more zones for frost protection. The HR92s pass this information on to the controller: how does the controller communicate with the BDR/actuator if a comms fault is present? The line of connection is broken so the actuator will remain shut and the boiler off. Or, have I got this totally wrong?