Evohome firmware 02.00.19.31 Beta Trial - Exclusive for Automated Home Members

[DBMandrake]

This isn't quite true. After taking numerous Gas readings over the course of 4 years i've concluded it's actually cheaper (Usage is less) to heat our home all Day whilst we're at work than it is having it on in the morning then drop down to the set back at 16oc, then back up in the evening.

That just means your boiler is a lot less efficient at full pelt than it is at lower output, and this is counteracting the gains had from keeping the house temperature lower when unoccupied. Perhaps it's not condensing properly in those conditions due to insufficient temperature drop across the radiators ? As I don't have a condensing boiler I don't have this factor to worry about - efficiency won't vary much with return flow temperature or whether it's going flat out or not.

I did the same tests you did where I used a set back in the 16-18C range at night and during the working day for the full house and it was unequivocal in my case - gas usage was much lower just scheduling the zones to 5C when we were out of the house (and downstairs zones at night) and letting optimal start figure out when to start heating to get things back to where we wanted them again.

In mild weather like spring/autumn you'll find that when turned off for more than about 12 hours a house will reach an equilibrium temperature - for example it might reach 15C and stay there, so if your set points are below 15C in those conditions you'll use zero gas even if you're away for several days but if your set back was say 18C then you're constantly using gas during that period.

[mtmcgavock]

That just means your boiler is a lot less efficient at full pelt than it is at lower output, and this is counteracting the gains had from keeping the house temperature lower when unoccupied. Perhaps it's not condensing properly in those conditions due to insufficient temperature drop across the radiators ? As I don't have a condensing boiler I don't have this factor to worry about - efficiency won't vary much with return flow temperature or whether it's going flat out or not.

I did the same tests you did where I used a set back in the 16-18C range at night and during the working day for the full house and it was unequivocal in my case - gas usage was much lower just scheduling the zones to 5C when we were out of the house (and downstairs zones at night) and letting optimal start figure out when to start heating to get things back to where we wanted them again.

In mild weather like spring/autumn you'll find that when turned off for more than about 12 hours a house will reach an equilibrium temperature - for example it might reach 15C and stay there, so if your set points are below 15C in those conditions you'll use zero gas even if you're away for several days but if your set back was say 18C then you're constantly using gas during that period.

It'll have a job as it's not a condensing boiler

In my tests I certainly found that it uses less gas. It's hard to monitor due to weather conditions, but I try to log them along with my readings. I've monitored for all day usage over a couple of years now (We've lived here 4 years and had HR92s from new) and it's pretty consistent in the readings. Whilst it doesn't use considerably less gas than timings, it does use less. My theory is that you're heating the fabric of the house. A very well insulated house should in theory have little heat loss, so keeping it at a set point all day should in theory use less energy than letting the room cool then reheat - as your then having to heat everything again, not just the room but the fixtures and fittings and any walls etc.

However I do have a very well insulated house (My front door has a U value of 0.87). In a house that's older, poorly insulated, and has lots of drafts then I can see how you'd use more gas. For example my parents have a HR92 in a rear porch where theres a draft from the cat flap. If they use a 16oc set back on this rad it just runs 24/7 - maybe an extreme example but in a house where your heat losses are great then I can see how timings prevent a system from overworking.

[bruce_miranda]

Had my first experience of seeing what happens to all the fancy weather compensation when broadband goes down. Everything reverts to the set points and then seamlessly goes back into weather compensation mode when things return to normal. Nice.

[DBMandrake]

Had my first experience of seeing what happens to all the fancy weather compensation when broadband goes down. Everything reverts to the set points and then seamlessly goes back into weather compensation mode when things return to normal. Nice.

Yep, it fails gracefully.

My thanks to Virgin Media for involuntarily testing this out for me a few times recently.

[lloyd]

If I apply to join the beta now, will I get 19.31 or 19.33 (assuming the beta programme still allows new participants). I'm getting some quite severe overshoots, and from reading here, it seems that 19.33 may help matters. Are there any negatives to be aware of?

[Woody]

If I apply to join the beta now, will I get 19.31 or 19.33 (assuming the beta programme still allows new participants). I'm getting some quite severe overshoots, and from reading here, it seems that 19.33 may help matters. Are there any negatives to be aware of?

Three weeks ago I installed a new Evohome controller and it came with version 19.31. Last Saturday I requested the beta via the Honeywell webform. I received a mail to verify my request on Monday and a few hours later the controller got updated to version 19.33. So the beta still allows participants and gets you version 19.33.

In my case 19.33 solved a problem that in certain zones the set point (not the actual temperature) overshot by a large margin. The overshoots in temperature I noticed after installing the new controller disappeared in a couple of days. It can take some time for a new controller to adjust itself to the installation in which it is installed. On fora like this I read anything between a couple of days to multiple weeks.

[clarkie]

Why when the evohome controller is indicating the the room is at 19 °C and you increase the temperature to 19.5 almost immediately the controller says the room is 19.5 no boiler activity domocitz reports that the room is still at 19.0. Not what a user is expecting especially my wife.

[Mickjohn]

Same thing happens to me

[philchillbill]

It's a quirk. Bumping the setpoint by 0.5 deg is useless as the controller just magically reports a current temp rounded up to the next half degree after you make the setpoint change. Magnificent UI design by Honeywell.

Which of the Domoticz interface methods are you using? Domoticz rounds temperatures differently to Honeywell.

[clarkie]

It's a quirk. Bumping the setpoint by 0.5 deg is useless as the controller just magically reports a current temp rounded up to the next half degree after you make the setpoint change. Magnificent UI design by Honeywell.

Which of the Domoticz interface methods are you using? Domoticz rounds temperatures differently to Honeywell.

I'm using the web app interface.