Logging boiler activity

[Whitling2k]

Hey!

I think this fits here better than home automation... but in an effort to improve the efficiency of my house by optimising room warm-up times, radiator output and thermostat settings - I;m trying to find a way to track exactly when my boiler is on.

I have tried in the past with a simple temperature logger zip-tied onto the feed pipe above the boiler - when set to record at 15 minute intervals, it often missed crucial times and when the boiler was on-off around being at temperature it gave a very confusing signal. If I set the recording interval to 1 minute, it filled up it's memory too quickly.

Are there any other solutions anyone can think of?

Cheers

Whitling2k

 

[magicmushroom666]

Might be easier to monitor the switching of the thermostat

 

[Whitling2k]

That's what I thought - but how might that be possible with cheap/simple kit, and in a format I can import to say Excel?

 

[Dan Robinson]

Somethings just aren't cheap.

Pico Log.

 

[Whitling2k]

wow Pico Log looks good, but a bit above my price range!

I was hoping more for a proxy/raspberry pi type DIY approach! Like a motion sensing camera trained on the thermostat LED...

http://www.noveldevices.co.uk/rp-boilermonitor

but I don't have that much time available for experimenting these days!

 

[flameport]

Some gas meters have the facility for attaching pulse sensing devices, which will tell you how much gas is used as well as when it is being used.

 

[Agile]

Stepping back for a moment, what do you hope to achieve by knowing when you boiler is on?

Tony

 

[Whitling2k]

nothing like ignoring a topic for months!

I am hoping to know when my boiler is on and off with precision.. My house is very expensive to heat - being a large extended 70s dormer bungalow, with very limited scope for improving roof insulation (within my budget) due to construction 'quirks' of our flat roofs, having some expansive north facing walls, too many knackered double glazing units, case after case of broken/blocked ventilation, and having over 20 radiators to balance and get hot water through! We're working through the problems - but a key part is getting the boiler operating as efficiently as possible.

I want this information to help scientifically improve the efficiency of my house - through optimising my boiler. I can change output water temperature, flow rate, thermostat location/setting thermostat on/off times, boiler on/off times, tstatic rad valves etc. Through planned changes and trial and error - I can use a graph like this to see what effect my changes are having on my consumption (through the proxy of the boiler's burner).

Currently, I use a usb temperature logger on my flow pipe to produce the red-bars (i.e. when the boiler is on) which records the temperature every 15 minutes. This is based on rules in the data trace - which isn't great and can't detect if my boiler is cycling on and off. My rules assume the boiler is on when the temperature is increasing or staying within 0.1 degrees in 15 minutes, or turned off when the temperature drops by more than 0.1 degrees in the 15 minute interval.

I do have a smart meter, but I would have to watch it constantly to get such a record. It only stores hourly totals - during which the boiler could have been on/off multiple times.

If I could see an accurate boolean trace, I could see where my boiler is on, cycling or off - then adjust my settings accordingly to match the needs of my house.

Having said that - my set-up is more efficient now because of changes I have made with this data - so I am on a path of diminishing returns - which is why I want something cheap. anything expensive might cost more than any future savings!

Whitling2k

 

[Ben Lumley]

This is worth a look too: https://www.your-loop.com/product/dual-fuel

Monitors your gas usage rather than boiler on/off - so may not give quite the resolution you are looking for.. and not the cheapest thing in the world by the time you need dual fuel. But in my experience it is solid/reliable - just works.