Vaillant Ecotec pro and smart thermostats

[Richard Black]

Hi,

I have a Vaillant Ecotec Pro with a simple 24 hour time switch. I'd like to replace this with a modern smart thermostat. Most of the articles I've read mention a c-wire. I'm struggling to work out if this boiler has one. I've got the wiring diagram and it's not at all clear. I'm not sure how to add t from a mobile device so I will post again later if necessary.

Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Richard

 

[stem]

Methinks you have been looking at USA websites, their systems are different to ours.

Nest UK instructions here.

Link to Hive site to download PDF installation instructions here.

No mention of c-wire required

 

[Richard Black]

Yes, that's right - I was looking at the Ecobee device, expecting that it would be released in the UK soon-ish. It would seem to need the c-wore for power, where the Nest uses mains. I take it then that UK systems do not send power to the thermostats in the same way? I have no existing thermostat so it makes no difference to me, but the Ecobee seems a better fit for my needs.

Thanks, Richard

 

[muggles]

What is it specifically about the Ecobee3 that has attracted you to it over and above those already available?

If they're releasing it in the UK, they'll have to make the wiring conform to UK specs

 

[Richard Black]

It's the motion sensor and external temperature sensors for separate rooms and plus the fact that it learns the heating characteristics of the house. And I'd like Apple HomeKit compatibility should it ever actually get released!

 

[muggles]

I'm afraid the external temperature sensors are going to be naff-all use in a UK home, as they won't be able to control the radiators so you won't get the benefit from them - all they'll do is report the temperature, which isn't going to help you much. If you want to control individual radiators and have motion sensing you need to look at Heat Genius (which is based on Z-Wave tech and so you should be able to integrate it with other Z-Wave kit)

Nest will do everything else you've listed, except talk to Crapple HomeKit, but as that's not available in the UK anyway I can't see that being an issue!

 

[Richard Black]

It's not available yet, but like all Apple stuff, it's appearance is inevitable. I'm hedging against future compatibility and ease of use for whatever premium that costs just to avoid having to mess around with stuff to get it to work.

As for the temp sensors, it seems they use the information to decide whether to call for more heat and listens to different sensors or not based on time of day. I like what I think it will do but if you are right I may be in for a bit of a wait!

Thanks, Richard

 

[Bunnyman]

Try the vsmart for the being, as said apple is a way off yet

 

[simond]

Multi room zoned heating will save you far more energy than any of this stuff. You are getting excited about single digit low percentage uplifts in efficiency.

If I put a big knife switch by your front door that turned on every lightbulb in the house, you wouldn't replace it with one big single dimmer, would you?

You would put individual switches in each room.

So why is everyone getting excited about a single dimmer on their central heating system? The elephant in the room is the fact that you have no control where the heat goes, and therefore most is wasted. Just like if you turned all the lights on.

The answer is heating zoning, and the solution is Evohome.

 

[Richard Black]

It's probably because you can replace a single light switch pretty easily. You can't add extra switching circuits without a lot of work. Same for heating. Control the overall temperature of a medium sized house with a single box or spend much more money retrofitting zoning to the existing heating.

And actually, a big button by the door that said "I'm going out, put everything to sleep" is pretty much exactly what I'm after. Only the button should also know when I forget to press it and do it anyway. And wake everything up before I get home.

Living in a Victorian mid terrace also limits your options somewhat! I'll take any savings I can get whilst not having to rip up flooring older than anyone in my family

 

[simond]

No flooring rip ups needed, that's the beauty of it.

Been around since 1998, people are just catching up.

 

[Richard Black]

Now I am interested. Some sort of intelligently controlled TRVs? The ones I looked at a while back needed batteries changing by guesswork (or when you got unexpectedly cold).

Richard

 

[simond]

http://connectedproducts.honeywelluk.com/evohome/

 

[muggles]

Evohome and the aforementioned Heat Genius will both report the remaining battery life in the TRV heads. You can turn individual rads on and off from a centralised control, set up zones with different timings, get energy usage reports.

I'm probably the only HG approved installer on here, and having installed both HG and Evohome I prefer the HG system. From your point of view, you might prefer it as it has motion sensors, which Evohome doesn't have, and can also control individual sockets to turn on and off. Got an electric blanket? Heat Genius can turn that on for you before you go to bed, so that it's warm when you get in. You can set lamps to come on and off when you're away, giving the impression that you're still home...things like that. It also seems to be more reliable - many stories in the professionals-only section of this forum of engineers having to return to Evohome jobs to re-bind lost communications, and that was my experience too. I've never been back to a HG install to reset it, it just works

 

[Dan Robinson]

Well one.... And that is a very special case