Hi everyone,
I recently replaced my old oil heating system with a Panasonic Aquarea L-Series heat pump. Currently, my house is equipped with a Homematic IP floor heating setup (OPENCCU, two HmIP-FAL230 controllers, motorized actuators, and wall thermostats).
I am now looking for the best strategy to integrate the heat pump into my Home Assistant setup using HeishaMon (MQTT).
My Hardware Setup:
- Heat Pump: Panasonic Aquarea L-Series + CZ-NS4P expansion board
- Buffers/Tanks: 100L buffer tank + 280L Domestic Hot Water (DHW) tank
- Interface: HeishaMon Large (connected via MQTT to Home Assistant)
- Current Automation: Homematic IP individual room control (ERR) is still installed. I already pre-adjusted the manual flow rates (hydraulic balancing) based on the pipe lengths of the underfloor heating loops.
My Dilemma & Initial Idea: With my old oil burner, Homematic simply switched the circulation pump on/off. My first thought for the heat pump was to connect a Homematic actuator to the "External Thermostat" input (Terminals 5 & 6) on the Panasonic CZ-NS4P board to force the heat pump into standby whenever all room valves close.
However, I am seeing the classic conflict: The heat pump is trying to heat while Homematic valves are closing, or valves open but the heat pump is idle. I know that heat pumps need a constant flow rate and long runtimes to be efficient, and closing valves can trigger flow errors (like H62) or cause heavy short-cycling.
The Strategy I am considering: I am thinking about completely removing/selling the Homematic hardware (FAL controllers, actuators, thermostats) and keeping all floor heating valves 100% open permanently via manual caps.
- To keep track of room climates, I would replace the Homematic thermostats with cheap, local Zigbee or BLE temperature sensors that report directly to Home Assistant.
- Any "smart" control (like handling solar gains or shutting down the heating in spring/autumn) would be done purely via software in Home Assistant using HeishaMon MQTT commands (e.g., shifting the heating curve or turning the heat pump off when the house average temperature is high enough).
My Questions to the Community:
- Does it make sense to completely get rid of the Homematic individual room control, or is there a smart way to keep it without killing the heat pump's efficiency?
- If I go "all open" and use HeishaMon, what are your best practices for automation? Do you control the seasonal shut-offs by shifting the zone temperature (
SetZ1HeatRequestTemperature) or by toggling the main state (SetHeatpump)? - How do you handle transition periods (spring/autumn) in Home Assistant to prevent the heat pump from short-cycling when heat demand is very low?
I would love to hear your thoughts, experiences, and suggestions before I start unplugging hardware!
Thanks in advance!