My TRVs are starting to act up now.
They report that they are off but the radiators are hot.
I can set a high temperature and then back to off and they shut off.
But every now and then I hear a TRV doing something that it shouldn’t.
I believe part of the reason is because they have temperature probe and software to make them “smart”.
So what I’m looking for is a dumb equivalent. Basically something I can command and it will do that and have no smart features at all.
I don’t need a bunch of settings or calendar or time or weeks or even temperature probe. I just want a radiator actuator.
Do they exist?
What happens if you give these a pwm signal of 50%?
Will they open 50%?
As far as I can figure out, these are just on-off.
If that means full on or full off on the radiators then that will probably be uneven temperature.
But if I could tune them with a pwm dimmer then they probably will work nice.
Sorry forthe monologue here but apparently someone made a proper study on this.
Conclusion is that it works but not as we would hope.
According to the last table some of the actuators give you more possible range than others.
So with some luck you might get one that is more customisable.
I bought one of those actuators and a PWM that I could test with.
After a few hours of testing I have reached the conclusion that this version of actuator I bought can not be controlled with PWM.
I believe this is because although it was listed as a 230 v version on Amazon, the instructions say it works with 24 v DC also.
I guess the short range between 0 and 24 v is not enough for this PWM that I got.
Perhaps if I tried with a 24 v power supply.
I must say, coming from a TRV that makes this mechanical sound that propagate in the radiator, wow these actuators are quiet.
I really can’t hear it at all when it moves.
I’m testing now if a low cold_tolerance is better with these.
TRVs was better with a larger range to make them not make noise all the time but since this is completely silent then I might as well keep it in a narrow range.
Did you buy and use this thermal actuator? What is your experience?
I’m looking for a PWM controllable thermal actuator myself at this moment. I’m also looking for a solution to control these actuators (via Zigbee, Zwave, Thread, Wifi…) What solution do you propose there?
I’m considering using the Versatile Thermostat to control my valves. It requires a number type entity to control the valve’s opening percentage.
I already have temperature sensors in every room, so that’s why a “dumb” thermal actuator is a preferred solution.
I didn’t buy one of those.
I bought just on/off versions and is very happy with them.
I don’t need the PWM as I see it. The temperature is in my opinion stable even with just on/off.
Looking at how they perform I don’t see a reason for pwm.
Here the termostat is set to 20 degrees and 0.3 degree cold tolerance.
Only one time during these 10 days did it get to 19.5 while the termostat was turned on. All other times it started the heating at 19.6 as expected.
Which ones? The Danfoss-ones you mentioned earlier?
The reason I am considering PWM is that my house has floor-heating and due to building mass (inertia) everything will react slowly. Most valves are open for a specific percentage and need very little changing. I would like to keep it that way (with lower water temperatures) instead of opening/closing all the time.
