I am about to build a smart heating system at home. I want to control the temperature of every room independently. I have thought about the following components:
TRV (x5): Sonoff TRVZB. There are interesting posts on how this is managed through home assistant. The only problem i might see with this is the temperature sensor, but i will manage it with external sensors https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006571651745.html
Heating on: For each temp sensor, when the temperature is below a value, send a request to the valve in that room to be open, and, if needed, to start the boiler
Heating off: For each temp sensor, when the temperature reaches a value, send a request to the valve in that room to be closed, and, if needed, to stop the boiler
Do you think that configuration will work with Home Assistant?
I know the automation need more detail, but, on the paper, is it feasible?
I would suggest you use Zigbee2Mqtt and hence get a device that is supported by that. There are several USB dongles you can use with the Zigbee2Mqtt add-on, or you could look at a POE based device ( SMLIGHT Official Homepage | Useful smart automation tools).
Thanks. Do I really need this compatibility? My understanding was that using tuya connector those devices, once they are paired with the gateway, will appear as available in home assistant isn’t it?
I’m suggesting Zigbee2Mqtt because of previous decisions made by Hive. You will note that the hive Integration ( Hive - Home Assistant) uses the cloud service and in 2021 they shutdown the North American servers. Going the Zigbee2Mqtt route allows local control and removes the reliance on the Hive cloud service.
The TRV’s you linked to have a comment from a user saying they work with Zigbee2Mqtt. This will also remove the reliance on Tuya Cloud and potentially sending your data to China.
You could use the Sonoff Zigbee Dongle-E as a Hub which would be similar in price to the Moes. Although if your budget allows I would recommend the SMLIGHT SLZB-06M which can be connected via ethernet and supports POE - this would allow placing the controller further away from your HA server.
You should also consider the distance from the Zigbee Coordinator for each of the TRV’s since these are battery operated devices and will act as endpoints only. Ideally you will place your Zigbee Coordinator in a central location within your property, however, you may still need to add some router capable devices to ensure a solid network.
Agree with everyone here. Don’t think you need the MOES hub, but instead would recommend a zigbee USB dongle + ZigBee2MQTT as the hub so that it’s entirely local and under your control - you would not want MOES going out of business or shutting down any server 3 or 5 or 10 years down the road.
For the thermostats in each room, Hive going cloud is fine (in my book anyways - I know people here might disagree), but I do agree with them that Hive is far from ideal. If I’m in your shoes I probably would go with sonoff wall panel like this one or its Pro version - they also have 2 buttons to be able to be programmed to move temperature setpoints up and down, with temp sensor inside… so basically the same as a Hive thermostat - but something you can tinker with.
Or Honeywell T6, or some of those tuya zigbee thermostats on AliExpress.
Agree with the people above about the hub. I use a similar system with Alix zigbee temperature sensors, Popp (Danfoss) TRVs and a Sonoff zigbee dongle using ZHA instead of Z2M. The thermostat I use (the device that sends signals to the central heater) came with my heat pump, it’s cloud based and that is quite annoying. I would change that if I did it all anew.
Personally I chose to go the Hive Thermostat route as it allows for control of the boiler and hence heat to the radiators. If my HA server ever goes down, it provides a simple mechanism to ensure the home can still be heated - manually set the temperature on the thermostat and then set TRV’s to a higher temperature so they remain open. Whilst the HA server is fully operational automations set the temperature on the Thermostat to either a high value or low value making it an on/off switch for the boiler.
Spending the extra and getting a Hive Thermostat as opposed to the Hive Mini also means I can add schedules to the thermostat allowing the Central Heating to be somewhat cost efficient even without the HA Server.
I should add that I am in the UK, so I also made my decision based on the fact that most plumbers will actually recommend Hive for smart heating making things less complicated when I need to have the boiler serviced or have other issues that I need to use a third-party for.
I’m not saying Hive is your only choice, but you should think off how you trigger the system to provide heat. The suggestion of the Sonoff NS Panel will mean you need to control the boiler in some other way.
Quick question about hive mini vs thermostat. With mini, you can still control the temperature in the hive app, if my home assistant integration goes down, isn’t it?
The difference between both as I understand it is in the physical device. You can schedule the heating, etc in the device in the thermostat but not in the mini, isn’t it?
Thermostat is just temperature controlled relay. If your temp is controlled otherwhere, you likely only need smart relay.
I don’t know your system, do some research. If you start boiler circulation pump with the “thermostat” but all valves are closed, it might cause failure/damage.
Keep in mind that in a modern, well-insulated home, there are hardly any differences between the different rooms, so your investments are unnecessary.
If there are differences in your home, you might be better off investing in additional insulation.
I have built passive houses and I still have to disagree. If you don’t have ventilation system that circulates the air, unheated room with door closed and big windows can have >5 deg C difference to some room in heated zone.
Yeah I considered that, but for example I only spend time in the room for sleeping, so I don’t really want to heat it up at the same pace as the living room for example.
Same happens with studios, I want it heated only while working, and the temp will be lowered in the weekends for example
My logic is that using smart valves will help me to save energy using this system, but it’s true I won’t know until I try it
I don’t use the Hive Hub and hence I do not use the Hive App.
The mini will only allow temperature control if the HA server goes down, whilst the hive thermostat will allow a basic schedule.
In essence I am using the Hive Thermostat as an On/Off switch for the boiler, so the suggestions for a simple relay would also work but it does mean if HA goes down you will turn on the boiler relay and leave it ON. Using the Thermostat means I can set a desired temperature on that and know that the boiler will only be On if it is below that temperature.
