I have just started my personal domotica project. As a first step I am mainly interested in optimizing the energy consumption by automating my heating system.
I want to be able to control each room in the house as a separate zone.
I also want to be able to write information per zone to a data store about the requested temperature, the actual temperature and if the zone was in use. This information should give met the possibility to do an analysis on how often a room is heated without use to come to a further optimization.
Therefore I have searched the internet for existing hard and software solutions.
The most affordable solutions I have found so far are:
FHZxxxxPC + FHT80B + FHT8V + IP-Symcon
Homematic + HM-CC-TC + HM-CC-VD + IP-Symcon
I cannot however find a clear statement whether I should take the extra cost for the homematic CCU over the more price attractive first option. Is there someone out there who can list me de pros and cons for the Homematic CCU over the FHZxxxxPC interface? What are the crucial differences I should know about to be able to choose one for the other?
Or are there other solutions I should have a look at? I already found other solutions but they mostly are much more expensive or limited in functionality or flexibility.
Greetings,
Willy
Note: Answers can be in German, Only my writing in German is bad
Hi,
I’ll give it a try in english:
I started with both systems knowing that I will only work with one of them. After only 3 or 4 weeks I decided I would go with the Homematic system.
In my opinion the bidirectional system has just about 100% accuracy if you are in a reasonable range (in my case, the whole house including my neighbor and even his neighbor oO). The FS20 parts I tried didn’t even get close to that. (even 2 Floors between two Parts and the accuracy went down to 50-70%)
One more point is usability. On FS20 you have to work with some annoying 4 and 8 digit codes. Homematic is a little bit more intuitive (doesn’t mean that it’s really intuitive). BUT FS20 is more versatile. There are more interesting parts out there. One possibility would be to use best out of both worlds. I was too annoyed by FS20 configuration that I’m only using Homematic at the moment. Last but not least: Homematic can be used autonomous, no Comuter except the CCU base station has to be running. That gives you extra safety!
I don’t have any experience with the FS20 system. But I am operating the Homematic for more then one year in my house.
I started with a set of the HM-CC-TC + HM-CC-VD, and a door contact mounted to the window in our toilet. Most probably you know the problem of not closing the heating when opening the window. The same set is installed (2x VD) in my son’s room. Kids leave their room’s open and all the heat goes to dev nul. I’m sure both installations are saving a lot of money. They ran autonomous and needed to be configured locally.
While being expensive the CCU is a must to build an integrated system, be it on IPS or a different solution. CCU gives remote control and supervision (e.g. emptying batteries or blocking valves). And CCU can (when you configure it) supervise the whole HM system when IPS is down for some reason.
Today I am running nearly all available products from the Homematic family including remotes, switches, weather and so on. IPS migrates the Homematic with 1-wire for weather, IR-Trans for the home AV, ProJet for cistern control, web services.
If you can afford to buy the HomeMatic components -> Do it.
The FHT80b’s are known to be very difficult sometimes. Just search the german forum to see how many problems users have. You do not want to be one of them
Thanks, Pollibus, jhobrlant and paresy for your quick responses.
I indeed did read the articles about the FHTs on the forum. I am convinced now it is better to make a clean start with the newer technology -> So go for the homematic CCU and components.
I also confirm this is the right choice, if you consider only these two systems. There are other wireless solutions out there but definitely bidirectional is a must.
I would not say it is 100% reliable but at least you always know if the signal has been received.
The key to making big savings on your home energy bills is to view your home as a living energy system with individual parts that affect each other.
For example, if you install energy efficient double glazed windows and loft insulation, when it’s time to replace your boiler and heating system, you may be able to manage with a smaller one that costs less, because the windows and walls will retain the heated air inside better than a home without efficient windows and insulation. And because heating makes up the majority of your energy bills, you’ll save the most money by reducing your heating needs.
Applying energy saving improvements in your home will not only make your home more comfortable, but can also deliver long-term financial rewards. Permanently lower energy bills will more than make up for the higher cost of installing energy efficient appliances and improvements.
