1. HOW HEATING WORKS WITH HAUSMATE


Heating.png



Hardware required for heating solutions:

  • Relay Unit
  • Sensor Unit for temperature and humidity
  • Zone Gateway

Apps: 
The Hausmate system runs three apps for heating: 
  • The Heating Demand app monitors the temperature in each room using information from the sensor unit, hence it allows the user to control each room separately. The information about the current temperature is taken from the temperature sensor (located in the Sensor Unit) and displayed on the user interface. 
  • The Heating Supply app is used to deliver the heat and manage the boiler. It opens heating valves, energises pumps and fires the boiler, but in a way which maximises efficiency and prolongs the life of components in the system. It can control multiple heat sources and it supplies to the Hot Water Tank (HWT), if applicable.
  • Hot Water Tank (HWT) - Rather than simply heating a certain volume of water each day, it can use predictive intelligence to activate and manage the boiler when demand is high. 

Other apps that can be used together with the Heating App:
  • Planner - can be used to schedule in advance which rooms to warm up, when, and to what set point (For example, turn heating off on weekdays, before 5 pm)
  • Responses  -  an alert message can be send to the user if the heating systems's pressure drops below a certain level.


2. HOW TO USE THE HEATING 

As a Hausmate system user, you do not have to worry about dealing with any of the hardware involved in running the Heating, once the installation is completed and commissioned. The Relay Unit is placed near to the heating manifold or in the wiring center and  Sensor Units are on the ceiling of every room in the house.


Heating is controlled through the User Interface (UI), taking into account external and internal temperatures, as well as whether the house is occupied. It can be done by controlling a Zone directly or through the Planner.


To view the current temperature and heating status in a Zone: 
  • Log in to the UI -  click here if you need help to log in to the UI.
  • Click on the Zone you want to view
  • At the bottom of the page, click on the thermometer icon - this represents the Heating Control page
  • The page will display the current temperature on the left, the heating status icon (On/Off) to the right and below them the set point temperature 




To change the temperature in the Zone for a short period of time:

  • Swipe  the dial to turn the temperature up or down, as required
  • Specify the length of time the temperature adjustment should be active for
  • Click on SAVE


Through the Planner:
  • Heating can be set up according to different profiles (e.g. Day/ Night, Weekends etc). Here are more information about how to use the Planner.


To view information about the heating supply, heating demand, hot water:

  • On the Home Page, click on the menu button at the top left hand corner
  • Select Settings
  • At the top of the page, click on the arrow and select Heating Supply / Hot Water
  • The page will display information about the boiler temperatures, status of the boiler and valves (On/Off)
  • On the Heating Supply page, you can view the current boiler temperatures and status (On/ Off) and the status of each heating valve around the property
  • On the Hot Water page, you can view the current temperature of the  Drinking Hot Water (DHW) tank and chose the heating priority. Under Settings, you can change the DHW target temperature and the maximum period of time heating should be continuously on.

             


3. FAQ 

Q. The boiler is always heating the hot water and never heats the house.

A. The system prioritises the hot water before the space heating, as do most traditional heating systems.There are a number of possible causes as to why the hot water tank does not get to temperature, preventing the heating from coming on.

  • The boiler temperature being set below the hot water temperature. Ideally the boiler temperature is set at 65C and the DHW (Domestic Hot Water) tank is set to 60C. If the boiler is not set hot enough then the system keeps trying to heat the hot water but the hot water never reaches the required temperature - so it never switches over to the heating. Solution is to turn the boiler temperature to above the hot water tanks temperature setting (e.g. boiler at 65C, tank at 60C) or if this can not be seen, then full on. Ideally the boiler temperature is set at 65C, which is hot enough to sterilise the hot water tank, but not quite hot enough to scald someone. Sterilisation is required to prevent bacteria like Liegionella from growing in the tank and subsequently causing people to get ill. The hot water tank would then be set a few degrees cooler e.g. 60 to 62C
  • A heating valve has been set on using the manual over-ride. As the heating generally operates at a cooler temperature than the hot water tank this prevents the hot water tank reaching it's setpoint temperature, so the system keeps on trying to heat it. Solution is to turn off the valves manual over-ride.
  • Significant hot water is being used. If lots of hot water is being used then the boiler may not be able to heat the tank up to setpoint temperature as the hot water is being used and replaced with cold water. Possible causes of significant hot water use could be - multiple baths, a hot tap left running, a burst pipe...

 

Q. The hot water never reaches temperature.

A.See above - The boiler is always heating the hot water and never heats the house.

 

Q. Why does the screen show different temperatures to my hand held thermometer.

A. The Hausmate system measures the temperature of rooms using the Sensor Unit (SU). There are 2 types of sensor unit - 1. basic SU which only measures the temperature where the SU is located, 2. the standard sensor unit which measures the temperature at the SU and at a remote position using an infra-red thermometer. The temperature in a room can vary at different places within that room depending on heat producing objects and cold sources within that room. For example if the room has external walls these are generally colder than internal walls. Another factor is the type of heating used to heat the room - radiators, underfloor heating, warm air heating. For example, radiator heating heats the air directly which then rises to the ceiling, so a temperature sensor on the ceiling could be measuring a warm temperature whilst nearer the floor the temperature could be a lot cooler. Heat producing objects like electronic equipment (TV, HiFi) and kitchen equipment (oven, kettle, toaster, fridge) can also produce warm air that rises to the ceiling whilst the rest of the room is much cooler. This is why we use the infra-red thermometer as standard in rooms as it measures the temperature at the SU (normally at ceiling level) and also remotely using infrared (normally below ceiling level). If you have access to a thermometer gun (infrared thermometer generally available on Ebay for about £15.-) then measure the temperature in different places in the room - ceiling, wall at head-height, wall at knee height, floor. Try on internal and external walls as well. In many cases the temperature can vary by several degrees C within the same room. Note infrared thermometers do not work well on shiny objects e.g. glass, polished metal. So the temperature read from a hand-held thermometer measures the temperature where the thermometer is, and this may not be representative of the temperature throughout the whole room. If there is an offset between the actual room temperature and the temperature displayed on the Hausmate system then we can correct this offset. You will need to make a not of the actual temperature and the Hausmate displayed temperature so that we can calculate the difference and then set the offset in your system.

 

Q. Sometimes the heating heats some areas more than others or before heating others.

A. The Hausmate system is a control system which can efficiently control the services within your house. To do this the services need to be properly set up by the relevant commissioning engineer. If the heating is not balanced properly then one part of the house will always be heated first. In a standard 'wet' heating system that pumps heated water around radiators or under floor heating (UFH), the water will always take the easiest route back to the boiler, which is often the radiator or heating circuit nearest the boiler. Only once these 'easy' circuits have been turned off does the water then get pumped around the other radiators/heating circuits. If the system is properly 'balanced' by the commissioning engineer then all radiators/heating circuits are as easy as each other so there is no easy route for the water and they all heat up at the same time. If you have the symptoms described above then you need the commissioning engineer to balance your wet heating system.

 

Q. Some areas of the house never get to temperature in colder weather.

A. The Hausmate system is a control system which can efficiently control the services within your house. To do this the services need to be properly designed and commissioned by the relevant engineers. If the heating can not heat a room to the required temperature in colder weather but works fine in mild weather then the most ikely cause is that there is a problem with the design - either the room is loosing too much heat or the heating radiator/ under floor system is not powerful enough. The best coarse of action is to reduce the heat losses as this saves energy and cost - try looking for drafts and stopping them as a lot of heat is lost when warm air leaves the room and is replaced by cold air e.g. filling holes and cracks, ensuring windows are properly closed. Alternatively use extra insulation in the walls, floor and ceiling e.g. close curtains, put drapes up, add insulation to the walls. Check to see which part of the room is cold including ceilings and floors. If this does not work then try a more powerful heater. Note that under floor heating gives a very comfortable heat but is not normally very powerful so the room needs to be insulated. Also just because a ceiling/floor is internal to the building does not mean it will not be cold as older buildings have draft holes in the walls where the joists supporting the ceiling and floor go through the outside wall to support them, especially if it is a cavity wall.