Smart air vents

jmBuildExt

Hi,
Anyone got any recommendations for smart air vents?

Would be particularly interested in something who's protocol has already been hacked - I like to keep everything within my own network (so as not to rely on any company's cloud), Im using raspberry pi with a few personal proprietary hacks (like the sound of open hab though) for other things.... but interested in any opinions/experiences at all.

Thanks.

Dardania

smart air vents?
what are you trying to do?

jmBuildExt

Sense the humidity, open the vent if its too high. close it again when it drops.
There are ones (aereco) that will do it automatically (i.e. the humidity sensor is built in) but im just looking to explore all options (i.e. find the cheapest)

Dardania

okay, gotcha. Why do you need any electronics at all? The Aereco ones (which I have) are based on a piece of nylon - no power hookup etc.

There are also ones from vent axia I think called freshvent that open shut based on external temperature - frankly wish I installed those instead. Again, all manual / self standing.

Where you could get clever with electronics is with extract ventilation, and how to control it

jmBuildExt

Dardania wrote: »

okay, gotcha. Why do you need any electronics at all? The Aereco ones (which I have) are based on a piece of nylon - no power hookup etc.

There are also ones from vent axia I think called freshvent that open shut based on external temperature - frankly wish I installed those instead. Again, all manual / self standing.

Where you could get clever with electronics is with extract ventilation, and how to control it

At the moment, the plan is to go with the Aereco ones (architect's plan), I'm just exploring other options. (Its a renovation of 3 bed semi)
Specifically for the reason you mention... as far as i know aereco don't take temperature into account.
e.g. if its baltic outside I might want to have the humidity threshold for the vent opening, a little higher. Or just simply over ride them all together from my phone.
I have a few xiaomi humidity sensors lying around anyway, and i've various temp sensors too.


We have aereco extraction system specced for the kitchen, utility and bathrooms. Havent looked into that much yet...

Dardania

Then maybe check into the Vent Axia Freshvents for the air inlets, in conjunction with the Aereco for extract

I'm living close to the Baltic itself at the moment, and they all use a similar concept here (temp controlled inlet, constant pressure exhaust) - works quite well.

If you do go with the Aereco system for the inlets, one mitigating factor would be to arrange the position of the vent or the furniture in the room so that you don't perceive a draught...for instance in my child's bedroom in Dublin, the air inlet is on other side of room to the bed, so no issues, whereas in the main bedroom, it's right at my wife's side of the bed!

Are you fitting decent heating controls e.g. Nest, zones, TRVs etc.? And happy enough to let the heating controls do the thinking for you rather than manually switching on/off the boiler?

jmBuildExt

Cheers...Just having a look at the specs for the freshvents ... the thermo ones sound better than the aereco jobbies alright - more like what i want.
Going to look up the prices.

Good shout re the positioning - must look at the plans to see where he has them positioned.

We are getting a combi boiler. Again - I haven't looked into heat controllers but yes i will be looking at using something like nest.

Dardania

Combi boiler good - less thinking about setting up DHW timers etc.
With the nest et. al. - it's great as it learns your needs and preferences for heat, and just does it without you needing to think about it - to me that is the essence of a smart home - I don't have to care about heating it or ventilating it - it will figure itself out. Just bear in mind TRVs on the radiators in rooms that won't have nest - to prevent overheating

Dardania

Oh, and the point I'm making by asking about the heating controls and strategy etc. is that is a very good way to manage relative humidity (getting back to your original problem which is humidity control) in conjunction with ventilation.

nigwerwig

I'm really interested in some smart vents the back of my house gets hit with strong winds and the rooms are all ways cold. I understand I need vents but smarter ones would be great.

Il look into the two above is there any newer ones to look at

Stoner

I popped in a nice vent with it's own humidity sensor I added a sonoff to the switch wire to it and have it running 4 times a day for 10 minutes


Alternatively the Sonoff could be the larger unit with the humidity sensor added

Ush1

Stoner wrote: »

I popped in a nice vent with it's own humidity sensor I added a sonoff to the switch wire to it and have it running 4 times a day for 10 minutes


Alternatively the Sonoff could be the larger unit with the humidity sensor added

Sounds interesting, which vents did you use?

Stoner

Xpelair

Stoner

Xpelair

scorn

Stoner wrote: »

I popped in a nice vent with it's own humidity sensor I added a sonoff to the switch wire to it and have it running 4 times a day for 10 minutes

Would you use these in a bedroom?

Stoner wrote: »

Xpelair

If you did use these in a bedroom can you post a link to the one you would recommend? The ones I see are for bathrooms - but perhaps that's ok.

Stoner

That's fine . I got a quiet one to fit the ducting I have.

There are no issues with using them in bedrooms

paulbok

Stoner wrote: »

That's fine . I got a quiet one to fit the ducting I have.

There are no issues with using them in bedrooms

Is there a model that can move air in both directions?
For a bedroom it would need to blow fresh air in as well as extract.

Stoner

I got a C4HTR
4"/100mm extractor fan

Himidisat/timer

Product no 92967AW

2 speed extract rate 15 l/s and 21 l/s

I'm happy with it. I'd a particular requirement for fitting so that influenced my decision.

I got the circular one.

You should find the PDF for all products on their site, have a look to see if they have a change of direction unit

ted1

Stoner wrote: »

I got a C4HTR
4"/100mm extractor fan

Himidisat/timer

Product no 92967AW

2 speed extract rate 15 l/s and 21 l/s

I'm happy with it. I'd a particular requirement for fitting so that influenced my decision.

I got the circular one.

You should find the PDF for all products on their site, have a look to see if they have a change of direction unit

Does it have to be ceiling mount or can you stick it where the hole in the wall vent is ?
What’s the wiring. , permenant live with a switched live from the light (+neutral) ?

Stoner

ted1 wrote:

Does it have to be ceiling mount or can you stick it where the hole in the wall vent is ? What’s the wiring. , permenant live with a switched live from the light (+neutral) ?

This one is wall or ceiling mounted

The catalogue has this info for all the fans

Correct on the wiring.

Again check the catalogue. If I was mounting it on a wall I might get a different one with a longer back etc, their are ones that have better vents for auto closing etc.

I wanted "silent" performance and that "ghost" circulation feature

paulbok

Stoner wrote: »

I got a C4HTR
4"/100mm extractor fan

Himidisat/timer

Product no 92967AW

2 speed extract rate 15 l/s and 21 l/s

I'm happy with it. I'd a particular requirement for fitting so that influenced my decision.

I got the circular one.

You should find the PDF for all products on their site, have a look to see if they have a change of direction unit

Cheers for the info
I've ordered a C4S silent fan for the bathroom, existing fan wrecks everyone's head, esp at night. will try and add a sonoff switch when changing after it arrives and can link it to HA then.
I have seen 2 way vents somewhere, with heat recovery, but they are very pricey.
will look at their catalogue again.

digitaldr

Not a vent but I fitted a Vent-Axia Svara lo-Carbon fan for the in-laws and it solved their bathroom condensation problems. It works best with a permanent live and has humidity, light and motion sensors. Extremely quiet and everything is adjustable via Bluetooth and a very polished app. For instance you can set light/humidity thresholds, fan speed, cut off time, trickle mode, silent hours, scheduled running etc. The fan portion is removable for cleaning. Also a great solution if you have hue lights & motion sensor in the bathroom.

Ebay is by far the cheapest place to pick one up - not sure you'd have warranty cover though.

Stoner

digitaldr wrote:

Not a vent but I fitted a

Nice job

ted1

digitaldr wrote: »

Not a vent but I fitted a Vent-Axia Svara lo-Carbon fan for the in-laws and it solved their bathroom condensation problems. It works best with a permanent live and has humidity, light and motion sensors. Extremely quiet and everything is adjustable via Bluetooth and a very polished app. For instance you can set light/humidity thresholds, fan speed, cut off time, trickle mode, silent hours, scheduled running etc. The fan portion is removable for cleaning. Also a great solution if you have hue lights & motion sensor in the bathroom.

Ebay is by far the cheapest place to pick one up - not sure you'd have warranty cover though.

Seems to be very open. Don’t think I’d fancy having such a big hole in the wall.
What’s it like in real life ?

digitaldr

No complaints from the mother-in-law which is saying something!

Stoner

paulbok wrote:

Think it's just a ceiling fan, not a vent.

Looks like it's covering over an ope to extract in the video

Looks the business from a control perspective

How much was it ?