EPH Ember

Officer Giggles · 05-01-2017 7:43pm #1

I've had three people out to quote for a boiler upgrade and when I mention smart thermostats and that I am leaning towards the Hive 2, a couple of them have suggested that the EPH Ember was the best solution

Anyone have any words of wisdom

bk · 05-01-2017 8:13pm

Never hear of it, seems to be a small British company. Not much info, doesn't seem to be well integrated with any other smart home systems.

I suspect the installers are getting a kick back to recommend it.

Officer Giggles · 05-01-2017 8:16pm

bk wrote: »

I suspect the installers are getting a kick back to recommend it.

My thoughts exactly

mneylon · 22-01-2017 2:05pm

They're an Irish company, based in Cork: http://www.ephcontrols.com/

Bluefoam · 22-01-2017 2:23pm

Blacknight wrote: »

They're an Irish company, based in Cork: http://www.ephcontrols.com/

They need to do some work on their presentation... I'd rather spend the extra on a nest than have that in my home...

There's allot of talented designers in Ireland that could do with the work.

LeBash · 22-01-2017 7:02pm

EPH deal through the trade. Chances are these guys have access to it easier and have probably worked with it before.

ibFoxer · 22-01-2017 11:26pm

Actually quite familiar with the company, deal with them for motorised valves, zone controls, etc. Boss put the ember stuff in his house during a refurb recently, it's okay, nothing to write home about, only app control so no integration (yet) with Alexa/GHome. To my mind the alternatives represent better value, i could get the ember stuff off them at slightly over cost through work but i'd be more inclined to go with an alternative myself.

Officer Giggles · 23-01-2017 12:04pm

ibFoxer wrote: »

Actually quite familiar with the company, deal with them for motorised valves, zone controls, etc. Boss put the ember stuff in his house during a refurb recently, it's okay, nothing to write home about, only app control so no integration (yet) with Alexa/GHome. To my mind the alternatives represent better value, i could get the ember stuff off them at slightly over cost through work but i'd be more inclined to go with an alternative myself.

Cheers

arikv · 05-03-2017 6:47pm

ibFoxer wrote: »

Actually quite familiar with the company, deal with them for motorised valves, zone controls, etc. Boss put the ember stuff in his house during a refurb recently, it's okay, nothing to write home about, only app control so no integration (yet) with Alexa/GHome. To my mind the alternatives represent better value, i could get the ember stuff off them at slightly over cost through work but i'd be more inclined to go with an alternative myself.

ibFoxer - Sorry to bump old thread.
For Ember, do you simply purchase ember Gateway plus new thermostats for each zone (I've 3 zones: up, down and hot water, plumbing redone in 2011)?

How about existing wired Channel programmer and Thermostats, do they all have to be replaced with eph kit?

Any idea of cost?

ibFoxer · 05-03-2017 7:33pm

arikv wrote: »

ibFoxer - Sorry to bump old thread.
For Ember, do you simply purchase ember Gateway plus new thermostats for each zone (I've 3 zones: up, down and hot water, plumbing redone in 2011)?

How about existing wired Channel programmer and Thermostats, do they all have to be replaced with eph kit?

Any idea of cost?

Only seeing this now- short answer is i'm not certain, but i can certainly find out and report back, i'll fire an email to the company tomorrow and see what they say.

arikv · 05-03-2017 7:43pm

ibFoxer wrote: »

Only seeing this now- short answer is i'm not certain, but i can certainly find out and report back, i'll fire an email to the company tomorrow and see what they say.

Thanks,
As far as I can see in their set up guide - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcIs3GjxZ5c
and their catalouge on Pages 17+22 - http://www.ephcontrols.com/contentfiles/07182016_AW1031_EPHControlsCatalogue_Email.pdf

I'll need a pack containing:
1 x Gateway - (PRODUCT CODE GW01)
1 x A PROGRAMMER (PRODUCT CODE CWP3E) - R37-RF
2 x Room thermostat - RFR
1 x Cylinder thermostat - RFC

ibFoxer · 05-03-2017 7:44pm

arikv wrote: »

Thanks,
As far as I can see in their set up guide - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcIs3GjxZ5c
and their catalouge on Pages 17+22 - http://www.ephcontrols.com/contentfiles/07182016_AW1031_EPHControlsCatalogue_Email.pdf

I'll need a pack containing:
1 x Gateway - (PRODUCT CODE GW01)
1 x A PROGRAMMER (PRODUCT CODE CWP3E) - R37-RF
2 x Room thermostat - RFR
1 x Cylinder thermostat - RFC

Cool, i'll see if i can get a price on them too, give you an idea at least.

arikv · 06-03-2017 9:24pm

ibFoxer wrote: »

Cool, i'll see if i can get a price on them too, give you an idea at least.

Thanks, would appreciate if you can get pricing for EPH Ember for 2 heating zones plus Hot Water.

LeChienMefiant · 25-03-2017 6:45pm

Did you get a price in the end?

arikv · 27-03-2017 9:59pm

I did - it's

GW01 €190
CWP3E €480- pack including CLOCK, 2 x RFR & 1 x RFC

LeChienMefiant · 27-03-2017 10:57pm

arikv wrote: »

I did - it's

GW01 €190
CWP3E €480- pack including CLOCK, 2 x RFR & 1 x RFC

Thanks. If I have a wired 3 zone system with two room stats and one cylinder stat does the while lot need to be replaced with RF? Its only 15 months old. I really should have shelled out then.

flyandrain · 17-11-2017 11:57am

LeChienMefiant wrote: »

Did you get a price in the end?

the price is not that expensive, just got a set from shop.

tandcapply · 17-11-2017 8:11pm

flyandrain wrote: »

the price is not that expensive, just got a set from shop.

What shop and how much did it cost you please?

flyandrain · 17-11-2017 9:27pm

tandcapply wrote: »

What shop and how much did it cost you please?

I've got the whole kit from a shop at Rialto, Very easy to replace them, and works very well, i do not think i am allowed to post the shop information, let me know if u need those the shop name and price.

WechatIMG84.jpeg

WechatIMG83.jpeg

Dickydogg · 22-11-2017 9:15pm

That’s exactly what I’m looking for. How much was the pack?

flyandrain · 22-11-2017 9:24pm

Dickydogg wrote: »

That’s exactly what I’m looking for. How much was the pack?

245 plus+VAT

Pique · 24-11-2017 11:38pm

arikv wrote: »

I did - it's

GW01 €190
CWP3E €480- pack including CLOCK, 2 x RFR & 1 x RFC

I just ordered the GW01 from Heiton Buckley at €100 + VAT (€123 total). Just got the controls upgraded but am adding the Ember functionality.

walshy123 · 30-12-2017 3:39pm

flyandrain wrote: »

I've got the whole kit from a shop at Rialto, Very easy to replace them, and works very well, i do not think i am allowed to post the shop information, let me know if u need those the shop name and price.

WechatIMG84.jpeg

WechatIMG83.jpeg

Could you pm me the shop name

john_doe. · 30-12-2017 6:10pm

flyandrain wrote: »

I've got the whole kit from a shop at Rialto, Very easy to replace them, and works very well, i do not think i am allowed to post the shop information, let me know if u need those the shop name and price.

WechatIMG84.jpeg

WechatIMG83.jpeg

how are you finding the ember ?

flyandrain · 30-12-2017 10:07pm

john_doe. wrote: »

how are you finding the ember ?

i think it is a great kit, i used that a lot for last a few days,

no issues so far

Pique · 30-12-2017 11:39pm

One thing about it though. You can't set different temps at different times of the day. You can set a temp and either have it maintain that temp all day or only maintain it during certain times, but you can only set one temp per zone. No way of having a lower temp during the night unless you have that zone off completely for example.

john_doe. · 31-12-2017 9:07pm

Pique wrote: »

One thing about it though. You can't set different temps at different times of the day. You can set a temp and either have it maintain that temp all day or only maintain it during certain times, but you can only set one temp per zone. No way of having a lower temp during the night unless you have that zone off completely for example.

Thanks , its probably a more basic level than nest etc but that said may be suited to people here. For someone who wants to have a programmable timer and remote control it seems quite good. Also given that I've seen it recommended by plumbers it may be easier to get support for afterward.

Pique · 31-12-2017 9:32pm

I upgraded from a single zone Netatmo to a 3 zone EPH setup and I'm very happy. I reckon the shortcoming regarding multiple temps could easily be resolved with an app update without any hardware changes.

The app is very clear and fairly understandable, but when you change settings, you need to save them in the 'sub window' before you OK them in the main window to return to the home screen (if that makes sense). Simply backing out of a window doesn't automatically save, nor does it prompt you to save.

The time clock functionality plus the temp driven option is nice, and the combo is a very nice option. For example, if you have upstairs set to be at 17C between 2200-0600 then the system will only read the temp during those times and only turn on the heating if the temp is below 17C.

I like it, and it's an Irish company so it's nice to support indigenous companies. My plumber was putting it in on his own behalf so it seems like something most of them are comfortable with. Pity the gateway for WiFi isn't included in the control panel as you need an extra box plugged into the wall for it currently.

matrim · 31-12-2017 9:37pm

If you use home-assistant the next version will include support for changing the temperature of a heating zone. So you could use that to change the target temperature based on time of day / status of you being home

john_doe. · 01-01-2018 12:13am

Pique wrote: »

I upgraded from a single zone Netatmo to a 3 zone EPH setup and I'm very happy. I reckon the shortcoming regarding multiple temps could easily be resolved with an app update without any hardware changes.

The app is very clear and fairly understandable, but when you change settings, you need to save them in the 'sub window' before you OK them in the main window to return to the home screen (if that makes sense). Simply backing out of a window doesn't automatically save, nor does it prompt you to save.

The time clock functionality plus the temp driven option is nice, and the combo is a very nice option. For example, if you have upstairs set to be at 17C between 2200-0600 then the system will only read the temp during those times and only turn on the heating if the temp is below 17C.

I like it, and it's an Irish company so it's nice to support indigenous companies. My plumber was putting it in on his own behalf so it seems like something most of them are comfortable with. Pity the gateway for WiFi isn't included in the control panel as you need an extra box plugged into the wall for it currently.

Thanks interesting article here from back in 2016 where they were looking at adding smart TRVs but looks like it didn't happen .
It's interesting product and Irish.
In between Nest, Honeywell Evo and Tado at moment.
Might be better getting something that's Irish and easier to find support for.

http://plumbingmag.com/ephember/

Ush1 · 01-01-2018 5:27pm

john_doe. wrote: »

Thanks interesting article here from back in 2016 where they were looking at adding smart TRVs but looks like it didn't happen .
It's interesting product and Irish.
In between Nest, Honeywell Evo and Tado at moment.
Might be better getting something that's Irish and easier to find support for.

http://plumbingmag.com/ephember/

Just to note they have no integration with Google home or Amazon echo. I emailed asking if it is something they are adding but got this reply:

"This is something we will be looking at when we finish developing the system,
We have 3 versions in our plan,
1 is to work with our timeclocks,
2 is to work with programmable thermostats, (currently working on this)
3 is to work with radiator controllers,

When all are completed we will be looking at ways to improve the app and integrate it with other apps perhaps to add value to the products,
Currently there isn't a lot of people with these devices in their homes so spending a large sum to add this function isn't feasible but over the next year or two this should change.

It would be listed in Updates for the app if this functionality becomes available"

Seems a strange answer, think there is quite a few people with them in their homes now.

I tried setting up home assistant for integration but couldn't get it working, too much effort.

john_doe. · 01-01-2018 6:40pm

Ush1 wrote: »

Just to note they have no integration with Google home or Amazon echo. I emailed asking if it is something they are adding but got this reply:

"This is something we will be looking at when we finish developing the system,
We have 3 versions in our plan,
1 is to work with our timeclocks,
2 is to work with programmable thermostats, (currently working on this)
3 is to work with radiator controllers,

When all are completed we will be looking at ways to improve the app and integrate it with other apps perhaps to add value to the products,
Currently there isn't a lot of people with these devices in their homes so spending a large sum to add this function isn't feasible but over the next year or two this should change.

It would be listed in Updates for the app if this functionality becomes available"

Seems a strange answer, think there is quite a few people with them in their homes now.

I tried setting up home assistant for integration but couldn't get it working, too much effort.

Ya from their point of view I suppose they could be right from business standpoint . Most home don't have Google Amazon etc or if do prob only got them for Xmas. Maybe another year would see them more prevalent.

Be nice to see a timeline for these controllers as that article I linked was back in 2016 or how many users is out there.

I'm prob in between this and the Evo from Honeywell. The Evo seems a complete solution. However on a cold winter night when something goes wrong would like to be able to ring a local plumber who seem to understand these EPH devices and install them.

Drawback on EPH for me anyway is :
No Smart TRVs
Fear that it is not that well established and will have some bugs that could take long time to get fixed or also might drop out of the market.

There are a lot of "smart heating solutions " out there but none I can see that are that fantastic.

If Nest came with Smart TRVs it prob would be close. It's widespread ,easy to use , integrates well has regular updates.

The Honeywell comes close but again the controller looks outdated , has poor battery on it and it seems to be in a maintenance mode for updates.

Tado again impressive but handing control completely to cloud services wouldnt be for me.

Bacchus · 02-01-2018 4:18pm

Another EPH Ember user here. It's a good system. It is in no way "smart" but the app is handy (especially when out of home) and the main in-home controller is easy to use. I mostly use the app though to setup schedules. It would be great though if they added a few things like being able to set different temps for different times of the day. Smart TRVs would be also be welcome as the existing TRVs don't really let you do much except reduce the heat going to other rooms, which is a pain for downstairs because the thermostat for that zone is in the warmest part of the house.

john_doe. · 02-01-2018 4:34pm

Bacchus wrote: »

Another EPH Ember user here. It's a good system. It is in no way "smart" but the app is handy (especially when out of home) and the main in-home controller is easy to use. I mostly use the app though to setup schedules. It would be great though if they added a few things like being able to set different temps for different times of the day. Smart TRVs would be also be welcome as the existing TRVs don't really let you do much except reduce the heat going to other rooms, which is a pain for downstairs because the thermostat for that zone is in the warmest part of the house.

Thanks good to know and would share the smae thoughts.

I assume the existing TrVs are the manual ones?
Maybe Smart TRVs could be used separately to switch on and off zones or at least set the temp from an app. Not ideal but would get around problem let's say of having an unoccupied room on certain days where you wanted to knock off the heat too

Wondering why u ended up going for the Ember also ?

Bacchus · 03-01-2018 10:13am

john_doe. wrote: »

Thanks good to know and would share the smae thoughts.

I assume the existing TrVs are the manual ones?
Maybe Smart TRVs could be used separately to switch on and off zones or at least set the temp from an app. Not ideal but would get around problem let's say of having an unoccupied room on certain days where you wanted to knock off the heat too

Wondering why u ended up going for the Ember also ?

Two reasons... 1. Recommended by plumber and with the 3 zones + TRVs it worked out a better deal than Nest. 2. I'm not convinced the Nest systems are mature yet. On the functionality side, I occasionally (over the past year) have heard co-workers moaning about something their system won't let them do or did wrong (basically the intelligence getting in the way of what they want to set the heating to). On the security side, I'm not a fan of the Nest knowing if you're in/out in order to manage heating. I get that this is good for efficiency but security in IoT isn't exactly robust.

I will probably move to such a system (maybe a 4th/5th gen) as there are some significant advantages to be had and my reasons against aren't massive deal-breakers... but it just wasn't the right choice last year when we replaced the boiler. If Ember can add more functionality over the next few years, they might keep me as a customer but otherwise I can see myself switching to Nest within the next 5 years.

Bacchus · 09-01-2018 1:05pm

Has anyone tried to use this component on Home Assistant?

https://home-assistant.io/components/climate.ephember/

I don't have HA, but I'm considering getting it as an umbrella controller for all my smart stuff. I came across that component and am thinking that it'd be cool if you could use that to allow Google Home to turn on/off heating or set up smart location based or weather based rules.

matrim · 09-01-2018 1:10pm

Bacchus wrote: »

Has anyone tried to use this component on Home Assistant?

https://home-assistant.io/components/climate.ephember/

I don't have HA, but I'm considering getting it as an umbrella controller for all my smart stuff. I came across that component and am thinking that it'd be cool if you could use that to allow Google Home to turn on/off heating or set up smart location based or weather based rules.

I wrote that component. It's currently limited and only reports the temperature and allows you to turn on the boost (For 1 hour). I have it setup with an IFTTT applet that sends a webhook to my HA instance that allows me to use google assistant to boost the heat. I can also use the google assistant component to query the current temperature and if the heating is on / off.

I've a pull request in for the next version of HA to allow setting the temperature for a zone so the next version should allow me to use google assistant to change the target temperature.

Dub_Jim_Royle · 16-01-2018 10:30pm

Bacchus wrote: »

Another EPH Ember user here. It's a good system. It is in no way "smart" but the app is handy (especially when out of home) and the main in-home controller is easy to use. I mostly use the app though to setup schedules. It would be great though if they added a few things like being able to set different temps for different times of the day. Smart TRVs would be also be welcome as the existing TRVs don't really let you do much except reduce the heat going to other rooms, which is a pain for downstairs because the thermostat for that zone is in the warmest part of the house.

Hi, just wanted to know if this can simply replace a timer clock that I have on the gas boiler. I don't need temp or rad control, just remote wifi on/off on the boiler via the app.
Also what kind of price do you know?

Thanks

Bacchus · 17-01-2018 11:51am

Dub_Jim_Royle wrote: »

Hi, just wanted to know if this can simply replace a timer clock that I have on the gas boiler. I don't need temp or rad control, just remote wifi on/off on the boiler via the app.
Also what kind of price do you know?

Thanks

Hey, we had a clusterf*ck of timers (digital and analogue) that had been added over time. We replaced all that with just one Ember controller and it works fine. I don't think there was any issue with it. As for price, I'm sorry I can't recall. We got it installed when we got our boiler replaced and also added TRVs... so I can't remember the breakdown in cost off hand.

Pretty sure they have a range of controllers available to suit budgets/features. A more basic model might fit your requirement of just on/off and wifi.

The devils · 08-03-2018 8:25pm

Hi guys I have a new boiler with r27 eph controller and 2 celect stats. Do you think I would be able to use ember hub on my system ?

Standard Toaster · 09-03-2018 2:27am

The devils wrote: »

Hi guys I have a new boiler with r27 eph controller and 2 celect stats. Do you think I would be able to use ember hub on my system ?

You won't, you'd want the R27-RF programmer.

https://www.ephcontrols.com/section/2-zone-programmer/

I have the R47 one myself and wanted to do the same. I may upgrade it at some point for the R47-RF

gally74 · 09-03-2018 6:16am

Standard Toaster wrote: »

You won't, you'd want the R27-RF programmer.

https://www.ephcontrols.com/section/2-zone-programmer/

I have the R47 one myself and wanted to do the same. I may upgrade it at some point for the R47-RF

I spoke to them yesterday and am going to go with them, their tech support was a1,

The devils · 09-03-2018 8:55pm

Standard Toaster wrote: »

You won't, you'd want the R27-RF programmer.

https://www.ephcontrols.com/section/2-zone-programmer/

I have the R47 one myself and wanted to do the same. I may upgrade it at some point for the R47-RF

Tks for the quick reply standard toaster ðŸ˜Š
Why are you going for the r47 rf?
I'm just wondering...I have only 2 stats upstairs and down...my water is not on the boiler it's a thermo unit.

Standard Toaster · 10-03-2018 1:57am

The devils wrote: »

Tks for the quick reply standard toaster ðŸ˜Š
Why are you going for the r47 rf?
I'm just wondering...I have only 2 stats upstairs and down...my water is not on the boiler it's a thermo unit.

House has 4 zones; water, living area, bedroom area & upstairs. Solar/stove/Firebird & electric setup. It was only after the plumber had finished did I realise there's a smart element to the eph. Only the RF programmers will work with the eph hub, and by extension the app.

I'll get around to fitting it myself, should be a straightforward swap.

The devils · 11-03-2018 12:10am

Standard Toaster wrote: »

House has 4 zones; water, living area, bedroom area & upstairs. Solar/stove/Firebird & electric setup. It was only after the plumber had finished did I realise there's a smart element to the eph. Only the RF programmers will work with the eph hub, and by extension the app.

I'll get around to fitting it myself, should be a straightforward swap.

I'm just wondering if I was to buy the 27 rf and other bits to go with it, could I get 2 hard wired stats that would work the same as the wireless ones..it just I have two wired celect stats already their and that it would be better or handy to just upgrade these to eph ??
Cheers

gally74 · 11-03-2018 9:51pm

The devils wrote: »

I'm just wondering if I was to buy the 27 rf and other bits to go with it, could I get 2 hard wired stats that would work the same as the wireless ones..it just I have two wired celect stats already their and that it would be better or handy to just upgrade these to eph ??
Cheers

Give them a call their in cork

Standard Toaster · 12-03-2018 3:15pm

The devils wrote: »

I'm just wondering if I was to buy the 27 rf and other bits to go with it, could I get 2 hard wired stats that would work the same as the wireless ones..it just I have two wired celect stats already their and that it would be better or handy to just upgrade these to eph ??
Cheers

gally74 wrote: »

Give them a call their in cork

Agreed, give them a buzz. Their support is meant to be great.

dnme · 12-03-2018 7:45pm

Hi all,

I had a new EPH hard wired controller installed a year ago. I decided to upgrade it myself to the RF model. I went to my local wholesalers and ordered the RF programmer kit. This includes a new programmer, a gateway and two new thermostats. One for my rads zone and one for the hot water.

I replaced the programmer first. I was hoping the back plate (the bit that all the wires connect to) would be common but it was not. So I had to remove that and then connect up the new back plate. I mounted the new plate and programmer. I then plugged in the gateway and followed the instructions to get everything talking.

I downloaded the app, connected it and everything just worked flawlessly.
I left the original hardwired stats in place. They seem to work fine.

I'm wondering do the new rf stats give me any extra features that the hardwired stats dont?

john_doe. · 10-09-2018 7:35pm

Sorry to drag up an old thread.

Just wondering is the restriction still there in EPH Ember that you can only set one temperature a day.

Also how have folks that installed it find it to use? Has anyone moved away to another system

mneylon · 11-09-2018 11:34am

john_doe. wrote: »

Sorry to drag up an old thread.

Just wondering is the restriction still there in EPH Ember that you can only set one temperature a day.

Also how have folks that installed it find it to use? Has anyone moved away to another system

That restriction is still there unfortunately.

john_doe. · 11-09-2018 2:28pm

Blacknight wrote: »

That restriction is still there unfortunately.

Thanks for that .

How do you find the system otherwise?

EPH Ember

Comments