Installer for Honeywell EVOHome

Got the new boiler/Honeywell system installed by Electric Ireland roughly a month or so ago, and still finding my way around how the system works.

I find there can be a delay of 5 or more minutes if I turn on/off the hot water or a radiator via the app. At one stage when I tried to turn on a certain radiator, after 10 minutes I ended up having to turn it on manually.

Recently I keep getting signed out of the app on my phone when I try use it, pain having to log in as it does not save username/password.

Also find the main control unit does not last more than 5 minutes without having to put it back on its charging cradle (even after buying new rechargeable batteries).

And finally, we lost our internet today (due to outside maintenance) and therefore lost control of our heating.

Conn2012 wrote: »

What was the cost and house size please? Looking to get done myself, boiler/evohome.. Was there much choice in boilers to select from? The seai grants and electric Ireland incentives are very good..

Did you go for any insulation?

Did u query this delay issue with EI or is it just how it is?

With all the grants it cost roughly €2700 spread out over 12 months interest free, which included a new boiler that had to be relocated (Ideal Logic) and 9 rads plus hot water. After our initial query to EI they sent out an assessor who gives you a written quote that includes grants and if you agree you are given an installation date, very pain-free.

The lad who installed the system said there could be a delay of up to 6 minutes between making a change and the system picking it up and activating, but that can be hit or miss I find.

Did not go for any insulation but the installer informed we should receive a visit from BER representatives to get a new BER rating due to this new system.

Conn2012 wrote: »

Yes, from what I understand seai grant requires a new ber cert, for each application..

That price seems a bit high ? - The seai grant is 700eur and EI grant/credit is 460eur. You obviously got a few quotes?

This price included a TRV for each rad? - Did u get a separate thrmostat or anything for any rooms ? ( Seen some reviews that the TRV`s on rads are not so accurate. As they are literally on the heat source and room temp may not have actually reached desired temp.)

Is the ideal boiler the only one available in EI package or did you have any choice to select another model?

Quote was from EI, included TRV for each rad and 3 separate thermostats where the TRV on the rad was covered by curtains or couch and would not give an accurate temperature reading.

Had no choice in boiler.

I am in Cork City and considering Evohome also in a 30 year old house with single zone. 
Looking for an installer or SEAI reg plumber to work with me on this. PM me with contact detail
I upgraded the boiler a few years ago but still only have programmed timer. I also have solar for summer hot water.
I looked at the evohome shop and they are competitive in price but I still need a SEAI reg installer to sign off on it. I can get the grant for smart controls and also entitled to top up grant as this would be my third measure. Roughly €900.  I already have TRVs on all my rads but they have been installed at different times and a selection of makes. 
For my install I need  a WiFi Connected controller, Relay switch for boiler,  12 TRV controllers, Hot water kit and 2 room thermostat kits for kick plate forced air rads. About £1100 plus shipping. 
The changing of the valve heads should only be a DIY task provided they are compatible. Otherwise it could need the change of the valve body. Do the heads come with a selection of adapters?
The relays for the boiler, hot water and kick plate heaters will need a qualified person to install. 
I will eventually integrate this with some sort of  smart home but not decided on GH or Alexa. Looking to bring in smart light switches to the mix.
Would welcome any comments and suggestions. Hoping to have this completed by Xmas.

Benian

Thanks for the feedback. I agree that the Tado TRVs are much neater and come with adapters which should be a bonus.
A question on your install, how are you measuring the water temperature in the HW Cylinder, if that is what you have. 
I could use an extension kit to control the motorized valve for the HW. but would need to have a feed back of the actual water temperature.

Initial  check on prices from Tado would make this more expensive with 12 rads, thermostat kit and 2 extensions. I would probably need two more thermostats to control the plinth heaters. 
I will research this a bit more. before taking the plunge and check prices.

Prochida

I'm not. There is a thermostat wired into the hot water cylinder that keeps it about 65 but this isnt fed back to the Tado, but it does support it. My hot water setup in Tado essentially acts as an on/off switch.

Thanks Benian

Strange that the thermostat for HW is not fed back to something. 

I have  a motorized valve operated by the thermostat in the HW tank to limit the temperature from the heating circuit to 65 deg. I also have Solar HW which provides HW using a separate coil. This has two additional thermostats to control it. 

My goal is to have the option to heat hot water only without heating any rads. In other words two zones. This should satisfy the SEAI for the grant. The way the plumbing was installed 30 years ago would make it challenging to re-plumb a separate HW circuit back to the boiler without breaking through walls. 

Thinking about  it, at a basic level I only need  the rad thermostats as I can leave the control of the cylinder as is with the existing powered thermostat but this would not send a "call for heat" to the boiler. Likewise once the water is heated there would not be a feedback to shut down the boiler. Granted the boiler itself would idle with return flow temperature similar to output temperature but this would not be good for the boiler. Or am I missing something?

I will put a call in to Tado next week when I have time and see there technical solution to this. I still have to consider the controlling of the "wet" plinth heaters in addition to the 12 rads.

Will see what black Friday brings

beya2009 wrote: »

With the Honeywell evohome Radiator HR924UK, are you able to just choose the rooms you use regularly to have them installed or every radiator in the house must have one for entire system to work? Their pricey that's for sure.

In theory yes. You control each room as needed. Only when one rad controller decides it needs heat does it fire up the boiler.
You could get away with some rads left uncontrolled. Eg the bathroom where you usually always want heat. In that case when a controlled rad calls or hot water Cal's for heat, those other rads will get warm as well. If you have a manual trv on them you still have options for some control.
I have all my rads except three in the hallway with Honeywell trvs. I left this on purpose so when the water gets too hot from a solid fuel stove, it has somewhere to dissipate.
And you are right, it is pricey, but you don't have to get them all at once, add one every so often to spread the cost.

beya2009 wrote: »

Thanks Paul that was very helpful. One last question and this is probably the reason I don't think Honeywell will be compatible. I was thinking of getting this value pack (Honeywell evohome Wi-Fi Connected Value Pack A) as it would have everything required to get it installed but I noticed the controller uses wifi (ATC928G3000 evohome Wi-Fi Connected Controller). Problem is we live out in the country and we have a very weak phone line so we only have a 2mb broadband with sky but we average around 1.2mb.

Sometimes during the day the connection will drop (doesn't happen often during the day but I think when it gets below 1mb and probably because too many devices in use or something). When connection drops the connection is extremely slow in that loading up web pages takes time. Also the 3rd landing which has 2 rooms and a bathroom doesn't get wifi signal as router is by the kitchen downstairs but that's probably easy to fix with a WiFi Range Extender but it's the slow connection I think is the big problem. It's an investment I think might not be worth it if it solely relies on wifi. Any thoughts?

Your broadband service only is required if you are trying to access the system via an app when away from the house, otherwise it works on your internal WiFi network. You may need to invest in a few extenders to cover all your house, but you'd probably want that for general use aside from the heating.

Tom123 wrote: »

I have just purchased the full kit from evohome shop in the UK as they were 10% off last week.

Controller, hot water kit and 12 TRVs for €1k.

I was hoping to self install but after reading this thread I am getting worried!

Can anyone recommend an installer for me to get a price?

Do you already have manaul trvs on the radiators?
If so you can install those your self so all you will need is an electrician to wire up the relay and the control panel (battery life is useless on it)
If not you will need a plumber to drain down the radiators system and change the valves to regular manual trvs (approx €15 each in a hardware shop).

Tom123 wrote: »

Thanks that is really good advise will try and find a good electrican to do the wiring for the relay, control panel and hot water cylinder

I have manual TRV on all the radiators at the moment so should be a simpler job to replace them.

Any other advise on setting up the system?

For the trvs, there are a number of adapters that came with each controller, but you probably won't need any as the default connection seems to be the most common. Simple as unscrewing the existing top, screwing on the new wheel with the control pin, then clipping on the actual controller and pairing it (can be done first, doesn't need to be fitted to do so).
One thing I would do differently on my set up is to locate the controller in the hallway instead of in the living room. The controller can also be used as a room thermostat, have one on the living room rad, so would have been useful in the hall as I don't have one there. Not essential, as the rads in the hall have no controllers, but if the hall did get colder than any of the other rooms it could turn on the heat. On the flip side, my toddler would love to get at it in the hallway as she plays there. Can keep an eye in it better where it is.

The hot water kit comes with a probe to go into the tank and a thermostat that goes on to the side of the tank. I used the thermostat, easier to fit, though I did have to cut the insulation to allow it sit on the metal of the tank.

If anyone has any suggestions for an installer please PM me.

Could I get an electrican to wire it up and a plumber to change the valves then bind it myself?

paulbok wrote: »

Your broadband service only is required if you are trying to access the system via an app when away from the house, otherwise it works on your internal WiFi network. You may need to invest in a few extenders to cover all your house, but you'd probably want that for general use aside from the heating.

Just to clarify Honeywell uses its own Internal "Wifi" to Communicate between its Components and is seperate and not compatabile with Normal Internet Wifi it only uses normal WiFi Internet Connection for Firmware updates and Remote Control via App or Browser and of course "Alexa"

Also Range Extenders are not available for Evohome Components

prochida wrote: »

I put this on the back burner (pardon the pun) but was looking at the idea again. Of my 12 TRVs 11 would need adapters or a change the valve body.

The evohome shop has a sale with a saving of £200 on the kit I need


I was in contact with Electric Ireland and they werre not very interested but said they would not use 28 m cx 30 mm adapters but would change the valves. Their quote over the phone was outragous.

So I am back to suggestions of a installer in the Cork/munster area. I can then weigh up the benefit of using adapters or changing the valves.

If somebody could PM details of any installers familiar with the Evohome I would much appreciate it.

Thanks

As A Very Satisfied Evohome User I would advise you to approach this from 2 Different Points of View

The Plumbing and the Control

If you are going to the expense of Installing Evohome Then your TRV Valve bodies are very important for the future error-free running of the system any cheap or non compatible valve bodies will cause you problems as they will stick or not have linear stroke etc

To alleviate this I would replace ALL TRV Valves with Honeywell Valencia Bodies a very Simple Job for any Plumber or you could do it yourself if you are confident enough with the 200 you are saving you could purchase 12 new Valve Bodies You Don't have to do this but using adaptors has caused problems for other users as can be seen by posts on other forums and I know other Valves will work but if you are installing new It is a great time to get everything as good as possible

You may not need 12 HR92 Valve heads as usually One or 2 Rads are left as Bypass Rads either in Hall or Bathroom

Heres a Link to ones I think are Great for EVO

https://theevohomeshop.co.uk/radiator-valve-bodies/47-honeywell-valencia-v120-15a-manual-radiator-valve-15mm-angled.html

Once you have your Valves and Plumbing correct then its fairly easy to install EVO

You can Place all HR92 Heads yourself and Bind them and only get Electrician to wire Boiler Demand Relay

But get you Basic Valves right first to have many years of EVO Trouble free

As regards Heating Control IMHO No other System can touch it as far as Multi-Room Controls concerned and that EVOhome Shop Offer is a great deal at the moment

XL500

regedit wrote: »

We live in a new build concrete home (A3 BER). Downstairs, we have underfloor heating (4 zones) and upstairs, classical rads (4 bedroom and one rad in each), of which 2 or TRV so those rooms have thermostats and two have just on-off function. Downstairs, for 4 zones we have 4 thermostats.
While I get the evohome idea of having their TRV installed istead of manual TRV's, how is the underfloor heating managed. Do Honeywell offer thermostats for the wall?

Yes they have several Thermostats for wall and Controllers for underfloor zones

https://theevohomeshop.co.uk/22-underfloor-heating-controls

prochida wrote: »

I put this on the back burner (pardon the pun) but was looking at the idea again. Of my 12 TRVs 11 would need adapters or a change the valve body.

The evohome shop has a sale with a saving of £200 on the kit I need


I was in contact with Electric Ireland and they werre not very interested but said they would not use 28 m cx 30 mm adapters but would change the valves. Their quote over the phone was outragous.

So I am back to suggestions of a installer in the Cork/munster area. I can then weigh up the benefit of using adatpers or changing the valves.

If somebody could PM details of any installers familiar with the Evohome I would much appreciate it.

Thanks

Hi, was just wondering what sort of numbers EI they were quoting you?
WW