Newbie - what "bits" do I need to get Domoticz working

[lodgemoorlad1]

Really sorry for the dumb question but I really would like some help
I have built several projets with Raspberry Pi's (Birdcam, home mulit room music player/server and car multimedia player/server)

But I just can't get my head around how to use Domocticz and what components are required to get it up and working so I really really would appreciate any help or advice.

Having looked at these pages and the wiki pages and the domoticz manual, I'm still not clear so would someone please confirm that all I need to make my own heating control system is
1. The latest Noobs software (for the pi)
2. The latest Domoticz software (of course)
3. The bits I need to control, ie radiator valves (without question)
Do I need the Razberry card or a zwave stick, etc or just the bits above


And for anyone who is well versed with Zwave, is this something that is comlicated to set up or will it just work, is this intuitive software?

I'm a novice at programming (as you can guess) but I seem to be able to muddle through and so far I have got all my projects working. But trying to get my head around this is beinging to be a bit of a pain. Hope someone can chip in and just point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance.

[pvm]

You are in the right direction
Raspberry pi, installed using instructions on wiki (no books needed).
I have good experience with a USB stick (aeon)

[lodgemoorlad1]

Hi PVM
Thanks for the reply
It's great you replied
Could you please post the link to the wiki page for the Raspberry Pi info, just so that I know I am in the right location
Also you said you used the Aeon stick
Is this the one?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00YETCNOE/ ... P5U1D80ID1
Also I thought you load the Raspberry pie with Domoticz and control ALL your zwave stuff with the wifi from the Pi
So it looks like this

Raspberry Pi - - - - - - with Noobs and Domoticz loaded on it.......wifi from the Pi to....... your router, then from your router....... to all your zwave items (valves, lighting, window and door controls etc)

Is this right OR do I need the USB Aeon stick as well?

I thought you use the stick if you don't use Domoticz so I really would appreciate if you could just tell me if my understanding is wrong or right as I'm really struggling for some reason with trying to understand the basics with this. Thanks very much

[Buelens]

Z-wave does not work via wifi. Its a mesh network protocol, and you do need "something" to talk to it. That aeon Z-wave gen 5 stick is a possibility. There's also a raspberry pi expansion card / thing you can get. They are similar in price, but the usb stick would allow you to move to a nas / pc later on. So I do prefer the stick for the flexibility.

[lodgemoorlad1]

Hi Buelens
Really Appreciate the reply
So this is where I'm going wrong, you do need something more than just the Pi
Right got it now.
Yes and I have seen the Razberry card but I get your point about being able to moving the stick.
And I agree the stick would offer more flexibility.

So I guess you just flash a Domoticz image on to a micro sd, stick that in the Pi with the Aeon stick and you're ready for pairing your zwave stuff, is it really as easy as that, also I am mainly concerned about controlling my radiator valves (at the moment), would you mind me asking if you are doing the same, what valves do you use..

thanks

[CaesarPL]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you've touched most difficult part of Home automation - radiator valves (as I read here). But would be also very happy to read other's opinions about hardware that mostly work. As I can see e.g. Danfoss has such valves.

[lodgemoorlad1]

Hi
Yes I'd like to control Radiator valves and was hoping this would do it (without too much pain)
Then I was going to move to other stuff like water level, door, window and lighting control/monitoring
And although its a bit of a setback to hear your comments regarding radiator valves, I'm so glad it was mentioned now and not after I had purchased the stuff.

Humm, if it is going to be a big deal with the valves its not looking as attractive as I was hoping. But as I said I'm glad I have been warned now and not further down the line

I would also appreciate and feedback (and suggestions) on this too, thanks again for your time

[Buelens]

No not doing anything with radiator valves right now. I'm actually using an evohome system instead. So I can't help you with that.

I did do a high level compare once between a system like evohome and potentially setting one up yourself. If you do it with domoticz or similar you would need the radiator valves, thermostats to know the "zone" temperature, something to fire up the boiler (opentherm?). Would be a fun project though, I just went for the easy solution at the end.

[sach]

I have recently implemented heating with Devolo TRV (similar to the danfoss ones). I have 2 TRV's in the Living room and 4 in the bedrooms.
I also use Devolo room thermostats in each room to enable the wife to adjust the temperature easily.
She works from home on most days so now she can have the heating on in the study and other rooms that don't have TRV like the bathrooms and kitchen....all the rooms she is likely to use.

Each Room thermostat has timers setup to raise and lower the setpoint's at given times.....then I have setup Blocky to turn the boiler on if room temp is lower than the setpoint (I.e. request heat) and set the TRV to open (28C).

All in all it works great although its only been running for a few weeks so I'm still tweaking things to my liking.

Yesterday I got the Amazon Echo working with it so not I can tell Alexa to set the Living Room heating to 21 degrees and she duly obliges.

Sach

[lodgemoorlad1]

Hi Buelens

Thanks for the offer of help and if I decide to go down the Domoticz or eveohome route I'm sure I'll be asking here on the forum again
As for the eveohome, it was one of the systems I was looking at before starting with this, so I might be back there if I get no joy.

I just have this feeling it's got to be doable with not too much pain, that said there is more on this forum as in other forums where less is said about this specific area of control (radiators) than there is of the other forms of control, (lighting, doors and windows etc) so I should have realised it was not going to be as simple as what I first thought.

But thanks for coming back to me with your email. Its appreciated, back to the drawingboard

[lodgemoorlad1]

Hi Sach
If its not a too bigger ask I'd really would like to know what set up you have please
Was it just a matter of flashing Domoticz image on to a micro sd, stick that in the Pi with the Aeon stick, I guess not (but I'm hoping)
And I do know of the rad vales you mention, I think they are made by danfoss.
Any advice you could offer would be very much appreciated
Thanks

[lodgemoorlad1]

And it was not going to connected to the system if I ever get it working, but I have just bought a DOT !!

[sach]

No problem mate....happy to help!
I have been running Domoticz for some time.....originally to control LightwaveRF lighting and things have grown from there.
I think the time when I installed it on a Pi2 there was an SD card image available....however I think this is now not the case.

Take a look here for install instructions:
https://www.domoticz.com/wiki/Installin ... spberry_PI

Start with the Initial Raspberry Pi Setup, then to install Domoticz:
sudo curl -L install.domoticz.com | bash

Once you have got this far and Domoticz is up and running....plug the Aeon stick in and configure it under the Hardware section (if I remember correctly).
I had to make some changes to a couple of the OpenZWave config files to get the TRV's reporting their internal temp back, but I can help you with those once you get to this point.....i'm at work at the moment so don't have them to hand.

Anyone else more knowledgeable than me.....if I have made any mistakes in the above, please feel free to correct me.
Its been a while since I installed from fresh and at lot has happened since then so my memory is a bit vague.

[sach]

I should have also said........along the way I did have some issues and frustrations.....this is by no means a plug and play system.
I started with a single TRV and made sure I was totally happy and comfortable with the way it worked before buying more.

I'm not sure of your technical level and not trying to put you off by any means. just want to make you aware of this from the start before you start getting your wallet out.
If you are still interested, then start slowly and get to know Domoticz.....lighting is a good place to start or even a simple plug in lamp dimmer.

[lodgemoorlad1]

Thanks Sach thats really decent of you

I tried LWRF back in April 2013, when B&Q were selling them and they were then supposed to be intruducing a Rad thermostat and I waited about a year before I gave up on them.
But I'm up for the challange again, so as I have a spare Pi, I thought I would at least give it a go and with Christmas coming up I hope I'll have a couple of days to have a go with it.

The other option I have is I have been offered a free new NEST with gas sensor but they don't work on Zwave, they certainly don't control Rads which is what I really want, so its of little use to me and I'm not sure the "learning nest" would deal with my irregular work patterns or when I want the heater on/off.

I just annoys me that I'm heating the whole house when I'm just in one location, most of the time
But sound advice about setting up the Pi and try it with one valve...I think I'll take it and hopefully if I get stuck I'll return to this forum and maybe we can pick up from where we left off. But thanks for the advice, much appreciated

[sach]

No problem mate.
I have just ordered another Pi3 and 32GB SD Card this morning.....hopefully should be here tomorrow.
I plan on doing a fresh install over the coming days as previously I was running on a pi2 and swapped the cards into a pi3 so it is running Wheezy.

Hopefully I should then be able to answer any question you have on the install process.....unless you get there first, in which case I may have some questions of my own

Sach

[lodgemoorlad1]

Great stuff sach,
Sure whatever happens I'll post here, and I really really would appreciate if you would too, you can't beat experiance !!
Good luck with your new install !

[theolsen]

The other option I have is I have been offered a free new NEST with gas sensor but they don't work on Zwave, they certainly don't control Rads which is what I really want, so its of little use to me and I'm not sure the "learning nest" would deal with my irregular work patterns or when I want the heater on/off.

Domoticz has support for the Nest thermostat, you can turn off all the Nest wizardry and let Domoticz take care of the logic. Take that freebie!!

Heating is no more complex than any other project you may embark on in Domoticz... Once you determine what your requirements are, you will be able to do it.
With my setup we estimated a 50% reduction in gas usage with each room able to call for heat as and when it needs it. This is with a Nest thermostat too.

[sach]

Hey Theolsen

Would you mind detailing your setup?
Always like to read how others manage their setups to give me ideas on how I can improve what I currently have.

Cheers

Sach

[theolsen]

Hi sach,

Don't mind at all but I might not be able to get to it until the weekend (work gets in the way of fun).

Hardware wise though I am running:

Rpi
Aeotec series 2 Z-Wave stick
1st Gen (UK) Nest stat as boiler controller
Secure SRT321 stats in each room
Stellaz valves on each rad

The logic is relatively simple, If a room temp is lower than the set point for given room, fire the Nest and open the valve, if the opposite is true, close the valve and (if no other valve is open) shut down the Nest. Obviously there are other factors to consider like what to do at night or when house is unoccupied but they are easy to deal with once other processes are established. Your tip to the OP about lighting first is valid here. reusable logic is always handy!