I want the E1 thermostats to be able to be set via an automation, to a percentage open, and not to a temperature.
In many houses in the UK, which are insufficiently insulated, the radiator thermostats function as way to balance flow between rooms, and not as true thermostats - because the houses are not insulated enough to actually get to the set termperature.
If an automation would allow this, it would be easy and logical to make a scene that is ‘put 60% of the flow to the living room, and 20% to the bedroom and bathroom’. At the moment I have to choose different temperature set points for each room based on how insulated each room is, and if I think they can actually reach the set temperature.
@nzjrs Thank you for sharing your insights and suggestions regarding the Aqara Radiator Thermostat E1. It’s fascinating to hear how you use these devices in the context of UK homes, where insulation can be a challenge. Your idea of setting the thermostats to a percentage open for more precise flow balancing between rooms is indeed intriguing and could offer a more tailored solution for homes with varying insulation levels.
Currently, the Aqara Radiator Thermostat E1 operates by adjusting the valve based on the difference between the detected room temperature and the user-set temperature. While it supports automation through smart schedules and device grouping, the functionality to set the valve to a specific percentage isn’t available as per the provided information. This could indeed enhance control in scenarios like yours.
Your feedback is valuable and could inspire future updates or features. Please keep sharing such thoughtful suggestions with the community and continue exploring innovative ways to optimize your smart home setup!
@nzjrs I understand your frustration, and I apologize for any inconvenience caused. While the forum is a place where community members and Aqara enthusiasts exchange ideas and support each other, Aqara representatives do monitor the discussions. Your insights and feedback are indeed valuable and are taken into account for future product improvements. Please continue to share your thoughts, and I’ll ensure that they reach the right team. If you require immediate assistance or need to address specific concerns, I recommend contacting our Customer Service Team directly. You can reach them via the Aqara Home App (Profile > Help & Feedback > Customer Service) or by scanning the QR code below for efficient support:
Hello my friend, using a percentage control is a good idea but there is a problem, as the E1 and the hot water heating heat pump are not in the same location, the E1 does not have access to the hot water temperature data in your home, so if the water temperature in your home is 60 degrees and you set the E1 to always be 100% on this could result in the ambient temperature in your home being between 50 and 60 degrees Celsius. This could result in radiators or other equipment not working or being damaged at these temperatures and cause significant energy consumption. This is very dangerous and not energy efficient. We may be able to discuss this together and see if there are any opportunities to make this product better and better!
Despite all the risks I have just mentioned, I would like to discuss with you how many degrees Celsius the average water temperature of the heat pump in your house or a friend’s house will be burned to, this ratio may be related to the size of the room space, and if there is such a feature, it should still require the user to keep trying to adjust the right ratio at home. I would like to hear your thoughts and expectations
I’m not sure you have experience with living in an old UK house with, let’s say 8 radiators?
Boiler water temperature is typically 55 celcius. Before smart homes, one would expect radiators to be at different temperatures, some even quite hot, as flow was shared among them to get the heating profile one wants.
Energy efficiency is not really a concern here, the whole system is underinsulated, and the lack of insulation being the largest contributor to efficiency. The second being the boiler flow temperature.
At the moment I have to set the 2 radiators in the largest room to max temperature so they stay fully open, but then I just get abnormal temperature warnings because they never really can achieve the setpoint. In smaller rooms I have to set them to all different temperatures, which they also don’t really manage, and then I get even more abnormal temperature warnings.
I’ve divided your problem into two, one is a problem with the ambient temperature not reaching the set temperature and the other is a problem with the Aqara temperature anomaly alarm. Let’s start with problem 1. Problem 1 is that the current hydronic balance of the system is severely underbalanced, with water flow prioritized to the heater with less resistance (usually the room with the shorter, smaller/hotter lines), resulting in a lack of water in the larger/cooler rooms, which can result in a problem where the ambient temperature of the larger room never reaches the set temperature, or if you turn on the Function Settings - Valve Detection Notification, it can result in a long period of time between the room temperature and the set temperature large difference, alerting the temperature control abnormality.
Cleverly though, I see that you’ve turned the unit in the big room to 100%, which equates to 30 degrees Celsius or higher, and then set the other rooms to other temperatures. It’s the equivalent of using the temperature setting to “trick” the TRVs into opening and closing as you want them to. But I’m a bit curious about your actual scenario, when you have the big room at 100%, will the ambient temperature in your small room be higher than the set temperature, or will the ambient temperature be lower than the set temperature?
I’ll give you another example. The maximum inside room temerature in my house, in any room in winter, because of no insulation is 19 degrees. Let’s say it is 5 degrees outside. If I set them all to 20 then they all come on and all the rooms get to (depending on the outside) 17 degrees. But I would rather the living room get to 19 and whatever energy is left in the system, it goes to the bedroom - maybe that is 17, maybe that is 16. It depends on the outside temperature what is possible or not.
You might say ‘well just set the other room set points to different values’, but the point is because of poor insulation, these setpoints are only ever functionally relative to the outside temerature. I cant have arithmetic in my automation, so I can’t set rooms to be X cooler / warmer than another temperature sensor.
The only way I seem to be able to get what I want is to make an automation that sets the big room to max temperature for 45 mins out of an hour, and then set the bedroom to max temperature for 15 mins out of the hour. This achieves the 75/25 heating split I want, withough having to do relative temperature setpoint arithmetic. However, in this case, the E1s complain at me with abnormal temperature warnings because they never achieve the max temperature.
