@kev-m 

Thanks for that Kev, I knew we could rely on you to come up with the goods.

@derek-m I have asked my ASHP installers to move my FTC Control Box to a position outside my Hot Cupboard next time they come back, & to remove the Honeywell remote controller completely. They are also going to (finally) commission my Solar Panel array & fix the Energy Monitoring on my Ecodan. At the moment, one of the two Electricity meters in my Ecodan EMP2 package is still reading 000000 & the Melcloud keeps on insisting that it isn't installed. I should be able to easily get by with the thermometer inside the FTC Control Box, as I don't need a "remote" one as my system now runs in a Set it & Forget it mode.

I'm going to keep on monitoring energy usage, house temperature, & garden temperature, with a view to tweaking my compensation curve when I work out which external temperatures cause the house to be too warm, or too cold. As always, everything is based on logging some good data 🙂

@justinsb 

Hi Justin,

Thanks for the update, it is always good to get feedback.

I think that the second electricity meter is to monitor the immersion heater if you have one installed. I would suggest that you read through the FTC controller manual and confirm that all the DIP switches have been correctly set within the main control unit.

I am in the process of completing an Excel spreadsheet based on manufacturers data for a 14kW Ecodan, which you may find of use. By setting a few parameters specific to your particular system, it should then be possible to compare actual performance against predicted performance, which may then highlight any system weaknesses.

@derek-m I watched the installer power down the system & switch dip switch SW3-4 on, but I will double check the manual to see if it needs something else doing. I will also check if the second meter is for the immersion heater. I'm also really interested in that spreadsheet & look forward to testing it out for you as soon as you get it done.

OK, we're now in week FIVE of our one week installation, & I'm still troubleshooting basic issues. @derek-m will be please to hear that I convinced the installers to move my FTC6 control panel outside of my hot cupboard, so its built-in thermistor now gives relevant readings for my internal house temperature. I still have that Honeywell unit connected, but the Ecodan seems to be politely ignoring it, so I'm not too worried about it for now.

My solar panels are supposedly working now. The installers came back yesterday, & it turns out that the sub-contracted electricians had wired the panels in backwards to the inverter. Once their polarity had been reversed, they started to work. I'm definitely going to have some SolarEdge questions though, as soon as I finish with my Ecodan, but that's all for another day.

I still can't monitor the electricity usage of the Ecodan though. After a long chat with the Techies on the Mitsubishi Ecodan Helpline, I discovered that the data cables on both of the electricity meters were missing, which was why the meters weren't logging anything. The suppliers and their Electrician are now debating who's responsibility this is, & deciding who gets to run the cable. Someone will be coming back, sometime, hopefully...

On the plus side, my house is warm. I'm currently tweaking my Weather Compensation Curve, in an ongoing attempt to screw as much efficiency out of the system as I possibly can. My missus said that she is really happy with the house temperature, so that is a vital first win. When it hit -3°C outside, she said that it was too hot inside, so I have been tweaking the low end. Rather unhelpfully, as soon as I had worked out what to do, the weather outside warmed up, so I can't test anything.

@justinsb 

Don't worry Justin, the temperature is due to fall again tonight.

@justinsb

Justin,

have you considered trying to control the system using the auto adaptation method?  I think now you have the controller outside the airing cupboard ths is an option.  It might need some more settings/ dipswitch changes if it's been set up for the external thermostats. 

BTW, I also found the house got too hot at the cold weather end of the curve. I'm still tinkering with it.

Kev 

TBH, I'm willing to try all of the options that the Ecodan system gives us, so that I can find out which one works out to be the cheapest. I'm going to keep on tweaking my curve for a weeks/months yet though, as I'm just beginning to get a feel for how my system works & I want to test my tweaks more. I'm also seeing how my solar effects my electricity usage, but I haven't even had that live for a full day yet, so it's hard to tell...

I'm trying to get a proper feel for the relationship between flow temp, ambient temp & house temp. I believe that there has to be a sweet spot. I'm also experimenting with an actual curve, as opposed to the straight line that we have been using.

Posted by: @kev-m

@justinsb

Justin,

have you considered trying to control the system using the auto adaptation method?  I think now you have the controller outside the airing cupboard ths is an option.  It might need some more settings/ dipswitch changes if it's been set up for the external thermostats. 

BTW, I also found the house got too hot at the cold weather end of the curve. I'm still tinkering with it.

Kev 

Hi Kev,

If my memory serves me well, I don't think any DIP switch changes are necessary, it is just a matter of selecting auto adaptation, rather than weather compensation, in the controllers menu. The weather compensation actually still works, but the auto adaptation automatically adjusts the water flow temperature in response to changes in the indoor temperature. Auto adaptation is similar to you raising and lowering the weather compensation curve manually, only it does it automatically to keep Mars happy. 😀 

As you are aware, I have an industrial type controller in charge of our central heating, which gets an input from a sensor and automatically calculates and controls the water temperature in the radiators. by doing so it maintains the indoor temperature at 21C +/- 0.1C, so auto adaptation should be able to perform in a similar manner. This is without any thermostats or TRV's being required.

The problem with continually adjusting the weather compensation curve, is that you could be 'chasing your tail' so to speak. As I have repeatedly tried to stress, changes in factors other than ambient air temperature can have an effect upon the indoor air temperature, I even suspect changes in wind direction can be a culprit.

@derek-m @editor

Ok, hopefully today the electrical sub-contractors can get the electricity usage meters working on my ASHP. I had to call the Ecodan helpline a few weeks ago to discover that a dip switch needed flicling & that the monitor pulses needed setting to 1000, but it still wouldn't work. I ended up back onto the helpline for another hour, only to discover that the reason that the FTC6 couldn't read the meters was that the electrician hadn't connected the data cables. Unfortunately, they hadn't even run the data cables, so it looks like they will need to rip up carpets & mess the whole house up yet again..

I don't quite understand why I know more about connecting these meters than the "professionals" I have employed to do the work.

For the record, these are the same clowns who wired my solar panels in backwards, meaning that system also failed to work for 3 weeks.

@justinsb Trust me I now know a lot more than my ASHP installers too who left the Vaillant install guides unopened at the property too, I simply opened them and read them.