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Best option for controller upgrade? - Grant Aerona

Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs)

Last Post by Grantmethestrength 4 weeks ago

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Topher

(@topher)

Active Member Member

Joined: 7 months ago

Posts: 4

Topic starter 14/01/2026 9:12 pm

Fairly new heat pump owner - Grant Aerona 3 10kw - and getting to grips with the thing. Just today finally got smart meter installed which allows access to variable rate tarrifs (Octopus Cosy) but the install (ECO4) came only with the (non smart) Aerona Remote Controller, a generic heat/water timer and a Drayton RF thermostat. So as far as I can tell the only thing I can control is a flat target temperature, and an on-off timer schedule. (unless im missing something in the Remote Controller).

To take advantage of the variable tariff I want to be able to program a heating curve such that I boost the target temp by a couple of degrees during cheap hours, and drop it by a couple during peak time, right?

So whats my best option for upgrading this current setup so that I can get more control, without spending a fortune more? If its something I might be able to install myself then all the better!

Thanks all!

🤦‍♀️

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Grantmethestrength

(@grantmethestrength)

Reputable Member Member

Joined: 1 year ago

Posts: 182

18/01/2026 5:19 pm

Hi Topher, welcome to the world of ECO4 disappointment lol! I have the Grant 13kw Aerona3 R32. I went down a very convoluted route using Home Assistant and a custom integration I built. For reasons unknown to the sane world when Grant licensed the Aerona3 from the Japanese company Chofu they basically dumbed it down and took out access to some quite useful settings like low tariff mode and night mode. Low tariff mode allows you to set the unit to work harder during that period while night mode restricts the compressor making it less noisy (read power hungry) perfect for peak electric period.
Of course you can set up all these timings in the menu on the caveman controller but unless you can trigger them on the pcb at the unit it won’t work. I initially got a couple of Shelly remote switches which worked well just via the Shelly app.

I then went down the rabbit hole of modbus control via Home Assistant and have built my own smart controller. Either way you are probably going to have run extra cables to the unit. If you want to know more let me know as there are also some semi wireless options as well.

Kind Regards
Si
——————————————————————————
Grant Aerona3 13kW
13 x 435w + 13x 480w Solar Panels
Sigenergy 10kW Inverter
16kW Sigenstor battery

👍

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Mars

(@editor)

Illustrious Member Admin

Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 4211

18/01/2026 9:38 pm

@grantmethestrength, wow, that’s a lot of time, perseverance, wiring and effort to get that done.

This post was modified 4 weeks ago by Mars

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Grantmethestrength

(@grantmethestrength)

Reputable Member Member

Joined: 1 year ago

Posts: 182

18/01/2026 9:40 pm

Posted by: @editor

↑

@grantmethestrength, wow, that’s a lot of time, perseverance, wiring and effort to get that done.

You forgot to mention probably completely unnecessary lol!

Kind Regards
Si
——————————————————————————
Grant Aerona3 13kW
13 x 435w + 13x 480w Solar Panels
Sigenergy 10kW Inverter
16kW Sigenstor battery

😂

ReplyQuote

Grantmethestrength

(@grantmethestrength)

Reputable Member Member

Joined: 1 year ago

Posts: 182

18/01/2026 9:51 pm

Posted by: @grantmethestrength

↑

Posted by: @editor

↑

@grantmethestrength, wow, that’s a lot of time, perseverance, wiring and effort to get that done.

You forgot to mention probably completely unnecessary lol!