@el_presidente I look forward to your contributions, as a Daikin + Homely user, I am always eager to hear how others are getting on with their kit. Regards, Toodles.

Hello, first time post. 

I found this thread via a Google search for Homely + HomeAssistant.  I listened to this HeatGeek podcast with the founder of Homely:

and it seemed to me that HomeAssistant could achieve something similar?

I have an old Daikin ASHP - circa 2014 and this excellent Modbus control system: https://github.com/Arnold-n/P1P2MQTT. This gives my HomeAssistant the kind of control that (I think) a Homely system might have.

I also tripped over this repository: https://github.com/davidusb-geek/emhass which seems to do some of the logic & control that Homely describe.  

So, finally a question: Does anyone here have any first-hand experience of stitching some or all of these components together?

Ultimately, @martindell, Homely is a box of programming that connects to a heat pump via modbus. Assuming you can find a Home Assistant integration that connects locally to your heat pump, that description is also apt for your Home Assistant server.

The logic programmed into Homely uses several inputs from t'interweb and makes decisions based on those inputs, ultimately choosing whether to amend your heat pump's running configuration or not. Home Assistant can be configured to do exactly the same according to the rules you choose or, in some cases, rules others have already put together. That means Home Assistant could be a direct replacement for Homely.

Homely performs one job and, by all accounts seen on this forum, it does it well. Home Assistant is more of a platform which can be used to perform a wide range of smart home functions. As such, Homely cannot be seen as a direct replacement for Home Assistant.

Homely's functionality is the result of a team of developers working specifically on coding an algorithm to fine tune the running of a heat pump. Home Assistant does not have that algorithm included, so the home owner would have to add it either by finding someone else who solved the problem before or by defining the logic themselves. Therefore Homely is closer to a plug and play solution than Home Assistant in terms of solving the "how do I get the most out of my heat pump" problem.

Homely's development team doesn't come cheap, so it is a solution that costs. Home Assistant is community-developed and so does not intrinsically cost anything (although you can buy pre-installed boxes which, of course, do cost something).

Therefore the choice is either to pay for a solution with a targeted focus and forego the hassle of setting stuff up or get a free solution with a far wider focus and far greater flexibility but have to do some learning and configuring. The right answer will vary from person to person, of course.

@martindell As a user of both Homely and Home Assistant on RasPi I looked into this at the start of this year. I've chosen to keep the Homely as I'm happy with what it's been doing but have tapped the modbus connections from my Midea controller to the Homely and routed the signals to an ESP32 board with an added TTL/Serial connector. The ESP32 runs ESPHome and a profile specificaly configured by some smart people to read the Midea modbus data set every x seconds. ESPHome is configured in Home Assistant to expose all the data as sensors so I can easily see what my heat pump is doing and what the key values are for functions. You could configure the Midea code on the ESP32 to expose actual settings as switches and numerical values or choices etc. That would then give access to run automations using your own logic as suggested by MajDB. For now I'm paying the small Smart+ premium to allow Homely to manage things for me - the dynamic weather comp based on forecasts is working well, plus I see it reacting to my smart tarrif rate changes and even demand/grid management periods over Winter (e.g. Octopus Saving Sessions).

Hi, can anybody tell me can you connect a Homely to a heating system with a buffer tank connected and if so will the Homely still work correctly ?

@potatoman I am uncertain as to what difference a buffer tank in the configuration should make as far as Homely is concerned so I am not sure I can help; however my Daikin monobloc feeds into a low loss header in the airing cupboard where there is a secondary pump (Wilo Pico) and our Homely controlled system works very well for us. Regards, Toodles.

Buffer tank and LLH are pretty much the same thing, just the contained volume of water is different. So you should be able to install exactly the same as @toodles 

@johnmo When I first enquired about the Homely smart controller, I was waiting for them to integrate the system to work with Daikin then there was a further wait whilst they carried out firmware development to work with a secondary pump. As soon as this was done, I had the Homely controller fitted and all has worked very smoothly since. Regards, Toodles.

While I don't have a buffer or LLH, my system does have hydraulic separation via a secondary heat exchanger attached to my cyclinder at the 3-port valve. My installers choice to limit impact on my existing central heating rad & underfloor curcuits, plus to meet the Midea M-Thermal ASHP installation specs for late 2022. We do have an additional circulation pump because of that for the secondary flow. Homely works perfectly well with that.

I’ve signed up to the ivie energy sure project which includes an installation of the new Homely thermostat. I currently have a grant aerona heat pump that was installed when the house was built in 2020 with underfloor heating throughout. I currently have seven heatmiser thermostats connected directly to the manifold and wiring Centre. I believe my system is an S plan as it has 2 x 2 ports which are also directly connected to the wiring Centre. There are no direct connections to the heat pump apart from the standard remote controller from Grant.

when I emailed Grant asking them about retro fitting their new smart controller I was told the following:

If the Grant HPID6R32 ASHP was manufactured after 5 February 2021, then the new Smart Controller can be retrofitted, with the proviso that the existing wiring centre will need to be replaced, additional components added and  potential wiring upgrades implemented. Additionally, the original remote controller will need to be left connected..  If removing the remote control is needed, a new control PCB will have to be purchased.

If the Grant HPID6R32 ASHP was manufactured before 5 February 2021, then a new PCB will need to be installed / system upgrade. It is not possible to upgrade the software on-site so a charge will be applicable.

has anyone had Homely installed on their grant heat pump and what changes were needed to the heating installation? The Homely installation guide says that the three port or two port need to be directly connected to the heat pump PCB along with the temperature sensor probe for the DHW. i’m unsure if Ivie will do all this or if they will simply say it’s too much work and not proceed. 

Hi @toodles

Just wondering if you could help me, I have now got fitted a Homely on to my heat pump and also have got Homely connect access. This, as you know, gives you access to numerous graphs, What I would like to know is which graphs should I be accessing to see if my heat pump is cycling or modulating?

Thanks.

@potatoman In the list of available data above the graph display box, you have a list of items you can select. (I am using the dashboard version rather than ‘Connect’ so I am uncertain of the new layout).

You can clear the data on the graphs then individually select parameters in the list. There are flow out and returns which will show you Delta T, there is one for power input to pump and another for heat output and one shows actual pump on/off running. You can expand the display laterally for time expansion and there are a few presets at the top left as well. You will no doubt have seen the COP figures and you can also select days on the calendar function. I don’t have DHW through my pump but that is there too. OAT, IAT and electricity price are also all there to choose. At present, I am awaiting re-authorisation of my Dashboard access as I changed my email and password details, but as soon as the team at Homely attend to this, I should be able to view things fully again.

Sorry if I am a little hazy on the ‘Connect’ app but I have not yet tried using this as the Dashboard seems to provide all I have wanted so far. Regards, Toodles.