Posted by: @adamk

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I might try a wipe and re install of Home Assistant to see if I can get the power info to show. Was going to put it on a RPI 3B I have but it won't work as too old.

I've got an old laptop I could use. Is there a bare metal install I could use maybe? Or some decent places I can get support on it. I've asked on a couple of HA Facebook groups but silence. I can see the values in the states page in the firmware version right hand box, which seems odd, but doesn't let me add it as a history or tab.

If you are looking for help getting started on HA, there are some good recent posts on the Solis inverter thread. @majordennisbloodnok also posted elsewhere in this forum with a series with an explanation of HA.  The HA installation page has step by step instructions on how to get HA on an old ex-windows box..

I am wondering when anyone here will have a play with the local integration that can be made to the Vaillant eBUS (as they do not seem to support modbus). Maybe there´s a programmable thermostat type of implementation... A couple of threads on eBUS: 

https://community.home-assistant.io/t/vaillant-heating-control-integration/807296

https://community.home-assistant.io/t/making-vaillant-boiler-smart/669613

@adamk

You can get an idea of if your flow and return sensors are accurate by measuring the difference between flow and return temps around 10 minutes after a compressor run has finished but with the pump still active. If the sensors are accurate the two values will be the same or with only a very small difference i.e. 0.1c. In my case, I have a difference of +0.7c on the flow rate which results in over reporting of cop in the Vaillant app. Maybe you have  an underreporting flow rate sensor.  You can check the live values using the VWZ AI controller.

I use home assistant via ebus to calculate a corrected flow value for a more accurate heat output and cop.  

@simonf thats interesting as I’ve noticed my flow and return cross when it’s on cooldown not by much though 0.5c.

Still got the noise. Noticed it’s quite loud in my son’s room but he says it doesn’t bother him. I think it’s louder when the weather gets cold, which makes sense as the compressor is running harder.

also been outside today and noticed the soak away under the heat pump is overflowing, not massively but enough to soak the concrete under the unit. When it was put in I wasn’t convinced the hole dug would be enough.

@adamk FWIW I managed unintentionally to 'coax' mine into making more noise than usual .  The noise sounds rather like what you are experiencing and also appears to be louder inside the house than out (!). 

In the summer I fitted wooden side slats and a heavy ceramic slab on top to make the heat pump a 'feature'.  Now its cold, the slab is somehow causing more noise.  I have fixed the problem by (a) removing the slab to prove the noise is caused by the slab and (b) replacing it but this time ensuring its well clear of the pump casing (5mm separation all over).

Im not sure whether the effect was due to weight, or the slab constraining the dissipation of the sound, or what, however it was definitely due to the slab and I have now fixed it!  Perhaps the slab was heavy enough to stop the case moving on the vibration absorbing feet and thus cause something inside to vibrate relative to the case more than would otherwise have been the case, a possible cause which could have relevance to your situation.  

cop for yesterday 1.8.

getting the installer to try and fix it.

Posted by: @adamk

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cop for yesterday 1.8.

getting the installer to try and fix it.

Yeah, that’s not good. 

Posted by: @adamk

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@simonf thats interesting as I’ve noticed my flow and return cross when it’s on cooldown not by much though 0.5c.

@adamk This shows that the sensors in your heat pump are not accurate. A not uncommon problem for Vaillant units. Therefore the COP reported by the unit will not be accurate. 0.5c difference sounds small but for a heat pump which happens to favour low DT's, even 0.5c is significant. Also, people with this issue normally find that the lower the outside temperature the greater the offset becomes.

@batpred Well, I'm running the eBus interface and integration but I wouldn't describe it as straightforward getting it going. Depending on how your HomeAssistant is set up there are different options and you may need to tackle a number of learning curves. Much of the documentation is written by dedicated enthusiasts for dedicated enthusiasts and assumes a lot of knowledge that you may need to acquire and may be specific to a number of different ways of doing it. I've been working with computer systems for decades (admittedly after an extensive break away from programming) and it still did my head in. And I still made mistakes like not realising that there are two competing eBus interface cards which look very similar and will accept being programmed the same way but which won't work if you program one variety with firmware for the other (D'oh!). You may find it straightforward in which case much kudos to you (or maybe the system has been streamlined since I set it up) but if not and it seems utter bewildering, don't despair, you won't be the first!

@dr_dongle sounds like an adventure. Ive been in Automotive Electronics all my career, I just rewired my Audi to accept Heated Seats; if you didnt know how the Germans specify colours, e.g. RT is red, and they number there voltage signals from 15 to 31, no 0v lol, you would struggle.

I wonder if the solution you have can be sold to other tinkerers as a starting point, the correct board and firmware ready to go?

@simonf no sensor is accurate unless calibrated, I ran the calibration cell in the test laboratory at Gaydon Proving Grounds for a few years; everything had to be +\- 0.1C at 20C stabilised for 1h with the test engineer in the cell, as entering the cell affects the calibration as the human acts as a heat source.

It makes me smile when I read posts on here with stats of room temperatures as 21.5C, without a tolerance and calibration certificate its meaningless and is just a random number.

@agentgeorge I find that the OAT as reported by my Daikin ASHP varies by >+/-1 deg. C compared with the reported temperature from the Met Office, Amazon Smart Speaker and another *thermometer placed outside … and within these various reported readings, they all vary from each other - so that I may take my pick! Then there is the biological thermometer that tells me if I am warm or cold…😉

*A Govee unit claiming to be within +/- 0.1 deg. C.

Regards, Toodles.