Internet-based Central Heating controller?

[John Geddes]

I am looking for a Central Heating controller that can be programmed from a remote computer via an internet connection.

We have a village hall with a nasty-to-use programmer unit (four buttons, each with about seventeen different functions depending on the context). It would be much nicer to sit at home at the PC and do the programming from a decent-sized screen (and much more convenient when someone rings with a last-minute booking).

We have an ISDN router very near the Central Heating controller, so communications would be no problem.

Has anyone come across any sort of unit which would do this job?

John Geddes Derbyshire

[BigWallop]

I'm sure a delve into the deepest recesses or a contact mail to the masters of some of these types of website will come up with something for you.

[Richard Sterry]

What happens when you are sick, on holiday, or unavailable for whatever reason? I suggest you stick with the KISS (Keep It Simple) principle, and fit a decent controller which is reasonably sophisticated and yet simple and intuitive to use. Oh, and leave a photocopy of the instructions hanging on a string nearby!

Bye from Rick

[Andrew Gabriel]

I've built systems which do this (not commercially though).

I base it round a Comfort alarm/home automation system. This enables you to quite easily build a system which can be controlled over the phone line using voice prompts and multi- frequency responses. By adding a computer linked to Comfort, internet access becomes possible too, together with more sophisticated temperature monitoring, control, and event recording. The software I use is all home-brew. Commercial software is available for Comfort, but I haven't tried it.

In one case, I left some of the existing heating controls in place but not the programmer. In another case all control is performed by computer, including temperature monitoring and reading the room stat settings. This enables the computer to decide to ignore the room stats if someone sets them to silly temperatures, and of course it records each change in the room stat setting.

[Tony Bryer]

That question got asked of me (I am responsible for our church heating). I would not put a Honeywell CM67 in the simple and intuitive category though.

I have written a summary of the boiler and programmer instructions setting out what someone else needs to know for this very purpose. They need to know not only how to set the programmer, but what the settings should be.

The nearest I've got to dial-up is that our Keston Celsius flue outlets discharge (with the agreement of the Council) over the pavement. If I am really tight for time I can check that the heating is on by doing a drive-by!

[Andrew Gabriel]

The Keston actually has a "burner on" relay output. I've no idea why they included it, but I linked it back as a home automation zone input so the boiler burner on/off gets logged with the rest of the monitoring data, and can be checked via the phone or internet. It also has a lockout relay output which I use similarly, and that will cause the home automation system to phone me if it happens when I'm not in (e.g. system is just on frost protection). So far it's only done that when deliberately engineered, e.g. by turning off the gas to the boiler.

Interestingly, checking the logs, I see a handful of cases where the burner has lit and then immediately extinguished whilst there's still a call for heat, and then gone back round the ignition cycle and lit second time successfully. I've never been nearby when that's happened so I don't know why it might have happened.

[Tony Bryer]

For me . One of the pluses of the Celsius in our church installation is that the boilers are in a boiler room that is rarely visited. We've got the run and fail connections wired back to gridswitch neons in a visible position. This would also be a useful thing to do in a domestic loft installation.