Do Not command valves if the central boiler is no heating

[kajuku87]

Hi,

First, I want to thank the developpers for their work on this, it's a great tool that I've been using all this winter.

I'm not sure if this has benn already discussed, but I notice that even if the boiler is not sending hot water to the radiators (because the minimum number of nb_device_active_for_boiler has not been reached) the valves will action an move.
For example, if I enter the room and there is pressence detected, the target temperature of the room will adjust (as expected) but the valves will move also, even if the room temperature is still above target or if the nb_device_active_for_boiler is below threshold.

I think that optimizing the valve movement to only when there is need to actually heat the room, will save batteries in the valves, but also remove the anoying sound of the valves moving each time I enter a room XD.

Thanks!

[bonerlog]

Hello,

I'm looking for a similar solution. I haven't found a native option to link the valve movement to a pump or boiler state yet.

My heating system shuts down the pump during night mode or while preparing domestic hot water. In these periods it makes no sense for the TRVs to adjust or for the TPI algorithm to keep "learning," as there is no thermal energy being delivered to the radiators/underfloor heating.

My main concerns are:

• Battery Life: Constant valve adjustments while the pump is off cause unnecessary mechanical wear and drain the batteries for zero thermal benefit.

• TPI Accuracy: If VT calculates a heating demand but the room temperature doesn't rise, Auto TPI would probably not work as it should?

To make this feature truly versatile, I think we should have two different options/actions triggered by an external entity:

• "Freeze" Mode (e.g., linked to a Pump Sensor): When the pump is off (short interruptions like hot water prep), the valve should simply stay in its current position and the TPI calculation should pause.

• "Close" Mode (e.g., linked to the Main Heating System state): When the central heating is switched to off or summer mode, the valve drives to 0%.

Allowing us to assign an entity (like binary_sensor.heating_pump or sensor.boiler_status) to these behaviors would be a game changer.

That being said, I want to emphasize that Versatile Thermostat is doing an amazing job otherwise!

[jmcollin78]

Hello, why not turning off the Vtherm at night ? With an automation it seems very easy.

[bonerlog]

Thank you for the suggestion! You are right, turning it off via automation is perfect for seasonal shutdowns. I should have thought this through more carefully. Unfortunately, it doesn't solve the following problems:

• Battery Drain: Our central heating system prepares hot water many times a day. Switching Vtherm to off drives the valves to 0% every time. This constant opening and closing drains the TRV batteries more than necessary. They have to reopen again when heating resumes. If I just leave it on, it goes almost fully opened because it doesn't know that no heat is currently reaching the radiators. When heating returns it goes for too much power so it has to regulate again.

• TPI Continuity: I'd like the Auto TPI to know the house is losing energy while the pump is turned off (no thermal energy available). When Vtherm is shut down, it loses this context and can't compensate correctly once the heat returns. Or at least I think so?

I'm looking for a way to simply 'freeze' the valve in its current position and pause the command output while the pump is inactive, without losing the TPI's awareness of the room's temperature drop.

[jmcollin78]

For example, if I enter the room and there is pressence detected, the target temperature of the room will adjust (as expected) but the valves will move also, even if the room temperature is still above target or if the nb_device_active_for_boiler is below threshold.

I understand your point but there is a major issue: the boiler state is controlled by the position of the valve. So the valve needs to move before the central boiler will be activated.