External heat source

[GooSe1977]

We have floor heating in the hole house and 2 rooms with external extra heat sources ( AC and wood fire ) - we use them a lot during the winter, but heating the room with the woodier shuts down the floor heating. This will last for 8-12 hours so the floor gets cold again....

Is there a way to implement a device/sensor/switch that freezes the valve at it's percentage until the room temperature is at the set temperature ?

[cl445]

Hi,

thanks for the detailed description. Better Thermostat has no way to do this today: it can cap the valve opening (valve_max_opening), but it has no minimum opening and no switch that holds the valve while another heat source runs.

You're not the only one asking for this. Two related requests already exist:

• add "fireplace" mode #1818 asks for a "fireplace mode", so that a fire in the room doesn't distort what BT learns. The workaround there is to register the fireplace as a window sensor, but that closes the valve, which is the opposite of what you need.
• Warm Floor Function Proposal for Better Thermostat #1985 proposes a "warm floor" function that keeps underfloor heating running at a low level so the slab doesn't cool down.

Your case fits both: an external heat source is active, and the floor should stay warm in the meantime. We'll keep it in mind together with those two, but I can't promise if or when it will be implemented.

[cl445]

An update for the upcoming 2.0: it adds a Pause Learning switch and a blueprint "Pause learning while the fireplace burns", so the stove's heat is not learned as heat from the floor heating. It also adds a Release switch per TRV and a Release devices switch per room. While a TRV is released, Better Thermostat sends it nothing, so an automation can set the floor heating valve the way you want while the wood fire burns, then turn the switch off and hand control back. A built-in "hold the valve" setting is not planned, because the rule for when and how far depends on the house and fits better in an automation. We'll close this once 2.0 is released.