I am looking for feedback I am going to do something with zoning on my A/C/Furnace.
Smartvents the issue I see:
Dont stock sizes and dont offer all sizes needed even with adapter kit and the face would not match existing vents in the home.
If close of the air at the vent then the vent will produce air noise if not sealed completely or open just slightly. (Even with a bypass duct set correctly to relieve dangerous air pressure.)
I am noticing how easy it would be to attach the lever of the water shut off valves to a duct damper handle. With all my readings of the branded valves available I can only find on or off valves my question is:
Does anyone know of a shut off valve that can be set to open in a modulation position say 50% threw the app? How hard would it be to get the water valve to modulate with routines and a temperature sensor ?
(I am a commercial A/C guy I have sheet metal shop available and can do anything with DDC or 24 volt controls, however code and programing etc. is not my strength I am a great copy and paste guy though.)
Water shut-off valves are on/off. For air, you would want to be able to close percentages.
I am in the same boat as you. My home was built in 1949 and all the ducts are in the center of the house with large vents that go at the bottom of the wall and take up part of the floor. So, there are no sizes for my vents, yet. Hoping that changes in the future or an adapter can be created to operate them.
IF I ever go for this sorta thing, this is exactly the sort of thing I would go for.
Seriously though, I think that if you have the dampers in place it makes far more sense to modulate airflow there than at the vents. It would be great to have a damper at the beginning of each individual output duct, right where it branches off from the others. You could then hardwire most of āem, as in many cases those duct splits are accessible (such as in a basement). It would spare you batteries and enhance the reliability.
As a fellow HVAC guy (automation and controls side in commercial buildings) who also works with IT Iād write up something using the ST_Anything framework and analog outputs on a ESP8266 controller. They are 0 - 5v that youād send through something that could use it. Or for simplicity Iād use a binary output and just turn the valves open and closed then write up something extremely simple (or look for a existing SmartApp) that says if the heat is on and the room temp is lower then the setpoint then open otherwise close.
@ogiewon - How hard would it be to add a EX_AnalogOutput or similar library that simply controls a output by varying the voltage out? Iām assuming not that hard but on the flip side it appears there is no SmartThings capability for variable output that I see (āvalveā is defined as only open/close as is āwater valveā. In my profession rarely is a valve only open or closed.). I mean it could be considered a dimmer but it wouldnāt use PWMā¦it would simply vary the output 0 - 100%.
@Okay - So the question is can you live with open/closed on your valves or do you have to have positional? As for water valves I probably wouldnāt use them if you have access to good actuators (Belimos or something).
Take a look at how the Automatic Blinds are designed. They are essentially an adjustable motorized valve for ālightā versus for āairā in your project. Many users have created ST solutions for these using low cost microcontrollers and inexpensive servos. Perhaps a high-torque servo is available at a reasonable price?