Heatmiser + Coolmaster driver for Control4
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Control4 driver for CoolAutomation AC interfaces with Heatmiser UF heating systems, providing a complete heating/cooling solution in a single driver.
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Overview
This Control4 driver has been designed to provide two-way control of CoolAutomation air conditioning interfaces with Heatmiser underfloor heating systems, giving a complete heating/cooling solution in a single driver.
This means there is no longer a need for multiple Control4 thermostats in a single room, nor complex, clunky programming to make everything work intuitively. One thermostat driver handles heating and cooling, automatically managing the “deadband” to ensure the systems do not compete with each other.
Support for Automatic and Heat Boost modes allow compatible fan coil air conditioning systems to provide additional heating to the zone.
Schedule banks are new to this suite – a powerful way to configure multiple unique schedules for a single thermostat driver, allowing you to switch between them at any time from your Control4 interface.
To simplify driver setup, the thermostats in this driver suite have actions allowing you to copy existing presets to other thermostats, meaning you will only need to enter your set of presets once.
You might instead be looking for our standalone Heatmiser/ solution, which offers support for the same range of Heatmiser products, but at a reduced price.
Compatible Products
For CoolAutomation, this driver integrates the following products:
- CoolmasterNet Comms Bridge (https://coolautomation.com/products/coolmasternet/)
- CoolPlug and CooLinkHub (https://coolautomation.com/products/coolplug-coolinkhub/)
For Heatmiser, this driver integrates the following products:
- Heatmiser NeoHub (https://www.heatmiser.com/en/neohub-gen-2-hub-for-neo-system-with-homekit-google-home-support/)
- Compatible Heatmiser wiring centres (https://www.heatmiser.com/en/central-wiring-centres/)
- Modbus touchscreen thermostats (https://www.heatmiser.com/en/touchscreen-series/)
IMPORTANT – This driver does NOT support the new Heatmiser neoStat Wi-Fi thermostats.
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Which driver download do I need?
If you do not intend on integrating with any CoolAutomation products, we recommend you instead download our standalone Heatmiser solution – this supports the same range of Heatmiser products as this combined driver, but at a reduced price.
If you are integrating a Heatmiser NeoHub, you will need to download the ‘HeatmiserNeo/Coolmaster driver for Control4‘. This package includes the comms and thermostat driver.
If you are integrating a Heatmiser compatible wiring center (e.g. UH1, PRTN), you will need to download the ‘HeatmiserPRTN/Coolmaster driver for Control4‘. This package includes 4 variants of the comms driver (allowing you the choice to control both systems via either serial or IP), the thermostat driver, and a Serial Comms for Coolmaster driver*.
If you are integrating a Heatmiser Modbus system (e.g. TouchV2), you will need to download the ‘HeatmiserTouchV2/Coolmaster driver for Control4‘. This package includes 4 variants of the comms driver (allowing you the choice to control both systems via either serial or IP), the thermostat driver, and a Serial Comms for Coolmaster driver*.
*(only relevant when you are controlling both systems via serial, in which case ensure that this driver is in your Control4/Drivers directory)
I cannot see any zones from my thermostat driver
If the drop-down menu for the zone name / id properties are empty / not what you except, follow the following steps:
- In the comms driver, check that you have correctly defined the IP and port for each system (or the serial connection has been made, for serial variants)
- The connection status properties in the comms driver displays any connection issues to the systems – if these do not report OK, please refer to the relevant installation guide for your system.
- In the comms driver, choose the Actions tab, and click on Rediscover All Zones. This action can take up to 1 minute, but will re-discover all available zones in your systems, and re-populate the zone/id selection properties in the thermostat drivers (note – any existing configuration will NOT be lost when using this action).
If you still can’t discover the expected zones, feel free to contact us at support.janustechnology.co.uk, mentioning the driver version along with which variant you are using, and we would be happy to help.
I have multiple 2-pipe Coolmaster systems
Only Coolmaster IP variants of the driver can support multiple Coolmaster systems.
In properties, first define the number of Coolmaster systems you have, and in the properties that appear, define them as Two-Pipe systems alongside entering the IP address and port.
Once a poll of this system has been completed, you will be able to define which zones exist within this system (defaults to All, otherwise should be in the format ‘L1.101,L1.102,L2.107‘), then define the Master Room from respective property.
The master room you choose must be a zone which is defined within the Rooms property.
This driver is capable of controlling a single Coolmaster controller operating 2 separate 2-pipe divisions – simply set the number of Coolmaster systems to 2, then enter the same IP and Port for each system, taking care to correctly define the zone list for each division.
How do I copy presets from one thermostat to another?
Before using this functionality, you should configure every thermostat driver in your project by selecting the Heatmiser/Coolmaster zone to be controlled and confirming the choice of allowed modes.
Next, use any standard Control4 UI to create a set of presets for one of your thermostats.
Once this is complete, select the thermostat driver in Composer that you have just set some presets for, and click on the Actions tab.
Press the Copy Presets to Other Thermostats action and choose the target thermostats using the device selector. You could also set Copy Schedule to Yes if you also want to overwrite the schedule and/or schedule banks on the target thermostat!
NOTE – if you try to copy a preset which is not valid on the target thermostat (e.g. a preset with HVAC Mode: Cool to a heating-only zone), the preset will not be copied.
How do I create a schedule from the thermostat driver?
Before creating a schedule in Control4, it is strongly recommended that you disable all scheduling within the Heatmiser and Coolmaster systems. You can easily disable all scheduling within your Heatmiser system by pressing the action Clear Zone Scheduling in the comms driver.
Schedules for a thermostat are created in the usual Control4 manner, described below
- Select the thermostat you wish to create a schedule for within the Control4 interface (via the app, touch panel etc.)
- Press the Presets button, and add a new preset with the desired setpoint, HVAC mode and/or fan mode.
- Now you can choose the schedule tab of the thermostat and add a preset to a desired date & time.
How does the Schedule Banks functionality work?
Schedule Banks is a new concept introduced by this driver that augments the functionality of the thermostat proxy.
When you create a schedule in Control4, this is obeyed year-round. This makes schedule creation simple, but falls short with the changing seasons – you may want an entirely different schedule for summer than in winter!
Schedule Banks solve this problem by allowing you to store up to 4 unique schedules for your thermostat driver, with the ability to switch the active schedule at any time.
Once you have configured a schedule in the Control4 UI, you can save this to a schedule bank using the Save Schedule Bank action or custom command.
To restore a specific schedule from the bank, use the Recall Schedule Bank action or custom command. Note that this will overwrite your current schedule, so make sure you have saved any changes to your old schedule to a schedule bank first!
Using the custom commands, you could restore different schedule banks throughout the year, giving you seasonal control of your scheduling.
To view all the schedules you have stored in your schedule bank, press the List Schedule Banks action.
With the Show Schedule Banks in Extras property set to Yes, you can access full control of the schedule bank functionality from within the thermostat proxy on the UI – just navigate to the Extras tab to find these controls.
Once you have configured your presets and schedule banks for one thermostat, you can use the Copy Presets to Other Thermostats action to quickly copy this configuration to your choice of other thermostats, saving you a huge amount of time during setup!
My AC units are not turning off when the HVAC mode is auto
Auto is defined in this driver as both the heating and AC systems being switched on. When in this mode, the system targets the setpoint with whichever modes are required for the heating and AC systems automatically.
When the room is heating while in auto mode, the AC could either be in Heat Boost mode, or fan only (neither heating or cooling) to keep air flow over the temperature sensor.
If you really want your AC to switch off when it isn’t needed in auto mode, set the property Dual-Zone AC Behaviour to AC turns off when temperature is lower than setpoint in the comms driver.
The air-flow return for AC units is reading a much colder temperature than the Heatmiser thermostats!
This can have the inconvenient consequence of the AC or Heating not kicking in when it should, depending on what you have the display temperature set to.
You can set the AC to use the measured temperature of the UF thermostat by setting the property Dual-Zone AC Behaviour in the comms driver.
My AC interface does not support air readings
If the interface to your Coolmaster system does not support return air temperature readings, you should configure the following driver properties.
- Set Dual-zone AC Behaviour to AC Behaviour follows TStat display temperature
- Set AC Demand Source to Calculated from driver setpoint and temperature
- In each dual-zone thermostat driver, set Temperature Display to Underfloor only
Setting these properties will configure dual zones to control the AC on/off using the UF room temperature, while still displaying demand correctly when the AC is in Cool mode.
Why are there two deadbands, and how do they differ?
Deadband (Heat, Heat Boost)
- This is only used when the HVAC mode is set to ‘Heat Boost’.
- This Deadband is used to describe how heating via Coolmaster behaves when complementing Heatmiser heating.
- The value of this property dictates the number of degrees below the current setpoint that Coolmaster heating will switch off, helping prevent temperature overshoot.
- If you do not want this functionality in your system, simply set this property to 0C.
Deadband (Heat, Cool)
- This is only use when the HVAC mode is set to ’Auto’.
- This Deadband is used to describe the ‘acceptable temperature’ region around the current setpoint where there is no HVAC demand, and the room is neither heating nor cooling. This helps to prevent oscillation.
- For example – if you set this property to 2C, for a setpoint of 21C, the room will start heating at 20C and start cooling at 23C.
What serial settings should I use for my Heatmiser system?
Heatmiser serial connections use an RS485 interface. This isn’t directly supported by Control4, so it is necessary to use a hardware interface to convert.
Serial Settings
- 4800 baud rate (Heatmiser PRTN) or 9600 baud rate (Heatmiser Touch V2)
- 8 data bits
- No parity
- 1 stop bit
- No flow control
RS232 – RS485 Converter
An RS232 – RS485 convertor allows any RS232 port on the Control4 system to be used with an RS485 protocol. We recommend using the Advantech Adam 4520, which provides robust and reliable conversion.
https://www.advantech.com/products/gf-5u7m/adam-4520/mod_8dcee4b7-fbde-4c5d-9752-ed2f2fbd00bf
Using the unit’s internal jumpers, set the baud rate to match the Heatmiser system, and the data format to 10 bits.
The unit should be connected to the Control4 processor with a straight-through male-female RS232 cable, with no null modem.
The null modem for the serial port should be turned OFF from Composer.
IP – RS485 Gateway
We also provide variants of the driver which connect to your Heatmiser system with IP, via an IP – RS485 gateway. For this solution, we recommend using gateways from BrainBoxes; the ES-320 (DC powered), and the ES-420 (PoE version).
The full manual is available here http://www.brainboxes.com/files/catalog/product/ES/ES-320/documents/ES Range Product Manual 3.5.pdf
The unit needs to be configured in RS485 half-duplex auto-gating mode. This is done in two places.
The jumpers inside the ES-320 device need to be configured according to pages 27/28 in the manual, dependant o what biasing is present on the network.
In the ES-320 web interface, select ‘Serial Port Configuration’ and set values as follows:
- Baud Rate: set this to match the Heatmiser system
- Duplex Mode: Set to RS485 half-duplex
- Protocol: Set to Raw TCP
- Local TCP Port: Note this value, which you will need to configure the Control4 driver.
The pinout of the 9-pin serial port is detailed here http://www.brainboxes.com/faq/items/what-are-the-pin-outs-of-the-9-pin-d-connector-for-my-rs232-or-r
Note that since the half-duplex has been configured with the jumpers inside the unit, it is only necessary to connect to TX+/- pins and GND.
How do I put my system into holiday / vacation mode?
You can put your system into an away mode by pressing the Away Mode button in the Extras menu for any thermostat in navigator. This will turn every zone in that thermostat’s group OFF (Heatmiser will enter its frost-protect state).
You can configure Away Mode groupings through the comms driver.
Away mode can also be toggled via programming, with the custom commands on the comms driver.
While in away mode, configured schedules will be ignored, and you will be unable to adjust any thermostats from the Control4 UI.
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