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When to Use and Not Use It

This thermostat can control 3 types of equipment:

  1. A radiator that only works in on/off mode (called thermostat_over_switch). The minimum configuration required to use this type of thermostat is:
    1. An equipment like a radiator (a switch or equivalent),
    2. A temperature sensor for the room (or an input_number),
    3. An external temperature sensor (consider the weather integration if you don't have one).
  2. Another thermostat that has its own modes of operation (called thermostat_over_climate). For this type of thermostat, the minimum configuration requires:
    1. Equipment – like air conditioning, a thermostatic valve – controlled by its own climate entity.
  3. Equipment that can take a value from 0 to 100% (called thermostat_over_valve). At 0, heating is off, and at 100% it is fully open. This type allows controlling a thermostatic valve (e.g., Shelly valve) that exposes a number type entity, enabling direct control of the valve's opening. Versatile Thermostat regulates the room temperature by adjusting the opening percentage, using both the internal and external temperature sensors, and utilizing the TPI algorithm described below.

The over_climate type allows you to add all the features offered by VersatileThermostat to your existing equipment. The VersatileThermostat climate entity will control your underlying climate entity, turn it off if windows are open, switch to Eco mode if no one is present, etc. See here. For this type of thermostat, all heating cycles are controlled by the underlying climate entity and not by the Versatile Thermostat itself. An optional auto-regulation function allows Versatile Thermostat to adjust the setpoint temperature to the underlying entity in order to reach the setpoint.

Installations with a pilot wire and activation diode benefit from an option that allows inverting the on/off control of the underlying radiator. To do this, use the over_switch type and check the "Invert command" option.

Why a New Thermostat Implementation?

This component, called Versatile Thermostat, manages the following use cases:

  • Configuration via the standard integration graphical interface (using the Config Entry flow),
  • Full use of preset mode,
  • Disable preset mode when the temperature is set manually on a thermostat,
  • Turn off/on a thermostat or change preset when a door or windows are opened/closed after a certain delay,
  • Change preset when activity is detected or not in a room for a defined time,
  • Use a TPI (Time Proportional Interval) algorithm thanks to [Argonaute],
  • Add load shedding management or regulation to not exceed a defined total power. When the maximum power is exceeded, a hidden preset of "power" is set on the climate entity. When the power goes below the maximum, the previous preset is restored.
  • Presence management. This feature allows dynamically modifying the preset temperature based on the presence sensor in your home.
  • Actions to interact with the thermostat from other integrations: you can force presence/non-presence using a service, and you can dynamically change preset temperatures and modify security settings.
  • Add sensors to view the thermostat's internal states,
  • Centralized control of all Versatile Thermostats to stop them all, set them all to frost protection, force them all to heating mode (in winter), force them all to cooling mode (in summer).
  • Control of a central heating boiler and VTherms that must control this boiler.
  • Automatic start/stop based on usage prediction for over_climate.

All these functions are configurable either centrally or individually depending on your needs.

Incompatibilities

Some TRV type thermostats are known to be incompatible with Versatile Thermostat. This includes the following valves:

  1. Danfoss POPP valves with temperature feedback. It is impossible to turn off this valve as it auto-regulates itself, causing conflicts with VTherm.
  2. "Homematic" thermostats (and possibly Homematic IP) are known to have issues with Versatile Thermostat due to the limitations of the underlying RF protocol. This problem particularly arises when trying to control multiple Homematic thermostats at once in a single VTherm instance. To reduce service cycle load, you can, for example, group thermostats using Homematic-specific procedures (e.g., using a wall-mounted thermostat) and let Versatile Thermostat control only the wall-mounted thermostat directly. Another option is to control a single thermostat and propagate mode and temperature changes via automation.
  3. Heatzy type thermostats that do not support set_temperature commands.
  4. Rointe type thermostats tend to wake up on their own. The rest works normally.
  5. TRVs like Aqara SRTS-A01 and MOES TV01-ZB, which lack the hvac_action state feedback to determine whether they are heating or not. Therefore, state feedback is inaccurate, but the rest seems functional.
  6. Airwell air conditioners with the "Midea AC LAN" integration. If two VTherm commands are too close together, the air conditioner stops itself.
  7. Climates based on the Overkiz integration do not work. It seems impossible to turn off or even change the temperature on these systems.