The Efficient Home Forum

Dear Sir


I purchased a full system from you in September, the order number is in my registration profile i had to add 0000 in front of the order number for your information.

I have two zone valves, one for upstairs heating, one for downstairs heating.

Following many hours on Google, it is my understanding that i can only control one zone valve per touch screen panel so i am to wire them both off the same BDR91 output feed and control both zone valves together for upstairs and downstairs heating or alternatively purchase a second touch panel with a second BDR91 and use that for the upstairs zone valve? Is this correct please?

For simplicity i wish to concentrate on getting downstairs working first, so,

I have some rooms with multiple radiators (3) with a HR91 on each radiator, i have other rooms with a single radiator with a single HR91

Im unsure which order to bind the devices in, and also the terminology of the instructions is confusing to a first time user.

For all of the downstairs HR91s, im confused with the terminology "sensor" and "actuator". I am unsure if the HR91 TRV should be assigned as a sensor an actuator or both?!

Which is the best way to bind the BDR91 for my application please? Im aware how to hard reset it and rebind but unsure how to assign it correctly in the panel options i will be presented with.

Panel is presently displaying comms error but likely because i have programmed it incorrectly, presently everything is labelled as zone valve in system summary which i know cannot be correct but its working in a fashion.

Im almost there but need a few pointers to get it working properly please.

Your help would be sincerely appreciated.

Kind regards

R Drury
Lincs UK

Hi Richard,

As per the very clear guidance here (viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4182) as and when I do get 5 minutes in my day to look at the forum posts I do respond to people, but this should not be taken for granted.

But to answer your questions for full clarity and future forum members asking questions.

A 'sensor' is any sensor used by the evotouch controller... DTS92E, T87RF, CS92A or the sensor built into the HR91 or HR92 to name a few.

An 'actuator' is any device the evotouch controller activates in order to do something... BDR91, HCC80R or the motors inside the HR91 or HR92.

The evohome system can be used in two ways... It can operate traditionally using zone valves, so an S or Y Plan configuration OR we use smart TRV's - we do not do both!

So, if you have HR91's or HR92's on all radiators (this is what we recommend not partial zoning as it doesn't work), we normally get rid of the zone valves (page 46 of the evohome Installation Guide) and then have a single BDR91 or OpenTherm Bridge operating the boiler.

If you have multiple HR91's or HR92's in a 'zone' when you bind the first one in (when it states 'bind the sensor'), this is your primary sensor for the zone (unless you bind in a sensor like a T87RF). The remaining HR91's or HR92's are then put into bind mode and added when it asks if you want to add more (these are simply actuators).

Unfortunately, it seems like you needed a bit more than a 'few pointers', so the choice was to pay someone who knows what they are doing to install and configure the system for you or see if Resideo technical support can give you the information you require.

I have over 8 years experience with evohome and its not a DIY system unless you are willing to put the time into it to learn and put up with the self made issues you cause yourself, learning along the way.

BTW, we get asked by Resideo to pass all our customers to their own technical support so people at Resideo technical support get keep their jobs. I think this is sound logic and hence we do not offer our own technical support unless it is paid for.

Kind Regards,

Richard Burrows
Director
MWPHS.co.uk

Hi Richard


Thank you for your reply and the information provided.

Your website is well presented and whilst its now evidently not the case - i assumed at the time of purchase you are part of Evohome - The website name would imply as such and even the fonts you use on your site are of the same type as those on the controller.

It was evident from the concise but ultimately limited information on your website that you know what you are talking about, it was this for this reason that i decided to shop with you and not with Amazon or Screwfix.

If they had blanked me they too would have received a bad review.

I simply added what i needed to cart and checked out - I was not presented with an option for an optional technical support package nor did i go hunting around the website at the time of purchase to see whether there was one, its not something i have ever experienced before.

I have since found it. If you can get away with £200 an hour for telephone advice to customers who spend £1200 plus then good luck to you, you wouldn't have however received my order as i think its ludicrous.

To take the order then add a bit of paper in the box saying " go to the manufacturers if you are stuck " i think is more than a bit off personally but its your business to run as you see fit - notify me before i pay so i have the choice.

When i found your forum i saw the line which read " we are not obliged to help non customers" at the header of the EVOHOME section - fair enough. I did not consider myself to fall under that category.

I did indeed take for granted that you wouldn't mind writing down a few lines of information if i needed it. Had i only spent £50 with you then perhaps i would not have. Everything i needed i eventually found myself although there was much trial, error and many hours forum searching over a weekend when Resideo was shut.

I would deem the information i asked you for via email and repeated on here to be a few pointers.

If you think that anything written either in my Trustpilot review or on here is unreasonable then we will agree to disagree.

Anyway, im very pleased with the system now its in and working so I wish you all the best

Kind regards

Richard Drury.

Hi Richard,

Thanks for your response.

Rich D wrote:Your website is well presented and whilst its now evidently not the case - i assumed at the time of purchase you are part of Evohome - The website name would imply as such and even the fonts you use on your site are of the same type as those on the controller.

It was evident from the concise but ultimately limited information on your website that you know what you are talking about, it was this for this reason that i decided to shop with you and not with Amazon or Screwfix.

Appreciate you saying this, but as we state on The Evohome Shop websites 'about us' page (https://theevohomeshop.co.uk/about-us/) we are an independent, family run business and nothing to do with Honeywell/Resideo.

Rich D wrote:If they had blanked me they too would have received a bad review.

No one has blanked you though? Tom sent you an email in reply to your email on the 20th, and you have attempted to contact us once (of which I cannot even find a record of the voicemail you made)? If I was personally like your Truspilot stated 'cold and desperate', I would have tried contacting the company I believed to be the manufacturer more than once? I find it a little strange you didn't.

Rich D wrote:I simply added what i needed to cart and checked out - I was not presented with an option for an optional technical support package nor did i go hunting around the website at the time of purchase to see whether there was one, its not something i have ever experienced before.

I have since found it. If you can get away with £200 an hour for telephone advice to customers who spend £1200 plus then good luck to you, you wouldn't have however received my order as i think its ludicrous.

To take the order then add a bit of paper in the box saying " go to the manufacturers if you are stuck " i think is more than a bit off personally but its your business to run as you see fit - notify me before i pay so i have the choice.

When I buy products online that I don't know if I have the capabilities to do, I always fully research beforehand and even contact the business or manufacturer to obtain further technical information and documentation. I don't purchase things and then assume where I have purchased it from will fully support me (for free), so I can do the job myself instead of a trained and competent person. A wise man I once knew always said, 'nothing in this life is free, even when you die, someone has to pay to put you in the ground'.

Rich D wrote:When i found your forum i saw the line which read " we are not obliged to help non customers" at the header of the EVOHOME section - fair enough. I did not consider myself to fall under that category.

Unfortunately if you ask questions on an unmonitored forum, you are unlikely to get the answers in a timely manner. I do state on my signature that if technical support is required with evohome to contact Resideo directly on 0300 130 1299.

Rich D wrote:I did indeed take for granted that you wouldn't mind writing down a few lines of information if i needed it. Had i only spent £50 with you then perhaps i would not have. Everything i needed i eventually found myself although there was much trial, error and many hours forum searching over a weekend when Resideo was shut.

I would deem the information i asked you for via email and repeated on here to be a few pointers.

You contacted us on October 20th and supposedly on the 21st respectively. You bought the system in September? But we had no contact from the purchase point to the supposed date of installation. Tom responded to your only email, the very next day as you contacted us out of our business hours? I'm unsure the reasons you didn't persist with us to obtain the answers you wanted, but certainly not my businesses issue that Resideo don't have technical support at weekends. Incidentally I was on annual leave at the time, so Tom was busy with our customers who had paid for technical support with their systems.

Rich D wrote:If you think that anything written either in my Trustpilot review or on here is unreasonable then we will agree to disagree.

Anyway, im very pleased with the system now its in and working so I wish you all the best

Kind regards

Richard Drury.

I think maybe your expectations are simply too high of a retailer, who you mistook to be the manufacturer. Normally people who leave a "1 Star" review and only use Trustpilot for this purpose (instead of using these review systems for positive reviews), are people who expect far too much from businesses in very challenging times, without actually understanding how much actually goes on behind the scenes in the business. Fair enough, if you had never received your order and we had then not responded to anything, I would understand a 1 star review.

Had you have tried to call us or emailed more than once, Tom or myself would have called you. Had the questions or requirements been in our opinion more advanced than we deemed you were capable of without further support, we would have directed you to Resideo or asked you to contact a local Connected Specialist.

I am glad you have installed and worked out how to fit your system in the end. Maybe next time you look to take on a project like this, contact the manufacturer or seller first to find out exactly what options for support are available to you prior to purchase.

Kind Regards,

Richard

Hello again Richard


I do concur with many of your points raised - many but not all of them.

Don't wish to go over the same ground but for information,

Your answer machine states something along the lines of " please try again in ten minutes or leave a message and we will call you back " - i obviously would not know this unless i rang - i have no proof i left a message on the 21st but i assure you i did.

I have no receipt of any email aside order confirmations but on occasion they can go ary for anyone so i will say fair enough and give you the benefit of doubt.

I purchased the kit in September but didn't fit it until around the time of the forum post as was awaiting the plumber, i had to do it when he dictated which happened to be around the weekend!

Im sure you are always in demand too and decent ones are like hens teeth. I spoke to 4 or 5 and none of them had done a Evohome!

Obviously when the old components are chopped out you need to get it working quickly. I took for granted someone would respond to my messages via some format in time following a nudge via email on the 20th and the voicemail on the 21st. Im competent with tech so i was happy i could programme it if i had the instructions - its just that they don't cover half of the relevant information which is only apparent when its not working correctly and almost impossible to research as there are so many variables in every installation.

Ultimately, all this could be avoided if the instructions were a lot better which i think is one thing we can agree on but i respect that's not your fault in any way.

I wish you no further malice and peace, its evident you are a decent tradesman and do care about your business, I'm sorry it took the review to get this level of communication.

Kind regards

Richard Drury

Hi Richard,

I do care very much about my business you are correct. I've spent a long time giving my time to manufacturers to cover their technical deficiencies, for very little reward.

I am just a little frustrated this situation has come around, as I hope clearly you can see your situation is not the norm for us.

The email from Tom was sent at 10:23 on the 21st. Might be nice to check your junk, just to see that we are truthful in our word (as you are with calling us).

Have a great day and enjoy the system.

Kind Regards,

Richard