Climate Solutions Community

Yesterday evening I've been able to get my Vicare Smart Climate components back up and running. To get this resolved I had to remove all components from Vicare, followed by a full factory reset for each component. Afterwards I was able to get them connected back to Vicare.   Thanks to Viessmann Belgium for explaining how to factory reset the climate sensor/repeater. Unlike the valves this was not mentioned in the manual. Only afterwards I did found out it is mentioned on the Vicare zendesk.   I'm glad I got this resolved. However it is very unclear why this happened. There was really no reason for this to occur. Also why is it so hard to receive even basic support? Luckily, due too other ongoing issues, I was able to contact a couple non-public email addresses at Viessmann from which I eventually received a response. From all the public user-facing support addresses (i.e. info@viessmann.be, vicare-service@viessmann.com, customer-care@viessmann.com, vicare@viessmann.com) I've received no response at all!   ... Mehr anzeigen

Yet more emails and phone calls later, still zero support. 9 days and counting. How is this possible, how can I take this company serious ?! ... Mehr anzeigen

After all the previous troubles, my Vicare Smart Climate components became completely unreachable 7 days ago. Vicare app works and is connected to the boiler/internet but all my RF smart climate components (valves, repeaters, climate sensors) are unreachable. This effectively means my heating is uncontrollable and unusable at the moment. Should this have happened in the winter my house would be freezing by now.   Still awaiting - after 7 days - any support from Viessmann. Send about 8 e-mails (both to Viessmann BE and DE) and a forum post here. ... Mehr anzeigen

Still awaiting support from Viessmann, system still completely offline. ... Mehr anzeigen

My heating system is effectively useless because of this problem, and yet again I receive zero response from Viessmann! Be it here or any of my emails.         ... Mehr anzeigen

Yet another day has passed without any reaction from Viessmann. ... Mehr anzeigen

Still have zero connection to any off my smart climate components. My very expensive heating system is effectively not usable at the moment.   If this would have happened during the winter I would not only figuratively but also literally have been left in the cold by Viessmann.   Please reply soon. ... Mehr anzeigen

@Hansi_Buentgens @CustomerCareBen    Is someone looking into this? I've spend countless hours trying to fix this, but without results. Such an expensive system yet so unreliable, how can this be?   Please let this not take months for a response like last time! ... Mehr anzeigen

Update on my communication with Viessmann Belgium, for those who should be interested:   At the end of June I finally received a call to discuss in-detail the problems and flaws I'm having with the Vicare Smart Climate (or Single Room Control as it also called) system. Do note that my first complaints about this where communicated at the end of February. So it took 4 months before I could actually talk to someone on the phone with knowledge on this topic.   Basically they acknowledged all my findings. I can summarize as follows:   Being worked on: - Smarter control algorithm with dynamic setpoint adjustment, that takes into account measured room temperatures from the valves. They claim it should be more efficient and solve the short-cycling issues I'm having. Something similar was also mentioned by @Hansi_Buentgens in another post a while ago, so lets hope this is true. Because now it is basically no different from rudimentary "dumb" weather compensation that exists for maybe 30 years+. - Faster valve motor reaction times. Now it apparently takes up to 20 minutes or more for the valves to adjust to changing temperatures. - Better pump logic that does not run all the time. - Geofencing in Belgium (be it payed, at around 25 euro/year) - More stable/strong radiofrequency connection to the Vicare components   Acknowledged as missing, but nothing more: - No eco-mode(reduces temperature) shortcut in the Vicare app - Adjustable time periode for a manually set room temperature - Smart home integration with apple homekit, google home or IFTTT - per-valve temperature offset controls - per-valve child lock control   Not discussed: - Missing heating curve in the Vicare app when in Smart Climate mode - Valve positions always on "fully closed" in Vitoguide.   Unfortunately I did not receive an ETA for any of this. I've owned this system now for half a year without any notable changes, so I'm skeptical about when it will arrive. It seems development is very slow paced and from what I've been told there is basically zero communication between R&D and Viessmann Belgium. But lets hope for the best.   If someone from Viessmann is reading this: please also implement the "acknowledged as missing, but nothing more" items! Especially the eco-mode shortcut and adjustable time periode are a must-have essential feature that should have been there from day one!   I will update this topic when I have extra information           ... Mehr anzeigen

My car has a combustion engine, doesn't stop the manufacturer from providing user installable firmware updates every couple months.   Feels like an excuse to not provide updates. It's 2021, my Vitodens 222-W has a 7-inch touchscreens that runs an internet connected embedded linux. It should be made easy to update. ... Mehr anzeigen

Could someone from Viessmann answer this? ... Mehr anzeigen

Considering point 2: in a Vicare Smart Climate system this problem is even worse. The minimum reduced temperature for some reason is only 8 °C, as opposed to 3°C here. So the pump will run even longer for no reason.   I've got a mail from the Belgium Viessmann management that the pump logic would be updated in August. They did not specify how. Nobody seems to know if the current Vitodens 2xx/3xx actually have firmware update capabilities. ... Mehr anzeigen

This would be rather obvious I think. Matter could finally become a unified protocol to connect all kinds off smart home/IOT devices.   To name a few examples: when a smoke detector detects smoke or CO, it could automatically shut off the boiler (Nest already does this when you have there smoke detectors and thermostat). Or your alarm system could help in presence detection and also shut off the boiler when no one is detected at home or when the alarm is armed. Or when the sunscreens go down the boiler knows it's to hot and should stop heating, ...   The possibilities are endless ... Mehr anzeigen

So in Germany you actually do have a child-lock feature for the thermostats? Why isn't this available in my Belgium Vicare version ? ... Mehr anzeigen

Hello Alterego,   I guess your system runs in weather compensation mode? The pump that is always running is a consequence of this. In a classic ("dumb") weather compensated setup the boiler has no knowledge off the room temperatures. It controls the heating by looking at 3 things: requested temperature, outside temperature and return water temperature. To be able to monitor the return water temperature the pump has to run constantly.   A more advanced variant takes into account the inside temperature in the reference room (most often with the thermostat in the living room). But again the pump needs to run constantly because it could very well be that other rooms need heating to (e.g. someone turns the radiator valve open in a bedroom).   So in these kind of setups it seems normal and acceptable to me that the pump is always running, during heating hours that is. I very much prefer load compensation in this regard, but that is another discussion.   However in my opinion the user should certainly be able to choose to shut off the pump in reduced mode (e.g. at night). This is however not possible at the moment because parameter 1240 is missing. This should be included as it is mentioned in the manual.   You could monitor the energy usage of the boiler by putting an energy reader directly on the mains plug, something like a TP-LINK HS110 for example. I have one at home and will see if I can plug it in on the boiler one of these days. ... Mehr anzeigen

@Hansi_Buentgens    Did you have the chance to take a look at my message above from 26/04? Could I receive an answer to the questions that where left open? ... Mehr anzeigen

Isn't this related to the infamous missing parameter 1240? It's a known problem that the pump is always on and not just a UI bug. According to my regional Viessmann management this will receive an update in August. However they didn't specify how (boiler firmware update?) ... Mehr anzeigen

It's a very known problem, do a search on the forum for "1240", it's the missing parameter number that controls the pump. Not just a UI bug. According to my regional Viessmann management this should get an update in August. They however didn't specify how (boiler firmware update?) ... Mehr anzeigen

Hello Ivan2021,   That is the Vitrotrol 300E. For some reason they designed it so it doesn’t work together with the Vicare Smart Climate setup: https://viessmann.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015248319-Does-my-Vitotrol-200-E-300-E-cooperate-with-ViCare-Smart-Climate- Also it’s really expensive, at least here. The official price is 470 euro (incl. taxes)! Compare that to the Nest 3E thermostat which you can buy for around 220 euro.   Oh and I believe it needs to be usb powered. So you can’t just wall mount it to the pre-existing wiring. ... Mehr anzeigen

Please ignore my comment in the previous post that the valves do not work as repeaters. Off course it would drain them too quick as they are battery powered. It's however a missed opportunity that the repeaters cannot function as climate sensor and repeater at the same time ... Mehr anzeigen

Hello Hansi,   Thank you for answering. I'll respond in English as I'm afraid my auto translated German will loose context. Feel free to let me know if this is a problem.   Boiler short cycling: To me it is unacceptable this is released into the market with such a flaw. I can't stress enough: the Vitodens 2xx boilers and the Vicare Smart Climate system are the most expensive in there respective categories on the entire market. I could have reused my (far better) Nest 3E thermostat and replace my old boiler for a new decent OpenTherm one for around 3500-4000 euro, including install. My Viessmann system costed me more than double that. I knew it was a high price, but I was expecting top-notch efficiency and user experience given the brand name. Efficiency wise it is now even worse than my previous 15 year old Bulex boiler:   Before you go off saying it's difficult to compare the two: covid lockdown started for me on 15/03/2020 and my heating pattern has been exactly the same since. Also the comparison is in heating degree days, meaning outside climate independent.     Repeater issues: Good to hear this will be fixed. It's a minor issue but an annoying one none the less. It is strange however that repeaters are needed. There are examples enough of IOT devices forming a mesh network, repeating the signal without the need for dedicated repeaters. Sonos and Philips Hue comes to mind, but probably also Tado.   Smart home integration: Hopefully this will come rather sooner than later. Currently this is a serious step back from my previous Nest thermostat which had perfect Google Home integration. I know in Germany you have Amazon Alexa, but not in Belgium.   KM-bus/Opentherm support: From what I understand the PlusBus that is on the new Vitodens 2xx series is technically superior. However why isn't there any adapter to KM-Bus or Opentherm? Now you are being forced to use Viessmann's own control system. Be it Vitotrol or Vicare. 3rd party alternatives like Tado, Nest and Netatmo are far superior but unusable now. Viessmann should acknowledge this and let the user decide what to use, like in the past!   User Experience: I very much disagree this is only a matter of taste. In no way does Vicare accommodate deviating from your normal time schedule. For example: my schedule is set to heat my office space each weekday from 8.30h to 17.30h. When I have a day off there is no way for me to one-time disable the heating beforehand. When I put it on manual 8°C the evening before, it will jump back to 21°C on 8.30h. I have to remember to set it back manually to 8°C afterwards, else the room will keep heating needlessly! Same goes for leaving the house, no quick shortcut to disable all heating.   Documentation, information and support: I already knew and retrieved all the available information from Vibooks. For Vicare Smart Climate only the bare minimum is available, and mostly related to the install only. The site https://vicare.viessmann.de/ is also only available in German. Zero information regarding Vicare Smart Climate on the Viessmann BE website. What are the valve dimensions? Do I need it in every room? Does it have a main display? Does it use weather or load compensation? How do the temperature sensor and valves combine? Can I set a room influence factor? Do I need an outside temperature sensor? And so on. It took me a lot of back and forth mailing with different dealers and Viessmann to retrieve even the most basic information. And pricing? No idea. All I got was an all-inclusive price from my dealer. Not a single (web)shop in the Benelux that sells the Vicare components it seems. And that I have to take my complaints to a forum in a language I don't even understand also says it all. It very much feels like the non-German regions are low priority and second-rate.   No physical main control unit: What I mean by that is the main thermostat display that usually hangs on the wall in the living room. My Nest 3E was a beautiful designed thermostat with color display. Not only was this nice to quickly check or set the temperature. But it also had a proximity sensor build in which acted in combination with my smartphone for a very accurate geofencing. What I have now is a bunch of wires hanging out my wall in the middle of the living room.   All other questions that have not been answered yet: - When will there finally be geofencing in Belgium? I've heard you need to pay extra for this, is this true? - Is there going to be a main control unit in the future that I can use? - When will the Vicare app get an away mode (eco mode) shortcut for Smart Climate users? - Will there be an option to opt for load compensation instead of weather compensation? - Will it be possible to set the time period for a manual set temperature? - Will it be possible to set and use parameter 424.3 when in Smart Climate mode? - Will it be possible to set and use parameter 933.7 when in Smart Climate mode? - How will the fix for parameter 1240 come? Does the boiler even has OTA firmware update capabilities? - Will the heating curve be made visible in the Vicare app when in Smart Climate mode? - Will there be a adjustable temperature offset parameter per valve? - Will there be a child lock option for the valves? - When will the vitoguide bug be fixed that show all valves as "fully closed"? - Is the leap day bug fixed? Or will it happen again in 4 years? - Is the poor OPTO2 wifi stability being addressed? - Are the many server outages and maintenance's being addressed?   And finally: how will you fix ignoring customers for 2 months straight? Note that to this day the person responsible for Vicare Smart Climate in my region did not respond back to me. It has been 52 days since I first contacted him about this.   ... Mehr anzeigen

Hello Hansi,   I noticed you posted an answer to some of my remarks in the original thread. Thank you for that. Could you reopen this as well as my English topic again so that I can respond? They are currently still blocked. ... Mehr anzeigen

Nice addition for the German market, but what about the other regions in which Viessmann is active? Amazon Alexa is not available or supported here in Belgium. Google Home and Apple Homekit are. Any plans for those? ... Mehr anzeigen

Last week my dealer escalated this to the Viessmann BE management level. So far I've received a small response from the Belgium Director stating that the infamous missing parameter 1240 (no means to shut down the pump in reduced mode) will be fixed by an update in august. In addition they are awaiting response from Viessmann DE about the short cycling I've mentioned in my previous topics.   Although it's good news there is finally some feedback, unfortunately all other remarks were not handled or mentioned. I've asked again for clarification. It seems even now they are very still reluctant or unable to cover all my issues and questions (it has again been 6 days without response).   And yes I'm answering here in English. Since the mods (wrongfully!) blocked my English topic they seem perfectly capable to understand it. ... Mehr anzeigen

Mein härterer (aber nicht außerhalb der Grenzen liegender) Ton ist das direkte Ergebnis davon, dass ich viel bezahlt habe und dann bei Beschwerden 2 Monate lang ignoriert wurde. Übrigens, Sie können sehr herablassend sein ... Mehr anzeigen

(automatisch übersetzt) Das sagt viel über Viessmann aus, denke ich Ich denke, es ist nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis es auch blockiert wird ... Mehr anzeigen

Ich meine, sie sind blockiert, ich kann keine weiteren Nachrichten hinzufügen Entschuldigung, aber ich spreche kein Deutsch und übersetze dies automatisch ... Mehr anzeigen

Wie kann das nicht bekannt sein? Ich habe das bereits vor 2 Monaten gemeldet. Wird wirklich nichts getestet? Es scheint, als ob jede Form von Professionalität, Engagement und Unterstützung von Viessmann weg ist. Ganz zu schweigen von der Bürokratie, die durchschnittliche Regierungsbehörde würde sich dafür schämen. Werden Sie manchmal nicht mehr bezahlt? Es sieht aus wie ein langer Streik ... Mehr anzeigen