Here’s a (work in progress) summary to optimize our Nibe-Itho-Solaredge HVAC (wikipedia.org) system.

Intro ¶

Our homes are equipped with the following HVAC hardware:

• Heating: Nibe F1255-6 PC / F1155-6 PC
• PV: Solaredge: SE3680H / SE3000H / SE2200H; GroWatt MIC 2000TL-X
• Air: Itho HRU Eco 300 R / HRU Eco 350 Hoogbouw / HRU 400 STD

The out of the box config is OK but not optimal.

Common errors ¶

Itho Temperature sensor failure ¶

• Problem: incoming/outgoing air temperature sensors broken
• Symptoms: summer bypass valve operates incorrectly
• Diagnosis: read out temperature sensors using Home Assistant, manually verify algorithm
• Solution: get replaced by Itho

Itho Valve failure ¶

• Problem: summer bypass valve doesn’t open/close properly
• Symptoms: summer bypass valve toggling open/closed
• Diagnosis: read out temperature sensors using Home Assistant, manually verify valve operates correctly
• Solution: get replaced by Itho(?)

Itho Temperature sensor failure ¶

Easy tweaks ¶

Heating during the day ¶

• What: only run the heatpump heating during the day (when solar panels are generating power)
• Impact: higher efficiency of the heatpump, lower electricity cost, slightly higher temperature variation in house
• Difficulty to revert: easy
• Approach: configure manually via Nibe heatpump

Cooling during the day ¶

• What: only run the heatpump cooling during the day (when solar panels are generating power)
• Impact: lower efficiency of the heatpump, lower electricity cost, higher temperature at home (cooling power is limited, if it’s only running part of the day the cooling will be less effective)
• Difficulty to revert: easy
• Approach: configure manually via Nibe heatpump

Hot water during the day ¶

• What: only run the hot water boiler during the day (when solar panels are generating power)
• Impact: higher efficiency of the heatpump, lower electricity cost, possibly lower boiler temperature (can be compensated by increasing the set-point temperature)
• Difficulty to revert: easy
• Approach: configure manually via Nibe heatpump

Change min/max ventilation speed ¶

• What: Reduce max ventilation speed (to reduce noise)
• Impact: significantly lower noise, slightly lower air flow, slightly higher CO2 levels
• Difficulty to revert: easy
• Approach: configure manually on Itho unit

Change default ventilation speed ¶

• What: Increase default ventilation speed
• Impact: slightly more noise, higher air flow, lower CO2 levels, max ventilation settting triggers less
• Difficulty to revert: easy
• Approach: configure manually on Itho remote control

Use holiday setting on Nibe ¶

• What: Set Nibe heat pump to vacation setting while away
• Impact: almost no electricity use during holiday, more temperature variation
• Difficulty to revert: easy
• Approach: configure manually via Nibe heatpump

Medium difficulty tweaks ¶

1. Nibe: tweak heating/cooling curves to optimize efficiency
2. Solaredge: connect to cloud for monitoring (for free)

Difficult tweaks ¶

1. Itho: increase autonight setting to higher RPM
2. Itho: automatically control based on CO2
3. Nibe: trigger hot water boiler based on electricity price
4. Solaredge: auto disconnect during high electricity price