Despite the interruption of Covid-19, the OpenTherm Association says it is looking to continue its UK awareness programme aimed at installers and end suers.

OpenTherm is a non-manufacturer-dependent system of communication, predominantly used to connect modulating HVAC heating appliances and room thermostats, and the Association has launched a initial three-year communication process to raise awareness of the protocol, its benefits to the heating industry as a whole and to manufacturers and installers in particular.

The OpenTherm protocol facilitates digital boiler modulation, thereby helping to meet load compensation requirements. It is argued that a large installed base of OpenTherm compatible products could facilitate the implementation of a range of new solutions that could improve energy use, reduce the carbon footprint of a heating installation and reduce its total cost of ownership. Typical potential examples could see the increase in home automation and the availability of remote diagnostics for domestic installations.

The OpenTherm Association recognises that in order to establish the OpenTherm protocol, it needs to effectively communicate and illustrate ‘what’s in it for me’ benefits to those manufacturing the equipment and those installing it in homes up and down the country.

Spreading the word

“Over the past year we have seen wider communication via the trade media and social media stepped up,” says OpenTherm Director Frank Steggink. “We also mounted our first workshops for installers at PHEX Chelsea last year that saw a number of installers introduced to the protocol – both increasing knowledge amongst those who were aware of OpenTherm and introducing it to others for the first time. It’s been a gradual process of introduction and we intend to broaden the message and share more information in the coming months.”

The Association already has a number of members signed up to work with it to introduce a wider acceptance of OpenTherm as a standard in the UK – manufacturers of boilers and controls that have already evaluated the OpenTherm protocol’s compatibility with their systems, including established names in the sector such as Ideal Boilers, InterGas, Honeywell Resideo, Danfoss, SALUS, ESi and Schneider Electric. Recognising the benefits of developing a common use ‘Open’ system in the UK, the protocol also has the support of industry bodies HHIC and BEAMA.

The basic function that every OpenTherm controller must provide is the communication of the heat requirement – the control setpoint and modulation level – to the heating appliance. This heat requirement is calculated by the controller based on the difference between the set temperature and the desired one, or another form of control such as outside temperature control. The OpenTherm protocol also supports many other non-compulsory functions, providing manufacturers with the opportunity to develop multiple product variants.

Test tool

The OpenTherm Association is working on the introduction of an automated test tool that should be available for all member companies within the next few weeks, which will help address some of the incompatibility issues that some installers have experienced in trying to pair controls with boilers in the past few months.

“This is a major plus for OpenTherm and will certainly smooth over some of the teething problems that have been experienced by some installers,” says OpenTherm’s new chairman of its Technical Committee, Huite Jan Hak, who has been responsible for the production of the test tool. “Whilst we accept that there have been some issues, it’s very easy to blame the OpenTherm protocol for these issues when it transpires that there have been reliability issues with the equipment being installed in some cases we have investigated so far. The arrival of the test tool should address many of these problems and highlight exactly where some of the challenges really lie. For the remainder of the issues we shall reach out to our members to help them improve their OpenTherm implementation where needed.”

For more information head for the OpenTherm website at www.opentherm.eu and join in the conversations about OpenTherm on Facebook and Linked In.