Honeywell Home evohome is the original multi-zone heating solution. If you are interested in controlling your heating system with Honeywell Home evohome and trying to understand what evohome items you need, please watch the video and read the following information below.
Firstly, we recommend using the evohome System Builder to identify your basic requirements. If you have used the evohome System Builder and are still looking for more information, below is our evohome buying guide to help you get the right products for your home.
Important things you need to know about Honeywell Home evohome
Honeywell Home evohome is a completely wireless, standalone system and uses a proprietary RF signal on 868MHz to communicate to the other wireless evohome devices. The 2021 Honeywell Home evohome ATC928G3000 Controller (originally launched in the UK July 2015) also has a Wi-Fi adaptor built in to it. This allows firmware updates and remote control using the Honeywell Home Total Connect Comfort (TCC) App, via its Wi-Fi connection with your broadband router.
A single Honeywell Home evohome Controller (also known as an evotouch Controller) is capable of controlling up to 12 heating zones and one hot water zone (you can however have 4x evotouch Controllers per system, creating up to 48 zones). When used in a multi zone environment, all the other evohome products wirelessly communicate directly to the ‘master’ evohome Controller using a secure 2-way point-to-point communication protocol called ‘Ramses II’. The RF signal used by evohome is truly excellent and typical range in a domestic property is 30m from the evohome Controller to the relevant evohome components. However, there are no wireless range extenders available for the evohome system, so if you have a very large property or a property constructed with materials known to cause existing RF issues, then we suggest your home is tested for RF signal strength with one of our RF test kits prior to purchase (Click Here To Hire Our RF Test Kit).
Honeywell Home evohome is capable of being used in many different ways and with different heating technologies. It is typically used with wet heating systems, however if configured correctly and installed within its safe working limits, it can also work in electric only heating environments (such as electric radiators and infrared panel heaters).
Below are some examples of typical heating systems, how Honeywell Home evohome can be used and what basic equipment you would need for the application.
Combi Boiler | Gas, LPG & Oil (Non-OpenTherm)
A ‘Combi Boiler’ is a boiler that does not have a separate hot water storage cylinder and instead heats domestic hot water on demand. If the boiler has a ‘switched live’ connection built into it, Honeywell evohome is fully capable of controlling the heating system connected to this type of boiler with a Honeywell Home evohome Connected Thermostat Pack. A Combi Boiler does not need a Honeywell Home evohome Hot Water Kit. If using Honeywell Home evohome HR91 or HR92 Radiator Controllers on all radiators with a Combi Boiler, we highly recommend you consult with the boiler manufacturer to see if an Automatic Bypass Valve (ABV) is required to ensure minimum flow rates through the boilers heat exchanger. Please Note: If you have an Oil Combi Boiler, these appliances have a ‘slave tank’ which is a store of water controlled by a programmer on the fascia of the boiler. Honeywell evohome is not able to control the pre-heat function on these slave tanks and the existing boiler programmer must remain in place to control this function.
Regular & System Boilers | Gas, LPG & Oil (Non-OpenTherm)
A ‘Regular Boiler’ is sometimes referred to as a ‘Conventional Boiler’ and is normally a central heating boiler with a separate hot water storage cylinder and header tanks in the loft (this boiler type can also be connected to a sealed system kit and an ‘un-vented cylinder’ and may not have tanks in the loft). The majority of Regular Boilers will be connected to an S-Plan (2 or more single port zone valves) or Y-Plan (mid-positioned or 3 port valve) system to allow the heat produced from the boiler to do heating, hot water or a combination of both. Honeywell evohome can control this type of system with the Honeywell Home evohome Connected Thermostat Pack (heating) and the Honeywell Home evohome Hot Water Kit (hot water).
A ‘System Boiler’ is similar to a ‘Regular Boiler’ however these are attached to heating systems that are pressurised (normally to 1 to 1.5 BAR) indicated by a pressure gauge fitted on the boiler. All of the heating components required for the system (Pump, Expansion Vessel, etc) are usually fitted inside boiler. These boilers are also capable of being controlled by Honeywell Home evohome, however caution must be taken as some existing boilers have manufacturers controls with integrated diverter valves inside the boiler instead of external controls such as S-Plan or Y-Plan and this may mean Honeywell Home evohome will not be fully compatible. Please Contact Us with your boiler make and model if you are unsure of anything before your purchase.
There are many system configurations that can be created for Regular and System Boilers and it can get complicated, so we advise if you are unsure of anything you speak to your installer or a member of our team before purchasing your evohome components in order to obtain exactly the right components you need.
Heat Pumps
‘Heat Pumps’ come in various forms (Air-to-Air, Air-to-Water and Ground Source) and are also capable of being controlled by Honeywell evohome. However due to the nature of Heat Pumps and the fact some Heat Pumps do not have buffer cylinders fitted (requiring in some cases 70% of the heating system to be uncontrolled) some technical advice from the heat pump manufacturer will be required before purchasing Honeywell Home evohome.
Electric Heating
‘Electric Boilers’, ‘Infrared Panels’, ‘Electric Towel Rails’ and ‘Electric Under Floor Heating’ are just a few types of electric heating common in many houses. Honeywell evohome can control electric only heating systems (up to 5 amps max. per BDR91 Wireless Relay Box), however there are certain limitations of the Honeywell evohome product (such as no floor temperature probes available for E-UFH). This is because Honeywell Home evohome was originally designed for wet heating systems.
Honeywell evohome HR91 & HR92 Radiator Controllers
Honeywell evohome HR91 & HR92 Radiator Controllers are required if you have radiators and are thinking of smart zoning your home. Smart zoning works by controlling the flow of central heating water to each individual radiator and telling the boiler to only switch ‘on’ when the radiator controller actually requires it to. This is a proven way of saving money, by increasing the level of heating system control in your home. The Honeywell Home evohome HR91 Radiator Controller is the latest version (released 2019) based on feedback from homeowners and installers. The Honeywell Home evohome HR91 is a simpler designed radiator controller without an LCD screen or local override function, as featured on the Honeywell Home evohome HR92. The Honeywell Home evohome Radiator Controllers will fit to the majority of existing Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRV’s), but please see our TRV Compatibility Page to see if your existing radiator valves are compatible before purchasing. We offer some great deals when bulk purchasing evohome radiator controllers. Please have a look at our Honeywell Home evohome Value Packs.
Hydronic Underfloor Heating
Honeywell evohome can control a single zone of underfloor heating (UFH) using a Honeywell Home Single Zone Thermostat Y87RF2024 or multiple zones (rooms) of UFH served by an UFH manifold using the Honeywell Home Underfloor Heating Controller (HCC80R). The HCC80R Underfloor Heating Controller can do 5x UFH zones in standard form and a maximum of 8x UFH zones by adding a Honeywell Home Extension Module (HSC80). An UFH manifold has ‘thermal actuators’ fitted to control the flow of water to the relevant heating zones and multiple thermal actuators can serve one zone. The HCC80R can power a maximum of 3x 230v thermal actuators for each UFH zone on the HCC80R and you can use multiple HCC80R zones grouped together for larger UFH areas. You can do more than 8 zones, however you would end up using a second HCC80R UFH controller (2x HCC80R would give you 10 zones without the HCS80 for example). Each UFH zone also requires a wireless zone thermostat and all the compatible UFH thermostats are found under our UFH section – Underfloor Heating Controllers Section
(Last Updated – May 2021)