Condensing boilers and combi boilers with WIFI capability

bob eck

Happy Thanksgiving everyone I hope yours was great spending time off with family and friends.
Question are any heating professionals using condensing boilers and combi boilers with WIFI capability so you can look at what the boiler is doing and any error codes before you get to the job? What brand condensing boiler or combi boiler are you using with the WIFI capability? What can you see or do remotely with the WIFI connection? If there is a problem with the boiler will you be sent a text or email to alert you that the boiler has an error code or that the boiler is not running? In today’s fast paced world home owners should like it if their heating contractor knew there was something wrong with their boiler before they did and that you are already calling them to tell them when you will be available to come to the house and get their boiler back up and running. Plus if you can check the boiler run times per heating cycle to see if you can change the parameters in the control to get the boiler to fire at lower BTU input to get the longer run time. After you get some history on a new boiler installation and you change things in the control to get the boiler more efficient I would think the home owner would like this kind of professional service.
I see Lochinvar has this capability with their Knight condensing boilers and Navien has it with their boilers any other manufacturers with this capability?

newagedawn

good point something to consider

Leon82

For commercial it seems like a great tool that you should include in the install and pricing.

For residential it has the potential to become a sizable percentage of the install cost. At least the conex us option

kalex1114

Lochinvar conxus board has a feature to notify installer of any issues. I ordered it as part of my install. My hvac company doesn't want anything to do with it at all. I asked if they wanted it to alert them, they said no we don't have anything setup for that. I offered them to use it during troubleshooting and startup both times I was told "no need for it".
They even went as far as to tell me that "if you change anything on the boiler and something breaks we will not warranty it"

One thing I'm pretty disappointed with is its ability to help with troubleshooting. It doesn't show you cycles per heating call or anything detailed. It gives you pretty graphs but they are not as useful. It does offer you a general idea but nothing detailed.

BobC

Think carefully before putting anything important on WIFI. Most appliances have zero safeguards so they are wide open to hacking. Do you really want somebody to be able to control your heating system without regard to consequences.

There is a reason I don't surf the web from an account with administrative privileges.

Bob

Canucker

> @BobC said:
> Think carefully before putting anything important on WIFI. Most appliances have zero safeguards so they are wide open to hacking. Do you really want somebody to be able to control your heating system without regard to consequences.
>
> There is a reason I don't surf the web from an account with administrative privileges.
>
> Bob

This. Device manufacturers for the IoT do not take online security very seriously. I personally want as few systems in my house connected to the internet as possible.

psb75

Oh, you just "opened up a can." I know that Viessmann has a very sophisticated information system and that it can be accessed remotely. I also install Austrian pellet boilers that are "connected". I'm not necessarily recommending that someone "use" all of this connectivity. Certainly hacking potential exists. I am a sole-proprietor and I'm not sure how you'd integrate all of this information access from a business perspective. Like I said at the beginning, this is a big "can" to consider. Proceed with caution.

bob eck

psb75 said:

Oh, you just "opened up a can." I know that Viessmann has a very sophisticated information system and that it can be accessed remotely. I also install Austrian pellet boilers that are "connected". I'm not necessarily recommending that someone "use" all of this connectivity. Certainly hacking potential exists. I am a sole-proprietor and I'm not sure how you'd integrate all of this information access from a business perspective. Like I said at the beginning, this is a big "can" to consider. Proceed with caution.

That is why I asked this question.
I work for F W Webb wholesaler and I wanted to get opinions and real field experience from heating professionals who is using the WiFi option to see if they like it and if it is beneficial to their business plus if homeowners want this or are asking for it.
If I just ask the manufacture or the manufacture reps they will tell me the WiFi option is the greatest and everyone should be buying their boilers and using their WiFi options.
I gather information on different heating subjects from this site so I can better help my professional heating contractors that come to me for help and to purchase their heating systems.
I learn from people on here, from trade magazines, from manufacturers, from my customers, from other Heating web sites ect.... in this business no matter if you are in the field or working on the wholesale side or an manufacture or manufacture rep you always need to be learning gather information this is why I like the Hydronic heating side of the wholesale business more than other products the wholesaler sells but I am always looking at and learning about the water heating, plumbing, water system, waist water system, water treatment plus we sell A/C & H/P ducted systems and ductless. We also sell gas fireplaces and gas logsets. The more I know about all of these different product lines the more valuable I am to my customers and my company.