Using smart plug as range extender - some questions

[LondonWiserUser]

Hi all,

I've been using the Wiser smart heating system in my home for about a month now. It's a three-storey house with the Heat Hub R located next to a combi boiler in the middle of the top floor. We have a BT mesh WiFi system with very fast WiFi signal. All BT discs in the house are connected to the main router by ethernet cable, so the WiFi system is very stable. The Wiser room thermostat is wall-mounted in the hallway on the middle floor. I've installed Wiser smart radiator thermostat valves on three radiators on each of the top floor, middle floor and ground floor, i.e. nine valves in total. I have an iPhone and my Wiser Home app is operated via that. I don't use Google home assistant or Alexa and I'd prefer not to add those layers of complication if I can avoid it. Likewise, I don't operate any other home appliances, lighting, etc in a 'smart' way - I just wanted more control over my heating in a fairly large house that's often minimally occupied.

My initial impressions of the Wiser system are positive. I experienced some losses of connection between the app and the main Hub R to begin with but that's largely settled down now. The other niggly issue has been individual radiators losing connection to the main hub, i.e. a 'no signal' error meaning you lose the ability to control them except manually at the valve. Generally these valves re-establish connection after a while but sometimes it's taken half a day or more; or I've had to power them down and force a reconnect. 

Having noticed that the radiators most prone to losing connection with the hub are the ones in the rooms at the front of the house, I decided to buy a Wiser Smart Plug to use as a range extender. The front/middle floor room is reasonably close to the main Hub R, so by using an electrical socket in that room I figured the smart plug should act as a bridge for the three radiators in the front rooms on the top, middle and ground floors that have had less stable connections. 

My Wiser smart plug has product number WB704H1A0902 and the paper instructions/quick start guide inside its box have a matching number.

I've searched this forum and saw this thread:

https://community.se.com/t5/Schneider-Electric-Wiser-Forum/Smart-Plug-Range-Extender-and-Room-Thermo...

...which is along similar lines to my own queries, but only partially answered them and/or did so in a way that was a bit too techy for me. So I hope someone may be able to provide some help with the issues I'm not sure about. Here goes:

1. I set up the smart plug as per the instruction guide, including powering down the Hub R for a couple of minutes. I hope it's worked as planned but Just to repeat comments made by others on here: it's frustrating not to be able to tell how my new plug is being utilised (if at all!) by my Wiser system. All I know is that the plug has appeared as a connected device on my app home page. Am I right in thinking that (without employing techy software as suggested in the thread posted above) I just have to hope for the best that my 'weak signal' radiator valves will latch onto the newly installed plug?

2. The plug setup guide tells me I can check the RF signal strength of the plug in the Wiser Heat app by going into 'Settings' and then the 'Devices' category.  That just seems to be flat wrong, unless I'm missing something. I'm confused as to why the Wiser guide says you can do it, and gives specific instructions how, but it seems there's actually no such facility in the app?

3. I can turn the smart plug on and off either manually using its button or remotely via the app. In either case, when it's turned on a solid blue light appears on top. If the plug is turned off (no light visible) does that mean it's totally inactive as a range extender? If that's the case, then basically I'll need to have the smart plug switched on more or less 24/7 unless I schedule it to come on and off at the same times as the 'target' radiators?

4. ...and if the hypothesis at 3 above is correct, i.e. the plug only works as an extender with the blue light switched on, then I have an extra issue since I'm hoping the plug will stabilise the hub connection for three separate radiators which are all programmed to have different on/off schedules. So I could elect to apply to the smart plug the same schedule as the radiator on the front/ground floor, which is scheduled to be on more often than the other two, but that would still leave some mismatches when other 'weak' rads are in use but are not getting the benefit of the plug extender. Or, I guess I could just programme the plug to be 'on' from early morning until after normal bedtime so that it's always available for any rad that needs it? Not a major drama if that's the case, but I'd like to understand if that's how it has to work

It's too soon for me to judge whether the plug is having the desired effect on keeping the 'weak' radiator valves connected to the hub. I'll happily report back on progress. But initially I'd just like to get reassurance that I've understood how the system works with the range extender plug, or (if I haven't) get some clarity on what I'm missing!

Sorry the above is so wordy but - as a non-expert home tech user - I've found that reading other people's descriptions of their own home setups, and their own issues and queries, plus the thoughtful responses of those who are more techy or experienced, enormously helpful. So here's thanks in advance for anyone kind enough to respond.

Cheers.

[BrianT58]

I think you'll find the instructions included with the smart plugs are unfortunately a bit out of date. I have three of the plugs and I just paired them in the app the same as you would as TRV. I did power off the the hub.
The blue light just tells you that the socket is on smae as if you had illuminated wall sockets. As long as you have power going into the smart plug it should be connected to the hub and TRV's will connect (and disconnect) to it as they see fit.
I run home assistant with the wiser integration and there is a "card" in there which shows me the connection of the entire wiser network. so I can at least confirm it works
despite what the instructions may say there is no signal strength indication between the plugs and the hub like there is with the the TRV's. 
It's not the best implementation by wiser there is work still to do but it does work.

[LondonWiserUser]

Hi Brian

Thanks very much, that's really useful and it's interesting to see how your home assistant illustrates your home setup and what's connected to what (I assume that's where your screenshot came from). It would be great to have that facility within the Wiser app but, as you say, maybe that's something for the future.

So - just for clarity, and for the next 'me' that reads this - I think what you're saying is that, if you're only using the smart plug as a range extender for the Wiser heat system, once the smart plug has initially been linked to the hub there's no need to ever have the smart plug switched 'on' with the blue light shining? In other words, it will perform its function of boosting the Wiser heat network just by being paired to the hub and then passively left plugged in.

Presumably, if you were using the smart plug to control an appliance like a lamp (which I'm not) then you would need to switch on the smart plug, or schedule it to switch on, at the time you wanted the lamp to turn on and the plug's blue light would then come on at the same time as the lamp. Correct?

If all the above is correct, then it follows that I don't need to assign any timing schedule to my smart plug in the Wiser app? Until I read your post I'd set up and was using a schedule for the smart plug so that it turned on at the same time as its 'target' radiators in the morning and then off at the end of the day when all heating was turning off. But it seems I can just have the plug 'off' 24/7 but (while it stays connected to the hub) it'll do its extender job regardless.

Since I first installed the smart plug at the weekend I haven't spotted a single drop-out of TRV connection on the three radiators that previously had been prone to losing connection with the hub, so it does seem to be working well. After reading your post, I've switched off the plug (no blue light) and have disapplied my on/off schedule for it on the app. Hopefully that won't alter the stability of the extension setup - the proof should come over the next few days as I monitor potential connection losses on the affected radiators.

Thanks again. If you can spare the time to say whether I've correctly summarised your advice above (or in what way I haven't!) that would be fab.

Cheers. LWU.

[BrianT58 · Accepted solution]

Yup you've nailed it. the socket needs power to act as a extender and aftewr that it 's just a plug socket with a blue light to tell you if it's on or off. No need for schedules unless you specifically wnat to turn something on or off at a certain time

[LondonWiserUser]

Thanks again. Super-helpful. 

[medhum]

Hi,  I'm new to Wiser, less than a week with 1 x HubR 1 1 x Room Stat and 10 TRVs.  All seem to now be working as I want them, but the 3 TRVs in the bedrooms have a weak signal and drop out every now and then. I have brought an extender, and it is installed upstairs, but the TRVs in the bedrooms do not appear to have any stronger signal now and want to know whether your home assistant will show whether the TRVs are connected to the extender.  So my questions are 1) which "Home Assistant" are you using and 2) does it show if the devices are connected to the extender?  Thanks and hope you and let me know  

[BrianT58]

Yes the home assistant can show what is connected to either the hub or the extenders using the ZIgbee card. they connections do like to hop around a bit though. I have a trv in the same room as an extender but it's not connected to it. but a trv in another room is. You may find that although your exteders are up and running the TRV's as yet haven't connected to them, tomorrow however they may have done. you could try killing the power to the hub for a minute and then letting them all find their strongest signal, that could work.

[medhum]

Many thanks, I will keep monitoring, and with winter coming I may investigate setting up my own Home Assistant machine