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I had a question what do I need to read a Nefit Ecomline protocol?
I mean how i should decode the protocol
What kind of hardware or program should I use?
I am in possession of a license service key from nefit
I hope someone can help explain it, because for now to buy a new boiler just because the Nefit isn't OpenTherm is a little bit too much of a good thing;-)

Thank you.
Greetings
edwin

Did you ever figure out anything about this protocol? I have an ecomline boiler from 2000, which I suspect uses the same protocol (it's not OpenTherm or Nefit's newer EMS protocol, but something older).

I was also considering replacing the boiler, but both Nefit and the technician that serviced the boiler convinced me that a new boiler will hardly be more efficient, so that it's probably best to keep this boiler until it breaks... Because of that, I won't be able to use OpenTherm, so I'm thinking of reverse engineering the Nefit protocol instead. Any pointers would be appreciated :-)

Does anyone know if this protocol has a name?

As an alternative, apparently Nefit also makes an "EED" module, which can translate a 0-10V signal into this Nefit protocol, doing modulation on power and/or water temperature apparently. Which I'll probably not be using, since I want more data and control :-)

Perhaps this discussion on Nefit may help:

domoticaforum.eu/viewtopic.php?f=70& ... amp;t=8802

Olof

I don't think so, that's about the brand new moduline easy, which uses the newer EMS protocol (and according to my service technician does not work with the older ecomline boilers...).

Perhaps the link was not clear enough. But Nefit is also bringing out an adapter (nefit Easy Connect adapter) which does work with older ecomline units.

E.T.A. Is 'begin 2014'

Ah, indeed, I missed that point. Seems that the "Easy Connect" adapter converts both OpenTherm and the older Nefit protocol to the EMS protocol (I presume) to work with the Moduline Easy. Still, for me that doesn't really help me, since I want to control my kettle for my own zoning system, my goal is not to control my room thermostat...

Seems that the "Easy Connect" adapter converts both OpenTherm and the older Nefit protocol to the EMS protocol (I presume) to work with the Moduline Easy. Still, for me that doesn't really help me, since I want to control my kettle for my own zoning system, my goal is not to control my room thermostat...

hmmm, I might have missed that.
I was assuming/hoping that through the Easy Connect adapter, my Ecomline kettle could be controlled through OpenTherm thermostats/controllers.

Cheers,
Olof

Perhaps if you chain the Easy Connect adapter with an EMS -> Opentherm converter from Nefit, but I'd not get your hopes up...

Regarding the ecomline protocol: I've opened up my moduline thermostat and found it contains some chip labeld "betronic irtas v1", which is mentioned on a lot of chinese parts sites, but no datasheet can be found. I did find a mention somewhere that suggests it is some kind of modulation (e.g., electrical modulation of a communication signal, not the boiler modulation kind) chip. Also, I found that there are two traces going from that chip to the TX and RX pins of the microcontroller in the thermostat, so I have good hope that I can snif the and reverse protocol from there, without having to worry about the exact modulation of the protocol. From there, I hope to also find out the exact electrical modulation used, but if that doesn't work, it seems reasonable to just get an irtas v1 chip out of an old moduline thermostat and just let that chip handle all the modulation :-) It'll be a while until I can find some time for this, though.

I guess it's a custom made chip.

Betronic is a Dutch company and was a main supplier to Nefit.
betronic.nl/index.php/en/organisation/h ... story.html

Did anything ever come out of this? Up until I just read your post I was thinking that the Ecomline heaters also used EMS, but you're saying they don't?

Nothing yet, but this is still on my todolist.

What I've understood from Nefit is indeed that newer heaters (not sure if they're still called ecomline?) use EMS, but older ones like the one I have from 2000 or so use an older protocol.

Well when I put all the pieces together, it does make sense:

- Nefit Easy doesn't use OpenTherm because they're releasing an OpenTherm interface for it
- In 1994 the heating activities of Nefit were bought by Buderus
- So if we assume it takes a few years to integrate companies and certainly their technologies, late 90's to early 2000's would be when Nefit products were fitted with EMS (which is a Buderus product, they used it since before that time, according to an Belgian installer friend of mine)
- Ecomline is on the market since 1995, too early to have EMS integrated (if indeed they only started integration after Buderus bought Nefit, which is not certain at all)
- The Nefit Easy Connect website says that it will work for EcomLine
- HomeWizard has a connector module to connect Nefit heaters with OpenTherm
- That connector doesn't support Ecomline
- Hence, it's logical that the HomeWizard product converts EMS to OpenTherm, but doesn't speak whatever Nefit used before EMS; if the HomeWizard doesn't work with the Ecomline, Ecomline doesn't use EMS

SO, if we combine all of that, it makes sense to think that the Easy uses EMS. Plus the Easy works with relatively new Nefit heaters but not others, reinforcing that conclusion. And if the Easy Connect is an old-Nefit-to-EMS gateway, then using the Easy Connect with one of the two EMS gateways described here: http://ems-gateway.myds.me/dokuwiki/doku.php , OR using the Easy Connect with the HomeWizard, would give us an USB or Ethernet PC-interface for the Ecomline resp. an OpenTherm interface for the Ecomline...

Anybody cares to search their Linkedin profile if they know anyone who works for Nefit, Buderus or Betronic who can give us the inside scoop? I really want to get detailed info from my heater and drive the modulation from my domotica PC without having to buy another heater, but it seems there are so many unknowns, hacks and half-assed interfaces that the chances of actually getting this to work are very slim...

Your observations seem right to me, though I'm by no means an expert. If you want more info and have specific question, you could try calling the Nefit customer sevice. I did that before and even though they didn't have any actual protocol documentation available for end users, they actually tried hard to understand my situation and offer suggestions on possible interface I could use (unlike all other manufacturers I asked, see http://www.domoticaforum.eu/viewtopic.p ... de1#p65026).