PyUbbink package

This is an unofficial implementation of the Ubbink Ubiflux Vigor ventillation system Modbus communications.

Why? To be able to control these devices from HomeAssistant, or from your computer.

Hardware prerequisites

• Ubiflux Vigor W325 or W400 device
• USB - RS458 dongle

Hardware setup

You have to connect your computer or Pi to the Vigor device with a (preferably) twisted pair of wire. Connect the A, B ports of the dongle to the red Modbus port on the Vigor device, A -> 2, B -> 3. If your dongle has a GND port, connect it to 1. (In my setup, I only use two wires, without GND)

You do not need the Plus PCB to use this package. (Ubbink 0883246 - circuit board 'Plus' for Vigor with WIFI and LAN)

Software Prerequisites

• Install Python 3, did not checked the actual minimum version, 3.7+ will be fine
• Install pymodbus: pip install pymodbus --upgrade
• Install PyUbbink: pip install pyubbink
• For the dongle - depending on the version you have - you might need a CH341 chip driver. For Windows, search CH341SER and you will find it. For Pi + HomeAssistant it worked for me without additional driver.

Usage

Creating the pymodbus client

Create a pymodbus serial client, typically ModbusSerialClient. Use the device name where you connected. For Windows, simply use the COM port name.

client = ModbusClient(port='/dev/ttyUSB0', baudrate=19200, stopbits = 1, bytesize = 8, parity = 'N', method="rtu")

In the wall unit, you can change the serial speed to other values - make sure you use the same settings.

The RTU mode is important as Vigor devices use RTU framing.

Connection

Use the connect method in the pymodbus client to open the serial port: client.connect()

When connected you can attach the pyubbink wrapper vigor = VigorDevice(client)

The default ModBus slave address is 20. If you change that on the wall unit you can specify it with the unit parameter, like VigorDevice(client, 42)

When done use close: client.close()

Obtaining device information

get_serial_number() returns the serial number as a string.

Obtaining sensor values

Sensor	Method	Unit
Intake temperature	get_supply_temperature()	Celsius
Intake pressure	get_supply_pressure()	Pa
Intake actual airflow	get_supply_airflow_actual()	m3/h
Intake airflow preset	get_supply_airflow_preset()	m3/h
Exhaust temperature	get_extract_temperature()	Celsius
Exhaust pressure	get_extract_pressure()	Pa
Exhaust actual airflow	get_extract_airflow_actual()	m3/h
Exhaust airflow preset	get_extract_airflow_preset()	m3/h

Obtaining statuses

Here are some statuses you can query:

Status	Method	Possible values
Bypass status	get_bypass_status()	"opening","closing", "open", "closed" state of the bypass valve, "initializing" during boot
Filter status	get_filter_status()	"normal", "dirty"
Airflow mode	get_airflow_mode()	Wall unit: "wall_unit" in this case the wall unit controls the device Standard presets: "holiday","low","normal","high" the last selected preset set by set_airflow_mode() Custom: "custom" if the last setting was done with set_custom_airflow_rate()

Actions

The following methods are to change the airflow. If the wall unit is in manual mode, it seems all of these are ignored, and the only manual setting of the wall unit used. Once you set it back to clock program, the last setting applied by these method will be used.

Also, it seems, if these settings applied without reasonable delay (>5 secs), the device seems ignoring them.

Action	Method	Parameters
Revert to wall unit	set_airflow_mode("wall_unit")	Use the "wall_unit to hand back the control to the wall unit.
Choose preset	set_airflow_mode(mode)	Selects one of the presets: "holiday","low","normal","high"
Custom rate	set_custom_airflow_rate(rate)	0, 50-400, if out of range the value will be adjusted to a valid one. This option is only available for Vigor W400 (according the documentation. I have W400 and it works.)

Full example

from pymodbus.client.sync import ModbusSerialClient as ModbusClient
from pyubbink import VigorDevice
import time

client = ModbusClient(port='/dev/ttyUSB0', baudrate=19200, stopbits = 1, bytesize = 8, parity = 'N', method="rtu", timeout=60)
vigor = VigorDevice(client)

client.connect()
print("Device serial number:    " + vigor.get_serial_number())

print("Intake temperature:      " + str(vigor.get_supply_temperature()) + " Celsius")
print("Intake pressure:    " + str(vigor.get_supply_pressure()) + " Pa")
print("Intake actual airflow:   " + str(vigor.get_supply_airflow_actual()) + " m3/h")
print("Intake airflow preset:   " + str(vigor.get_supply_airflow_preset()) + " m3/h")
print("Exhaust temperature:     " + str(vigor.get_extract_temperature()) + " Celsius")
print("Exhaust pressure:   " + str(vigor.get_extract_pressure()) + " Pa")
print("Exhaust actual airflow:  " + str(vigor.get_extract_airflow_actual()) + " m3/h")
print("Exhaust airflow preset:  " + str(vigor.get_extract_airflow_preset()) + " m3/h")

print("Airflow mode:       " + vigor.get_airflow_mode())
print("Bypass status:      " + vigor.get_bypass_status())
print("Filter status:      " + vigor.get_filter_status())

# choose a preset
vigor.set_airflow_mode("low")
time.sleep(60)

# choose a custom rate
vigor.set_airflow_rate(135)
time.sleep(60)

# revert back to wall unit
vigor.set_airflow_mode("wall_unit")

client.close()

References

General description

https://www.ubbink.com/nl-be/ventilatie/woonhuisventilatie/woonhuisventilatie/warmteterugwinunits

https://www.ubbink.com/en-gb/ventilation/residential-ventilation/residential-ventilation/ubiflux-mvhr-heat-recovery-units

Manual

Interestingly, only the Dutch version contains the ModBus commands. https://www.ubbink.com/getmedia/b970e7e8-a20f-4265-82c0-948590c74311/Ubiflux-Vigor-W325-installatiehandleiding-versie-12-2018-NL.PDF

When looking at the PDF, pay attention to the hex and decimal values. In the documentation, they are sometimes hex, sometimes decimal.

Hardware

Dongle

Search for CH340 USB to RS485 485 Converter Adapter Module Looks like:

or

For me, this blue one did not work, but I might got a defective one.

Wall unit

Ubbink 0888030 - digital control panel Air Control