Aqara E1 TRV housing

This is a prototype and i haven't had time yet to test it over a long period, since i just installed mine. If you want to help refining the design i would love to hear if any issues appeared while using this housing.

Since printing new housings from PC i noticed that the button presses weren't that reliable anymore do to the rotating cap hitting its end stop before the buttons were pressed. Therefore i uploaded a V2 version where the housing is elongated by 0.5mm. This wasn't a problem for my PETG printed ones, so i left the original files in the V1 folder. In the V2 folder there is a .3mf file that is sliced with a draft shield for anyone who also needs to print from PC/ABS etc. and doesn't have an enclosure.

WARNING my units failed after the outside temperature dropped significantly causing the temperature of the heating cycle to increase to ~80 C. Since i printed the housings from PETG this caused them to fail. If you want to use PETG make sure that your valve doesn't get hotter than 70 C at any time. I reprinted the units from Polymaker PC Max, and will update how those hold up.

Week 1 (19.03.25 - 26.03.25) still works

Week 2 (26.03.25 - 02.04.25) still works , and i also installed this on a second unit

Week 3 (02.04.25 - 09.04.25) both units  still  work

Week 4 (09.04.25 - 16.04.25) both units  still  work

Week 5 (16.04.25 - 23.04.25) both units  still  work

Week 6 (23.04.25 - 30.04.25) both units  still  work

Week 7 (30.04.25 - 06.05.25) both units  still  work

Summer Break (Both units survived the static valve force during the summer)

Week 8 (01.10.25-08.10.25)  both units  still  work

Week 9 (08.10.25-15.10.25)  both units  still  work

Week 10 (15.10.25-22.10.25) both units still work

Week 11 (22.10.25-29.10.25) both units still work

Week 12 (29.10.25-05.11.25) both units still work

Week 12 (05.11.25-12.11.25) both units still work

Week 13 (12.11.25-19.11.25) due to the low outside temperature the valve gets up to 80 C, causing my units to fail

29.11.25 New housing printed from Polymaker PC Max.

Additional hardware:
- 3x M2.6x20
( Min length is about 15mm but this is just a guess since i think the load spreads better in soft materials if the screw is longer)
(Max length is 53mm, which is the depth of the hole.)

A replacement for the housing of the Aqara E1 TRV. Since i installed E1's in my flat at the end of 2022 i had 4 of them fail, the cause in all of those cases was the housing breaking at the mounting points that bear the load from the linear actuator that actuates the pin on the heater valve. Images of the failure can be seen below. After my first 2 TRV's failed i contacted Aqara support and they replaced both units, but those replacements still had this design flaw so both of the replacement units eventually failed. This time though Aqara support would not replace them, leaving me with 4 useless pieces of e-waste just because Aqara was not capable of designing a plastic housing that could actually take the loads for a sustained period.

For strength it is very important to print this in PETG with a layer height of 0.2 mm. PLA wont work since the valve gets up to about 65 deg C. 0.2mm seems to offer the best strength. Also use the .3mf file i provided to slice the object. In case you are using another slicer, the orientation and supports should be exactly as in this .3mf file. If your valve reaches higher temperatures then 70 C, you will need to print this from something more temperature resistant, like PC,ABS or ASA.

Since one of the mounting points broke, the pcb assembly develops a slight angle compared to the housing. This causes the buttons on the pcb to be pressed anytime the actuator tries to push on the valve pin

A closer look from outside, the fractured mounting point can be clearly seen

After disassembly the 3 mounting points can be seen much better, two of them are completely broken.

A close up of a broken mounting point

The third mounting point also developed a crack.