Reply With QuoteHow/why does your thermostat whir?
I am fed up with out whirring thermostat and limited timing controls. Nest and Hive seem to be the main contenders for installation. I would like to hear people's experiences with either or both especially the limitations especially only having a single timer meaning heating and hot water are either on, off or on the same timer programme.
We have a decent sized 3 bedroom house, we both have IOS phones and use a tank for hot water (if any of this really matters).
How/why does your thermostat whir?
We have a nest thermostat with a combi boiler and it works quite well. If you have a hot water tank then I think you need to go for Hive, as that one allows you to control heating and water separately
watching this thread.... can I throw Tado into the mix??
https://www.tado.com/gb/
Have hive and well pleased controls both water and heat independently,very easy to use either via the app or wall thermostat.We are moving and I will be getting hive installed in the new house.
I'b be interested to hear views on these too, and do they attach to the main digital control box, or each stat? We have three stats, one for upstairs and two downstairs.
I've got the Nest with a combi boiler. So far its been great. I programmed it up via the app and it just works. The app gives you a breakdown by of usage over the last 10 days and you get a summary of usage at the end of the month emailed to you. Plenty of ways to control it (website, phone app, google voice, IFTTT app etc).
is the Scottish Power Connect similiar?
http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/conne...-TRRoCzNzw_wcB
It seems to get stuck when it goes between on and off, buzz is probably a better term. It's a real pita when it does it at about 5am, I am the only person it seems to wake up.Originally Posted by Kingstepper
Ok, obviously not right!
I have got Tado v1 and wouldnt recommend it. Geolocation is patchy, doesnt allow multiple heating periods and generally its quite limited and not very user friendly at least on Android.
System that makes most sense to me having done some research recently is heat genius as it allows smart thermostat controls in individual rooms which in my view makes more sense and is smarter than simple on/off via smartphone that other systems offer. You can add motion sensors as well to control heating zones in the house.
I've been hovering over buy for Hive for quite a while now.
Ordered it on the Sunday of the Black Friday as they were running a promotion for £30 of Amazon vouchers (install and product was £149). However, they wouldn't honour it saying it was a mistake so I cancelled.
Still wanting it though and there's been numerous times over the last 4 weeks I've thought it would have been highly beneficial.
I have a Worcester Bosch combi with a Worcester wireless programmer. Nothing but trouble with interference and other software glitches. I'll be moving to Nest when I find a good deal.
Worcester have a version called the Wave. Only for Worcester boilers though, easy installation and works well.
I'll have a look into that. Thanks.
Same with my Vaillant one. Always losing connection and has to be rebooted (into German menu).
I have Hive
AFAIK, at the moment Hive can't handle multiple areas.
Personally, I'm very happy with Hive, would happily recommend it.
But...
I'm not sure if it would be a good bet simply to upgrade perfectly adequate controls, especially if you have a regular Mon-Fri 9-5 lifestyle. Your needs will be adequately served by a regular timer/stat.
If hower you are in the OP's position of wanting more control, dual timer, replacing a faulty thermostat then considering Hive makes sense - especially considering the price includes installation.
It's a boon to those who have an irregular schedule - no more heating an empty house, no more coming home to a cold one.
Ultimate in lazy convenience - bit chilly whilst watching tv, turn up the heating from your couch (no more twiddling unresponsive vague room stats or scrabbling around resetting the timer (and then forgetting to reset it back to "schedule".
Having a lie-in, stay in bed at turn on the heating.
I'm not at all sure it will save me the claimed £150 pa but it's cost has been worth every penny for comfort alone.
In the ten months I've had it, I've had two issues.
1. The red "lost communication" light was on one morning - a quick tweet to their helpline and that was resolved within the hour, and checked with a follow up call.
2. They had a major server glitch for one day, migrating software. Lost all control via the internet. But discovered that a) as long as your network is up, the wall stat will still control your heating hot water, b) in the event your wifi is broken, you still have simple on off toggle at the programmer receiver, & c) if your wifi is broken or you don't have data connection on your mobile - you can actually use text messages to control your heating.
I also like the fact that each of the six timer events can be set with separate temperatures depending on your needs. Some people complain that an off period is one of the timer events - but the system is never really off as it monitors all the time and will fire up the heating if freezing becomes a risk.
I have heard the call centre has long queues sometimes, but I've always used their Twitter Helpline as they are very fast to respond on there - and the company head honcho has an account and responds, as does their head IT guy.
Any other questions, I'll do my best to answer.
I've had Hive for a while now.
If you have a large house or solid walls, make sure you ask the engineers for a booster to repeat the wireless signal between your router and boiler. They will try to get it to connect without one as it obviously is a cost to them and while it may initially connect, it won't maintain the connection.
Since putting on the booster it has been pretty reliable.
I found the functionality useful when spending time outside the house and coming home from holiday etc, also for checking what the other half has been doing with the heating whole at work!
However now with a baby and more consistent schedule, I have just set the schedule and left it, so don't use it as much.
If I were installing it again, I would still buy Hive. Nest looks prettier but no idea if it is any good.
Obviously multi area controls would be better but doesn't that mean fundamentally changing the heating system as Hive and Nest just send an on or off signal to the boiler depending on how the central room thermostat is set.
I have a nest thermostat works very well and also a smoke detector which is good too, warns you that it's going to sound....its say something like grab the kids you wife has burnt dinner again
Is easy to control and works very well use it with a combi boiler
We've just moved house and hive is on the list of things to get.
One quick question... In our previous new build house we just had the one wall unit which controlled the time, temp etc. We now have a controller in the airing cupboard with times etc and a twist dial for temp down stairs. Does hive replace them both? Would it make the dial pointless and just control everything from the one unit?
Thanks.
Yes, replaces them both.
I use a Salus IT500 - a doddle to fit (for a DIYer) and works great.
http://www.salus-tech.com/products/thermostat/it500/
simon
What happens if the wireless goes down?
You use the touchscreen control panel - its connects wirelessly (not wifi) to unit hardwired to the boiler/motorised valves.
I have a boiler, a hot water tank (with optional electric element) and radiators. I have a timer unit beside the boiler (in the garage) and a thermostat in the hall.
I want to heat some rooms every day, some Monday to Friday and others just on the weekend. I want my son's room heated at night, but no others.
I also have under floor heating in a coupe of places on their own timers.
At the moment I have to turn radiators on and off as required and it's a pain the backside.
However, I don't think any of these devices are actually going to help, are they?
I have Philips Hue lighting and when the wifi goes down you can only control the lights by the switch obviously so was just wondering about heating. Good to hear it has buttons.
This might though
https://www.heatgenius.co.uk
Or try Honeywell evohome - http://getconnected.honeywell.com/en...ostats/evohome
Heatmiser is also worth a look, we have six heating zones, a mix of traditional wet and electric UHF plus dhw using the older touch pad controls and net monitor. Not wifi but hard wired and works well. They have a newer neo system that could be what your looking for.
http://www.heatmiser.com
Time to bring this thread back to life...
I'm considering getting either Tado or Nest for a combi boiler in a relatively small flat (so don't need multiple zones).
Has anybody got any recent experience of using either of these and could possibly recommend which would be best? For example, is the geolocation on Tado still patchy?
As far as I know both of these units aren't wireless so you'll end up having to chase a wire in or have it trailing along your wall.
I've fitted a lot of Hives in small flats and they seem to work quite well, if you know anyone that works for BG they may be able to get you a one off friends discount which brings the fitted price down to £99.
Nest is wireless (can be used wired if the is already a suitable cable). It does need to be plugged into the mains though so you need a socket in a suitable location.
I've been using Nest for most of the year. I'm really happy with the ease of use, reliability and functionality. Not a lot else to say really other than it does exactly what it is supposed to do.
I was happy with my Nest until recently, when it started losing the connection with the boiler occasionally.
Very happy with Hive, has worked perfectly on both heating and water for a year now, would not hesitate to get it in another house.
I got hive free with a new boiler. There is a hive v2 but appearance aside it is identical in functionality. The hive iOS app is great and improving all the time. Interestingly hive has a number of home security/smart home devices coming soon similar to nest and these will work with hive v1.
My system is simple - I don't pay for gas so just leave it on all the time.
v3 Nest is now available. There should be discounts on the older model filtering through shortly. This maybe of interest.
I've got Tado v2 (alongside a Worcester Bosch Combi) and find it bloody brilliant. Geolocation is perfect (both me and the Mrs, iPhone and Android, works flawlessly), we have different heating periods setup, they are soon adding a 'heating boost' option and overall it has proven incredibly user friendly. In fact, user friendly is an odd statement really, as there is no real user interaction once setup. We've defined the temperatures we want at different times of the day, enabled geolocation and that's it.
Your comment about the multiple heating periods, that may be a limitation of your v1 compared to the current model. With ours we have a 'Sleep', 'Away' and 'Home' setting and can split 'Home' into multiple periods, e.g. 08:00 - 12:00, 12:00 - 23:00, etc. Each has it's own temperature control and, of course, the geolocation enforces the Away temperature when we leave.
I installed the Tado myself, including the Extension kit as I wanted the thermostat wireless. It was incredibly easy - three wires from the Extension kit to the Combi, that's all.
Highly recommended.
I've just had a look around and they still seem to be circa £180. Any inside information on when the discounts might hit the street, because I'm looking at getting a Nest in the coming days?
Another alternative is the Warmup 4ie, bit cheaper if you look around and at least all the control features and tarif recommendations are independent.
Happy with Hive (v1)...
Does what it says on the tin (no false promises)
Customer Service has been excellent & very responsive (on the odd occasion I've contacted them)
I like their sense of fun.
If you have a British Gas service contract they'll do you a significant discount on Hive if you report your thermostat as "broken"
That's brilliant feedback, thanks.
Do you have any idea what the geolocation does to your 'phone battery life? I imagine that the Tado app has to be running in the background constantly - is this correct?
Around £99 fitted if you report your heating controls as 'not working properly'
Cough cough, wink wink.
Really sorry, only just saw your reply...
Both Android and iOS manage this very well. Location Services are part of the core operating system on both these days, apps like Tado just tap into it. We noticed no difference in battery life with it installed and running, you just set it up and forget about it (other than feeling the need to play with the new toy of course!).
I launched remote heating controls for BG (I'm a product manager). - now called Hive
They've just launched a new thermostat that looks quite cool
UI is great and I have enjoyed using mine for nearly 4 years now
I'd certainly recommend and I know it's good value...!
However I now work for homeywell so feel duty bound to suggest this..
http://lyric.honeywell.com
Better if you want zoned control/ control of your hot water too
Brilliant. Thanks (again). I think that you have just swung my decision from Nest back to Tado.
Posting Permissions
