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Thread: Hive & Nest users- has it saved you money?

  1. #1

    Hive & Nest users- has it saved you money?

    It seems that one of the main selling points of these WiFi stats other than having the ability to control your heating when away from home is that it will save you money. I know it’s a hard one as energy prices increase all the time but to all users of them.....do you think they’ve saved you money and if not what’s the main benefit? I self installed a Hive a few weeks ago and since then the heating has barely fired up so I don’t have the data to say either way so was wondering what the general consensus was on here.
    FFF

  2. #2
    Master
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    I am not sure about saving money as I just pay the amount. I am sure I have saved money as the heating goes into standby when I am away from my homes. In the past it’s been off or set to a temp I may have regretted as it’s warmer rather then colder at home on the old timers.

    My main reason was convenience I can ensure the heating is not on at my wife’s high temp whilst we are away. I also have had it learn my wife’s pattern so it comes on in time to ensure the temp is right at night or when we come back from being away etc.
    Last edited by shoppy; 1st November 2021 at 08:57.

  3. #3
    Master Christian's Avatar
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    No, don't think it has saved me money, more a convenience thing of being able to manage the heating on my phone.

  4. #4
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    My gas boiler gave up the ghost last year after 41 years of stirling service. I had a Worcester Bosch installed and asked for it to run offline. The installer said yes he would do it but warned it made it easier for the likes of hackers to get into your system. I therefore decline but am still undecided if it was the right decision.

  5. #5
    Grand Master wileeeeeey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Christian View Post
    No, don't think it has saved me money, more a convenience thing of being able to manage the heating on my phone.
    This. It may have helped a couple of times where we've gone out and forgot to turn it off (turns off automatically when our phones leave the house) or where we would normally have it on a timer but decided to stay out after work. It's convenience really, not money saving.

  6. #6
    Grand Master wileeeeeey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mick P View Post
    My gas boiler gave up the ghost last year after 41 years of stirling service. I had a Worcester Bosch installed and asked for it to run offline. The installer said yes he would do it but warned it made it easier for the likes of hackers to get into your system. I therefore decline but am still undecided if it was the right decision.
    Just turn on two factor authentication and move on with your life. Your password can be anything - even "password" - but you need a text/email code on top to get in.

    No one is going to hack you to change your heating settings or see your heating schedules.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by wileeeeeey View Post
    Just turn on two factor authentication and move on with your life. Your password can be anything - even "password" - but you need a text/email code on top to get in.

    No one is going to hack you to change your heating settings or see your heating schedules.
    I can't argue because I know nowt about this. He mentioned that online controls on things like cameras, lights and boilers made it easier for someone to break into your computer system. That's what he told me so I erred on the side of caution.

  8. #8
    Grand Master wileeeeeey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mick P View Post
    I can't argue because I know nowt about this. He mentioned that online controls on things like cameras, lights and boilers made it easier for someone to break into your computer system. That's what he told me so I erred on the side of caution.
    Technically he's right but you have more chance of being offered a ceramic Daytona with 10% off than any of that happening.

    If you're super paranoid set up a second/guest WiFi network with a massive password and put anything like Nest on that. Even if they do get in your computers will be on a different network.

  9. #9
    We have had Hive for a few years now, great for controlling the central heating and we use it for controlling such has the porch light and other lights which often used to get forgotten and left on, now they are on schedules.

    When we have been away late in the year it is ideal for keeping a check on the house temp and we give it a boost on the way home.

    I think it must have saved us money but hard to tell now how prices are going through the roof :(

  10. #10
    Master ed335d's Avatar
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    As has been mentioned above, Hive lets you control more efficiently (which should mean reduced costs), but doesn't allow you to measure.

    We use hive more for lighting, door sensors and smart plugs. It's quite handy to be able to boost the heating from your phone during a scheduled off period.

  11. #11
    Grand Master
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    The comments support my own view, being able to switch the heating in and off whilst you’re not home is the main benefit rather than saving money. Cutting heat loss from the house is the way to save money but that’s not as appealing to the gadget fans who love to do everything with their mobile phone.

  12. #12
    I'm a Tado user rather than Hive or Nest, but it has saved me money over the years and across two houses.

    This mainly comes from the granular control you get once you have TRV's in each room (supported by on-wall thermostats where needed). For example, during the day there's no point in heating the bedrooms however cold it is outside, but I do want to heat the rooms I spend my time in. It's also more cost effective to keep a room warm, compared to letting it go cold and heating it again, and the real-time combination of both of these has proven really effective. In the case of Tado, it also adjusts itself based on the outside temperature, as well as the traditional 'smart' stuff like turning off when everyone leaves the house, and early-warming when we start heading home.

    Right now I have a gentle heat in the office I'm in (working... ahem) and the living room where the Mrs' is, but the bedrooms have been shut-off entirely. The conservatory (play room!) is being kept at a lower, but still comfortable temperature for occasional use.

    Later today all this will switch. I don't want the office warmed past 5PM, but the conservatory should be warmer for when my daughter gets back from nursery. The living room will already be warm.

    Then later, I won't want the conservatory warmed so that'll be shut off, and I'll give the bedrooms a boost so they're comfortable before they get reduced overnight.

    It takes time to get to the right balance, but the end result is a set-and-forget system that is quite efficient and cost effective to run.

  13. #13
    Craftsman
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    I've been using Nest to control our heating for about 4 years and cannot say whether it has saved any money but it does make the heating easier to manage.

    The only downside for me is the thermostat losing its connection to the Heat Link from time to time and having to re-pair them, a shame they cannot be reset via the mobile phone app.


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  14. #14
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    Nest user here, I think I’m the first few months when the thermostat was in the lounge it kept doing daft things, like preheating the house at 3am. So waking us up in the morning and random events in the evening I am sure it cost is more.

    When we were having the kitchen done, took the opportunity to get it moved into a room without a trv on the radiator in the hall. Have to say that so far it is managing a much better heat balance.

    If I had my time again I’d have gone tado with the smart trv. Particularly as I now work from home 4 days a week, just heating my office would have been a great solution.

    Need to work out the best option of a small oil filled rad in the office versus warming the whole house during the day, or the dyson fan hot & cold thing.

  15. #15
    Craftsman Lazydonkey's Avatar
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    Nest user, 1910 terraced house. The biggest percieved saving for us has been the fact Nest has a target temp by a certain time and it works out how long your house takes to heat. So it is constantly coming on at different times depending on interior and exterior temps. Haven't measured it but that's got to have saved me cash.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by RobM View Post
    I'm a Tado user rather than Hive or Nest, but it has saved me money over the years and across two houses.

    This mainly comes from the granular control you get once you have TRV's in each room (supported by on-wall thermostats where needed). For example, during the day there's no point in heating the bedrooms however cold it is outside, but I do want to heat the rooms I spend my time in. It's also more cost effective to keep a room warm, compared to letting it go cold and heating it again, and the real-time combination of both of these has proven really effective. In the case of Tado, it also adjusts itself based on the outside temperature, as well as the traditional 'smart' stuff like turning off when everyone leaves the house, and early-warming when we start heading home.

    Right now I have a gentle heat in the office I'm in (working... ahem) and the living room where the Mrs' is, but the bedrooms have been shut-off entirely. The conservatory (play room!) is being kept at a lower, but still comfortable temperature for occasional use.

    Later today all this will switch. I don't want the office warmed past 5PM, but the conservatory should be warmer for when my daughter gets back from nursery. The living room will already be warm.

    Then later, I won't want the conservatory warmed so that'll be shut off, and I'll give the bedrooms a boost so they're comfortable before they get reduced overnight.

    It takes time to get to the right balance, but the end result is a set-and-forget system that is quite efficient and cost effective to run.
    I agree - I had a Netatmo setup at my old house and when WFH would just heat the dining room during the day and have the kitchen ticking over, with the rest of the house warming up earlier than on office days. Now we are back to a timer and it is much more cold, hot, cold and of course several rooms at once all having the same target temp (via TRV of UFH thermostat) all the time.

  17. #17
    Grand Master wileeeeeey's Avatar
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    To add, one thing that will save us money is we have each floor on a different valve/switch and we're having another two Nests put in next week (cheaper Nest E models from eBay).

    Will be able to control the heat on all floors and not blast the whole house just to be warm downstairs in the evening.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by wileeeeeey View Post
    To add, one thing that will save us money is we have each floor on a different valve/switch and we're having another two Nests put in next week (cheaper Nest E models from eBay).

    Will be able to control the heat on all floors and not blast the whole house just to be warm downstairs in the evening.
    Interesting idea, not sure the cost benefit just to heat my upstairs office would make it viable though from our single valve set up.

  19. #19
    Grand Master wileeeeeey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mj2k View Post
    Interesting idea, not sure the cost benefit just to heat my upstairs office would make it viable though from our single valve set up.
    The people before us put in the valves but only had one thermostat, so not sure why. I'm happy to put in two Nests for £40 and £50 sealed from eBay. Do need to pay for fitting but think it will be worth it.

  20. #20
    I got a new boiler and fitted hive with thermostats on each of the 7 radiators in the house.

    It's been a revelation. I can't tell you which action had the most benefit, the boiler or the thermostats, but it's taken about 30% off the monthly bill.

    With the warranty, British Gas promotion and service plan first reduction it paid for itself very quickly.

  21. #21
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by wileeeeeey View Post
    The people before us put in the valves but only had one thermostat, so not sure why. I'm happy to put in two Nests for £40 and £50 sealed from eBay. Do need to pay for fitting but think it will be worth it.
    Yes it sounds great as a solution. My parents town house has a thermostat in each room, would be great for them to go Nest in each; had no idea that the E versions were so cheap....however I am not willing to sign up as tech support when the current version suits them fine; especially as some common halls / landings are never heated - no idea why they do this so the hot air moves to the cold, but they seem happy!

    OK - ETA now wondering aside from a new valve & an e thermostat what else is required. Am assuming your eBay purchase comes with the grey fabric disc thing & that you won't need that as you have the 3rd gen already?

    Thanks
    Last edited by Mj2k; 1st November 2021 at 23:04.

  22. #22
    Something I’ve noticed about the hive which is very clever, It assumes obviously that the house will continue to heat because the radiators are still hot so it switches off the boiler early, ie switches off at 17.5 although it’s set to 18. My old stat used to run right up to 18 and sometimes would keep going for some reason.
    This alone will save a shed load with my set up

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Franky Four Fingers View Post
    Something I’ve noticed about the hive which is very clever, It assumes obviously that the house will continue to heat because the radiators are still hot so it switches off the boiler early, ie switches off at 17.5 although it’s set to 18. My old stat used to run right up to 18 and sometimes would keep going for some reason.
    This alone will save a shed load with my set up
    I’d set it what felt a comfortable temperature rather than the absolute temperature (so lower with your old stat) so doubt would make much difference.

  24. #24
    Yeh we’re kind of ok with 17 or 18, thought it was just clever that it switched off the boiler early knowing the rads would still be hot even after the boiler goes off.

  25. #25
    Craftsman
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    Hive here, Adjusting the temp is easier but I doubt it’s saved any money

    Would not bother again or would at least look at other options


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  26. #26
    With any thermostat setting of, say 18, will feel colder on a cold day than a warmer one due to radiation loss in most houses to colder walls.
    Best to set manually to what is comfortable IME.

  27. #27
    Craftsman
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    Saved money, no!
    Convenience and ease of use certainly.

  28. #28
    Master blackal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RobM View Post
    I'm a Tado user rather than Hive or Nest, but it has saved me money over the years and across two houses.

    This mainly comes from the granular control you get once you have TRV's in each room (supported by on-wall thermostats where needed). For example, during the day there's no point in heating the bedrooms however cold it is outside, but I do want to heat the rooms I spend my time in. It's also more cost effective to keep a room warm, compared to letting it go cold and heating it again, and the real-time combination of both of these has proven really effective. In the case of Tado, it also adjusts itself based on the outside temperature, as well as the traditional 'smart' stuff like turning off when everyone leaves the house, and early-warming when we start heading home.

    Right now I have a gentle heat in the office I'm in (working... ahem) and the living room where the Mrs' is, but the bedrooms have been shut-off entirely. The conservatory (play room!) is being kept at a lower, but still comfortable temperature for occasional use.

    Later today all this will switch. I don't want the office warmed past 5PM, but the conservatory should be warmer for when my daughter gets back from nursery. The living room will already be warm.

    Then later, I won't want the conservatory warmed so that'll be shut off, and I'll give the bedrooms a boost so they're comfortable before they get reduced overnight.

    It takes time to get to the right balance, but the end result is a set-and-forget system that is quite efficient and cost effective to run.
    You will save money with those kind of controls, simply because they allow more finite adjustment of temps but more importantly- the ability to switch on later/switch off earlier - from a remote location or simply without having to go to the (say) utility room to shut off a traditional system.

    But - the notion that it costs less to maintain a warm temperature than to allow to cool and have to heat up - is simply not true.

    It would imply that you are cheaper simply leaving your entire heating on - 24/7/365.

  29. #29
    I've no idea, I don't track the cost. But the learning capability is very good, I use a schedule and manually adjust it and it learns from that, but by far the best thing about it is the accuracy with small 1/2° adjustments. With every room on adjustable rad valves it makes a difference for sure. How much money, no idea, was paying 65 pm with People's Energy who went bust, now 123 with British Gas who took over

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  30. #30
    Master
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    Hive. I do what RobM does. TRVs in every room and only heat where needed using a schedule. It has to save money vs heating the whole house. At the least it’s hugely convenient and very flexible. Esp if you work from home. You don’t need extra thermostats with Hive as the TRVs manage the room temp.

  31. #31
    Yes myself and my wife work from home and Nest with TRVs make life more comfortable.

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  32. #32
    Craftsman
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    Yes for me, we fitted a Hive and it allows me to turn off the heating when away from the house. I know I can do this before I leave but more often than not I forget.

    Not specifically related to the Hive, but the Boost function saves me money too. Previously my wife would simply turn the heating on all day, but now boosting the system for a period does allow some downtime before realising it needs heating again :)

    More than cash saving, it’s the added convenience that makes it a winner for me.

  33. #33
    Switching on the heating when I get home saves me money.

  34. #34
    Craftsman
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    It's definitely saved me money. I live in an old, oil heated house that didn't have a thermostat, just thermostatic valves on radiators so the heating was just on/off with a timer. I switched to hive and hive radiator vales so I now have way more control than I did before. I can now not heat the office at the weekends and the bedrooms just before bed etc. Takes a bit of admin but made a really big difference to me.

  35. #35
    Quote Originally Posted by Kingstepper View Post
    Switching on the heating when I get home saves me money.
    Offset by extra costs on wooly socks and jumpers

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  36. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by Daveya. View Post
    Offset by extra costs on wooly socks and jumpers

    Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk
    Are people so soft? Unless away for days in really cold temperatures the house is still easily bearable and room will likely be warm within 15 minutes.

    Can always leave on a frost setting for longer periods.

  37. #37
    Master Maysie's Avatar
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    I have just had the Tado system installed with smart TRV's in every room so each room can have its temperature set/increased/decreased over the course of the day according to how you use the room. The controllability was a bit daunting at first, but when it has been set up initially, then tweaked to suit any changes you want to make, it pretty much runs itself and you soon get used to it.

    It is too early to say if it has (or will) actually saved us any money, but the whole house is now so much warmer - where we want it to be and cooler where we don't want so much heat, so even if the costs are the same, the fact that we now have heat and comfort where we want it due to the increased controllability, it is well worth it.

  38. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by Kingstepper View Post
    Are people so soft? Unless away for days in really cold temperatures the house is still easily bearable and room will likely be warm within 15 minutes.

    Can always leave on a frost setting for longer periods.
    Yeah I am, hate cold feet

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  39. #39
    Master blackal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kingstepper View Post
    Switching on the heating when I get home saves me money.
    For sure, but with a remotely-controllable system, you can have the heating (say) half-way to desired temp when you walk through the door - based on when you actually leave work etc. Not a lot of extra cost for a little bit more comfort.

    I used to work with a guy from Hull, good earner - who enabled his CH on a certain date in Spring, and disabled it similarly in Autumn. NO exceptions !

  40. #40
    Quote Originally Posted by Daveya. View Post
    Yeah I am, hate cold feet

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    Try socks.

  41. #41
    Thermostats are great.

    I leave mine on 20C all year round. Kids bedrooms come on 5.30 to 7am and 7-9pm. Sitting room comes on at 5-9pm. Office and Study are 0800-0900 mon-fri (after which the IT keeps the rooms warm enough).

    It only turns on when needed which means that unless the weather is freaky from April-October they are completely off.

    We do use the boost now and again. Mostly at weekends.

  42. #42
    Craftsman
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    Think mine has as my gas bill is next to nothing.

    That said it's 8pm and it's showing 19 currently with no heating on all day.

    Not sure the last time my nest actually dropped low enough to turn the heating on.


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  43. #43
    Master Wolfie's Avatar
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    Not a clue

    I’ve put Drayton wiser throughout….

    I schedule the two (at university) kids rooms to be off

    Flex the up and downstairs schedule a bit, so, I’m limiting the demand tailoring it to room use, so, I’m guessing it has to have an impact?

  44. #44
    Master
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    TADo have some decent deals on Amazon at the mo.

  45. #45
    I have Hive and like others have said control the system when not home, so it would definitely save something. I run a temperature between 20-23 this time of year. I hate the cold and others that have it on 18 must be mental, I would literally be freezing……

  46. #46
    Quote Originally Posted by langdalematt View Post
    I have Hive and like others have said control the system when not home, so it would definitely save something. I run a temperature between 20-23 this time of year. I hate the cold and others that have it on 18 must be mental, I would literally be freezing……
    Also depends where the stat is situated and the state of insulation in the house, plus draughts etc

    Anything above 19 and it's too hot for us

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  47. #47
    We have a 3 story house with wet underfloor CH, the other floors with radiators. Downstairs has various zones and with the exception of the conservatory (which I don’t bother heating over the winter at all) it’s on 19-20 for the whole winter permanently. Upstairs has a remote thermostat set at 19 but I also switch off the heating in unused rooms via TRV’s and shut the doors. I find the ground floor CH keeps the house warm and it all works out well - I switch all the heating off in summer rather then keeping it on thermostats at all. There’s nearly always someone at home too. So taking all this into account I didn’t bother installing hive etc (having consulted various heating professionals) as it’s easier for my situation to stick with the current set up. I was a bit gutted tbh as I love a gadget but it saved me some money!


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  48. #48
    Master
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    Those who say it’s ‘saved money ‘ have you factored in the cost of the ‘bits used’? Surely they rack up to a few hundred pounds
    I see the convenience but it’s really all down to operator use - if it’s really cold turn it on

  49. #49
    I'd say I've saved around 10% off my heating bills . Primarily though this was due to previously 'forgetting' to switch off the heating whenever we left the house. Now even if we forget, we can check using the app that the heating and switch it off remotely. Another factor although secondary is safety. Using the smartplugs we can ensure all essential electrical items (e.g.the tumble dryer) are switched off.
    Last edited by zippy; 24th November 2021 at 14:09.

  50. #50
    Quote Originally Posted by lewie View Post
    Those who say it’s ‘saved money ‘ have you factored in the cost of the ‘bits used’? Surely they rack up to a few hundred pounds
    I see the convenience but it’s really all down to operator use - if it’s really cold turn it on
    Definitely. I bought a new boiler and all the Hive gear a couple of years ago. I'm saving more than £100 a month.

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