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[Help] Smart Heating Controls (Hive, Nest et al)



Papak

Not an NSC licker...
Jul 11, 2003
1,862
Horsham
We have tado. It was simple to install , it replacedthe central thermostat we had. Easy to control through the app on our phones, though you can manually adjust it on the wall unit. The drawback is that if the wifi goes it stays on the one setting which can lead to a cold house or heating an empty house.

Seems crazy it doesn't have a default option for loss of Wifi.
 


Tony Towner's Fridge

Well-known member
Aug 22, 2003
5,384
GLASGOW,SCOTLAND,UK
I have a Hive and it is saving me a lot of dosh.I keep it pretty simple with a two schedule setting 7.30am to 11.30pm set at 20 deg C and 11.30pm to 7.30am set at 17.5 deg C.

I also have Lightwave RF on a wee holiday cottage and it is a bit ore technical but very flexible and is a seriously smart system with a more modular approach to Home Connectivity.

Recommend both.


TNBA

TTF
 






Papak

Not an NSC licker...
Jul 11, 2003
1,862
Horsham
I have a Hive and it is saving me a lot of dosh.I keep it pretty simple with a two schedule setting 7.30am to 11.30pm set at 20 deg C and 11.30pm to 7.30am set at 17.5 deg C.

I also have Lightwave RF on a wee holiday cottage and it is a bit ore technical but very flexible and is a seriously smart system with a more modular approach to Home Connectivity.

Recommend both.


TNBA

TTF

Where do you live? On the surface of the sun? Those settings must cost you a fortune!!
 




WSU

Member
Jan 17, 2012
138
Evening,

I have a Worcester Bosch 30CDi system boiler with dual zone heating which is currently controlled via 2 BOSS THERM BPS242 thermostats.Upstairs and downstairs FWIW

I'm wondering if the latest generation of smart thermostats might offer me better flexibility and therefore energy savings.

Does anyone have any experience of Hive, Nest etc.?

The DHW is controlled by a third unit (BOSS THERM BUT2) so I'm also pondering if the payback might be too long to consider until something needs replacing.

I don't think I have any other tech that would benefit from a smart whole house solution.


Let the discussion commence...


Just to throw another option in there to think about - the Bosch EasyControl will be out soon. I was at Worcester HQ last month and it’s meant to be a clever bit of kit, with their own TRV’s and the ability to communicate with Amazon Alexa etc.

There’s a new legislation that from April this year all new combi boiler installs have to be fitted with Smart controls or load/weather compensation controls so it might be an idea to hold off for a while to see what’s in the pipeline.
 


CheeseRolls

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jan 27, 2009
5,922
Shoreham Beach
We have tado. It was simple to install , it replacedthe central thermostat we had. Easy to control through the app on our phones, though you can manually adjust it on the wall unit. The drawback is that if the wifi goes it stays on the one setting which can lead to a cold house or heating an empty house.

Seems crazy it doesn't have a default option for loss of Wifi.

https://support.tado.com/hc/en-gb/a...ol-my-heating-or-air-conditioning-using-tado-

I have been a long time user of Tado. It is a money saver in that it doesn't heat the house up if no one is home. It detects when you are getting close, based on smartphone location and starts to warm the house before you arrive.
 


Windsor_seagull

New member
Aug 25, 2012
15
I went for Nest, because it seems to do the same as Hive, and there’s no monthly subscription. I’ve been really pleased with it.

For security cams, I went for Arlo for the same reason - 7 days history stored for free in the cloud (plus unlimited locally if you buy a cam with a storage card slot)

Yep, went for Nest too - really good product, you can set a schedule but it also learns your habits and adjusts accordingly. Plus it recognises when you’re away from the house (smartphone location). And of course no monthly fee.

For cameras I went for Blink - really happy again, and with free storage. No monthy fee.

Both can be linked in with Amazon Echo.
 








fleet

Well-known member
Jul 28, 2003
12,222
I have Hive and there is no monthly fee. It works very well. Turn heat down and then turn it up on train home so you do t hear when you are not there. Can boost the hot water if you’ve been out and want a shower when you get home.
 




Muhammed - I’m hard - Bruce Lee

You can't change fighters
NSC Patreon
Jul 25, 2005
10,846
on a pig farm
I have Hive. I don't pay a monthly subscription.

I have Hive and there is no monthly fee. It works very well. Turn heat down and then turn it up on train home so you do t hear when you are not there. Can boost the hot water if you’ve been out and want a shower when you get home.

There have been several payment plans.
Same day install, future date install...sold by engineers on breakdown / service visits which were a fixed price.
There were also people that bought hives themselves and got BG engineers to install them.
The monthly plan is just a way of spreading the cost over 10 months.
You can pay an additional monthly subscription after that period that gives added benefits like free replacement of equipment and other features (mainly to do the home security aspect rather than heating)
The next generation of Hive can alert you by text if it hears glass smashing or your dog barking for example.

It’s not JUST a thermostat :)
 


PoG

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2013
1,117
Subscription isn't required with Hive, I purchased mine last black Friday and installed it myself fairly easily. Great little device and works with Google home, no idea if it saves me money yet.
 


Blue3

Well-known member
Jan 27, 2014
5,559
Lancing
All these systems are based upon BMS which have been in use commercialy for the last thirty years, if set up correctly they will reduce your energy consumption take the heating for example being self learning they will over time look at your requirements and adjust the controls without any additional imput from the user to maintain requirements they are not just a thermostat
 




Fran112

Active member
Jun 6, 2011
132
Waterlooville
And on another note, Purple Bricks are real Estate Agents, they just don’t charge commission!

Absolutely amazing what you can find out with just a little research.

In other news, it appears there is no fee for British Gas Hive [emoji849]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 




mikeyjh

Well-known member
Dec 17, 2008
4,473
Llanymawddwy
Totally agree, to me they just seem like a new toy for people who like having the latest gadget but deliver no real benefits.

Maybe - I would agree with you when it comes to things like Alexa and all that rubbish, they are just gadgets but Hive is really useful. The ability to programme different temperatures for as many time slots (and days) as you need, zones (if you're CH system supports it), setting it to come on remotely, switching it off when you've gone on holiday and forgotten! It makes you much more aware of the temp of your house and how long the heating is on for, ultimately saving you shed loads.

Obv it's not for everyone but I wouldn't be without it now....
 


drew

Drew
Oct 3, 2006
23,007
Burgess Hill
From the horses mouth

Thanks for your interest in tadoº.
Electric underfloor heating systems can only be controlled by tado° if the following conditions are met:
1. A wired thermostat is currently connected to the electrical underfloor heating.
2. Smart Thermostats can only control systems up to 6 Amps (1380W). If you are unsure, please check this with an installer/electrician.
3. Some electric underfloor systems require a floor sensor to make sure that the floor does not exceed a certain temperature. tado° is not able to connect to a floor temperature sensor and therefore we are not compatible with systems that have a floor sensor.
We are compatible with the boiler, are able to replace the LP722 with our Extension Kit and use the Smart Thermostat to control the boiler. Our Smart Radiator Thermostats only fit on thermostatic valves. Please have a look at the following link:
 




Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
29,719
Hove
https://support.tado.com/hc/en-gb/a...ol-my-heating-or-air-conditioning-using-tado-

I have been a long time user of Tado. It is a money saver in that it doesn't heat the house up if no one is home. It detects when you are getting close, based on smartphone location and starts to warm the house before you arrive.

As someone who works from home, the selling point for Tado for me is the ability to control each room via the smart trvs. Does it detect multiple devices i.e there’s 5 of us?
 


CheeseRolls

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jan 27, 2009
5,922
Shoreham Beach
As someone who works from home, the selling point for Tado for me is the ability to control each room via the smart trvs. Does it detect multiple devices i.e there’s 5 of us?

The Geo-location function certainly supports multiple devices. We have four, so five is not a problem, but this is an instruction to turn off/on the boiler. The Smart trvs don't work on this basis, which when you think it through logically makes sense. What you can do though is to both set the temperature for individual rooms, to a level that is comfortable, but also to organise them into zones. To take a simple example, you could have a living room/study zone that is heated during the day (if someone is present), but a bedroom zone that is only heated in the evening and early morning. It is trivial to change/override.

Please note I don't have any of the Tado TRVs. All of my radiators have manual TRVs and no one ever needs to fiddle with them, as the house temperature is well balanced.
 



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