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Original poster

Tell me about your Hives and Nests please?

27 replies

PeakingDuck · 08/02/2020 19:06

We are looking to get a smart thermostat at the same time as our boiler replacement, and these are the two front runners.

If you have one, can you tell me what you like, don’t like please?

We’ve had two quotes so far and each one has recommended a different thermostat...

Thanks!

OP posts:
Bluewavescrashing · 08/02/2020 19:09

We have Nest. It's great except DH (who works abroad a lot) turns down the temperature from his phone when I'm in the house 🙄

minipie · 08/02/2020 19:10

I have a Heatmiser, similar but simpler, works well

Original poster
PeakingDuck · 08/02/2020 19:21

We have Nest. It's great except DH (who works abroad a lot) turns down the temperature from his phone when I'm in the house

😳😳 Cheeky sod! 😂

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Home improvement
Original poster
PeakingDuck · 08/02/2020 19:21

Thanks, @minipie... I’ll look into that too.

OP posts:
carrie74 · 08/02/2020 19:28

We had a Hive in our last house, and will be installing with our next boiler at the end of this month. Haven't had any others to compare, but I quite liked it (I like not having to get up and go into the kitchen to boost the heating, or if we're away, I can remember to turn the heating down etc etc).

PostNotInHaste · 08/02/2020 19:29

Our Hive goes through periods of being very temperamental.

99problemsandthecatis1 · 08/02/2020 20:02

Go with tado instead. It's fabulous. Heats individual rooms. Can set a schedule or adjust individual rooms remotely (app) or from the radiator thermostat.

It's saved us loads of money as we aren't heating rooms unless we are using them.

DonnatellaLyman · 08/02/2020 20:05

We have tado because easier to control heat in different parts of house. Back is open plan and warm from sun/cooking. Front is east facing so needs more heat etc.

SpoonBlender · 08/02/2020 20:20

Using Hive here. No issues with it. Unlike Nest it's not "smart", it doesn't learn your routine or anything. It is just an awful lot easier to set up a schedule on the website or app than fiddling with a dumb Honeywell or whatever. The batteries last a year or more. It just turns the boiler on and off according to schedule and thermostat.

I didn't want smarts in my thermostat, as we both have variable work-from-home jobs and it'd just get confused :)

Doing it again I'd go for Tado - way more expensive but it's way more functional, as you can set every radiator to maintain its own room temperature, so you get proper heating zone control.

SpoonBlender · 08/02/2020 20:21

Oh, Hive does allow Alexa/Google/Siri etc "boost the heating" and "set heating to 19 degrees" type integration. Which means if you're fancy you can use eg an Echo Plus to act as an extra thermostat, or whatever. Still can't do zones though.

Sunnysidegold · 08/02/2020 20:22

Total thicko question here....do you need a new boiler for a new thermostat? Do my radiators need changing? We have central heating but it's on an upstairs downstairs split.

99problemsandthecatis1 · 08/02/2020 20:57

Sunnysidegold no. You don't need a new boiler (ours is 12years old). Hive and nest don't interact with the radiators themselves so no new radiators needed. Tado fits more than 99% of radiators (they have 2 different conversion kits for the 2 sizes of radiator valve). They'd have be extremely odd radiators not to fit.

VeniVidiVoxi · 08/02/2020 21:13

Have hive with smart thermostats on key radiators and three smart lights connected to it too. I love it, I can control the different room temps and it's super easy when going away to turn the lights on random and the heating off. No experience of the others so not sure how it compares.

One thing I haven't established yet is what happens in a power cut? I think the thermostat will keep working, but I'm not certain. Obviously the wifi will be off so the app won't work.

FixTheBone · 08/02/2020 21:19

Nest for the last 4/5 years.

Learns your routines and how thermally efficient your house is, so if you set it to 19degs at 7am, it will start heating to hit that temperature at the right time. It also knows when you're away and on your way home and adjusts its routine accordingly.

Mine has worked flawlessly since the day it was installed, no dropouts or bugs.

AlexaC · 08/02/2020 21:25

I have a Hive and wouldn't be without it now.
I don't have a set schedule so think Nest would struggle to learn my routine as I don't have one!

I love that I can move the thermostat around when I want to have a certain room and certain temperature. I can also warm up the house for when I get home or before I want to risk getting up.

Not had any problems with it so far and had it about 2 and half years now.

IndianaMoleWoman · 08/02/2020 21:27

We have Tado. The feeling of smugness (and warmth) when you arrive home having turned the heating on as you left work/the shops/wherever is lovely. But the absolute best is when you wake up after a weekend lie in and pop the heating on before getting in the shower without getting out of bed. Unbeatable!

saraclara · 08/02/2020 21:31

I had a Hive fitted recently. I don't need it to do anything fancy, but as I don't have a fixed schedule and can sometimes head out in the morning expecting to be out for an hour, but end up being out most of the day, I needed a way to stop wasting fuel heating an empty house.

So basically I just switch the heating on and off from a distance when I find I don't need it on. And for that it's absolutely fine.

Aureum · 08/02/2020 21:32

Nest is atrocious. If their central server goes down you can’t control your heating. It frequently fails to connect. You wouldn’t realise unless you were on the app at the time and noticed it wasn’t working, so perhaps that’s why others think it works well.

Purplewithred · 08/02/2020 21:35

Another vote for Tado, as long as everyone has a smartphone. Will run a schedule but if everyone is out will switch off the heating altogether then switch it back on as you get closer to home. Also options for different thermostats and timers for different rooms. Absolutely love it.

sparklystarshinebright · 08/02/2020 21:38

We have a Nest in our holiday home which was fitted 6 months ago. It keeps going off line for long periods which is really annoying when we want to put the heating on for when guests arrive and it's 100 miles away. Has anyone else had problems with them going off line.

Nillynally · 08/02/2020 21:40

Have had both, hive was better. Nest looks better but it doesn't work with a gravity fed system which they don't tell you before you buy it so beware!

BreastedBoobilyToTheStairs · 08/02/2020 21:46

We had a nest for a while and had nothing but problems with it. Have recently switched to tado and am blown away with it, the difference has been incredible and it's very easy to use. We have quite a lot of space for just the two of us so being able to control and reduce/increase heat in specific rooms is excellent. Well worth the money

CatFaceCats · 08/02/2020 22:08

We have Tado and love it. Have definitely saved money with its features such as turning off the heating when you leave (instead of going out and coming home to a too hot house because you forgot to turn the heating back down when you left....) it also has open window detection and you can easily set different schedules every day for heating and hot water.

icklekid · 09/02/2020 03:51

We have 2 nests- one for underfloor heating and one for rest of the house. We’ve never had a problem with them and find them brilliant- they learn your routine but you can also set schedules if that works better. Being able to come home to a warm house is such a treat but knowing it’s as efficient as possible saves both money and peace of mind, it also connects to Alexa if that makes a difference

FinallyHere · 09/02/2020 08:58

We have Hive because it was easy to get installed and does exactly what I wanted to be able to do:

Have the heating on low (not just off) over night then turn the heating up so it's warm before I get up.

It's a bonus to be able to turn down low when I have gone out and forgotten to do so. Or turn up when unexpectedly coming home.

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