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Original poster

Should I get a smart thermostat?

53 replies

Spacecudet · 06/11/2019 06:52

We bought our house a couple of years ago. There is no thermostat so heating is on or off, no control for temperature. We want to put a thermostat in, but not sure whether to get a wired in thermostat or a smart one. What would people recommend?

OP posts:
helpfulperson · 07/11/2019 09:11

@FungusTheToegyman the battery thing is a known fault. Get in touch with Hive and they will replace it.

FrankenCat · 07/11/2019 09:16

We have had hive. Biggest waste of money I ever spent. When it worked it was great but guaranteed at least once a week I'd be on the phone to them for them to reset it when it mysteriously kept going "offline". It could only be reset from their side. In the end I got sick and tired of it so unplugged the damned thing! Now I just press the button to have heating on or off.

PigletJohn · 07/11/2019 09:38

@EgremontRusset

And no room need ever be "roasting " if you have thermostatic radiator valves to set the target temperature.

It's time to catch up with 1964 technology!

ConFusion360 · 07/11/2019 09:51

We have had a Hive for around four or five years. It's the newer type. We love it. We work irregular hours so being to control the heating and immersion heater remotely is really useful. DH fitted it and it took him about 20 minutes in total.

Batteries seem to last three years or so for us. They were last changed two years ago.

but what we would like is multiple thermostats with different timing/temp settings. Does that exist?

Hive can do this with individual radiator thermostats, as can most of the other alternatives.

SeekingShade · 07/11/2019 10:02

We have EQ 3 max valves on our radiators which you can programme each radiator separately with different times and temps @EgremontRusset

Original poster
Spacecudet · 07/11/2019 11:40

@AmIThough that is my question. Should I get a smart thermostat or not? I know I need a thermostat, but not sure a smart one will be worth the money.

OP posts:
57Varieties · 07/11/2019 11:43

We have hive, really like it. Had it a year and no problems at all with it.

AmIThough · 07/11/2019 11:56

@Spacecudet ah understood. We had one like the picture you've posted before.

The only differences really with the smart meter are that we can turn the heating on if we're out and heading home, then it off from the app if we forgot before we left and it's easier to set a schedule.

filka · 07/11/2019 12:02

Hive - and have a 2 zone system so that you can control downstairs and upstairs separately.

Aposterhasnoname · 07/11/2019 12:05

Wouldn’t be without my hive. Bloody marvellous being able to switch the heating on if I’m
heading home earlier than expected, or from the airport when we land do it’s toasty when we get home. We’ve gone down the full smart home rabbit hole with it now, all integrated with Alexa and IFTTT. Don’t know what I did without it.

grannycake · 07/11/2019 12:18

The only differences really with the smart meter are that we can turn the heating on if we're out and heading home, then it off from the app if we forgot before we left and it's easier to set a schedule

You can do this with the one that was pictured - I have it and use an app to control it. What you can't do with it is have individual zones, it won't recognise your patterns and self adjust or work with other devices like Alexa. The app is simple to use and I often use it to turn heating on when we're on our way home from a weekend away or to turn it off if I have an unexpected late meeting

EgremontRusset · 07/11/2019 13:42

Thank you Piglet. Not on the cards for us at present then. I wonder if we just had more thermostats they would be able to keep heating off in the naturally warm upstairs, even without a fancy solution.

PigletJohn · 07/11/2019 15:17

"I wonder if we just had more thermostats they would be able to keep heating off in the naturally warm upstairs, even without a fancy solution."

Yes, TRVs can do that.

You can (should) also reduce heat to the upstairs rooms by balancing the radiators.

SistersOfPercy · 07/11/2019 15:45

Definitely!
We installed Tado which promised to pay for itself within a year. I had my doubts but it did and saved us some on top.

My energy report from last months tells me I saved 6.1%, it knew the home was unoccupied for 42 hours, it adapted 57 hours for sunshine and shut off the heating in a room 20 times as it knew the window was open in there.

It's very clever and tbh I like being able to just leave it to do it's thing and know its warm in each room I need it to be.

Original poster
Spacecudet · 07/11/2019 17:22

Thanks everyone for posting will speak to our gas engineer. Thinking a wireless thermostat for now from what people have said.

OP posts:
Stuboo · 07/11/2019 18:10

I have nest thermostat. I also have the nest smoke alarms. Which work with the thermostat. If they detect co2, they turn off the boiler. Amazing stuff

SpringFan · 17/11/2019 10:18

Thanks for this thread. We have had someone in yesterday to look at our entire heating system. We had the Nest vs Hive vs Salus discussion, and upgrading our thermostatic radiator valves. Researching the products mentioned here and on the ground source heating thread has been so helpful.

Original poster
Spacecudet · 17/11/2019 11:09

I am completely confused. The guy we were going to ask to our thermostat in has said he wouldn't recommend the Salus. He has suggested a Honeywell thermostat which we hadn't considered. No idea what to do now!

OP posts:
MarieG10 · 17/11/2019 11:12

Whatever thermostat you get, or controller ensure it is hard wired. I know it is a fag but these wireless ones easily lose the signal and disconnect which means re pairing etc. I would never have one

PigletJohn · 17/11/2019 11:15

@Spacecudet

He is thinking of price vs. quality.

One of the brands you mention is cheap in every sense of the word, and has a reputation to match.

welshweasel · 17/11/2019 11:16

We have the Honeywell evohome. Has completely revolutionised living in an old house. Each of our rooms has an individual thermostat that can be controlled remotely via an app or set via a timer.
So we have the kitchen and living room warm all day at the weekend whilst the upstairs is off, the kids rooms heat up for bath time, our bedroom for 9pm...the guest room is off unless we have guests. It’s honestly amazing and worth every penny.

Original poster
Spacecudet · 17/11/2019 11:27

This is why I'm asking for advice. I was concerned the Salus might be poor quality as it is cheap. People on here though seemed to like their Salus. The Honeywell is quite expensive, and so might as well go smart. Just worried about being left in the cold with a smart one if the system goes down, as others have said does happen.

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 17/11/2019 11:48

Wireless ones go wrong more often than wired.

personally I have a wired Honeywell programmable. It is not "smart" so can't be operated remotely. I have not found that a disadvantage.

If you don't have a thermostat at all, even a simple £15 dial will repay you in comfort and economy.

SpringFan · 17/11/2019 12:04

Yes, we didn't get a good vibe from our man regarding Salus.
I am still trying to work out whether a condensing oil boiler is a good idea, if it is situated in the garage? I didn't think it was an option, but what is your view please @PigletJohn

PigletJohn · 17/11/2019 17:25

sorry, I don't know oil boilers. Sometimes they are put in outbuildings but I think they must have frost protection or the pipes may freeze.