Smart thermostat

[veneeroftheyear]

We have a combo boiler with a timer control thing and a very old dial thermostat in the hall, which I'm not entirely sure is working properly. Thinking about whether we should replace it with a smart thermostat. I definitely don't want a Hive or a Nest. Have looked at Honeywell which seems well reviewed. What are the benefits exactly? The heating, when on, is timed. How exactly does a smart thermostat help to save us money?
Also, who do I get to install it? An electrician or a gas engineer?

Following with interest.
fwiw we have the Honeywell smart thermostat- all it mean to me, is I can set the temperature from the comfort of my armchair, assuming the monitor is next to me, rather then twisting the dial on the wall (as in our previous property). I cannot see or find any other benefit. So we are fitting individual radiator thermostats, so I can just adjust them room by room, (like cool bedrooms but warm bathrooms and main room) and use the Honeywell for switching the heating on or off/ main room temperature setting.
Ive read the instructions carefully - still
non the wiser regarding it ‘benefit’ over individual radiator thermostats….

Interesting. All of our radiators can be adjusted snd I already have a heating timer so perhaps there's no benefit at all and I should save my money!

I would save your money if you’re happy with your current setup! I got a Nest as a freebie with my energy company a couple of years ago and I’m constantly turning the heating on/off when I need to. Every spring/autumn it decides to go into bloody ‘learning mode’ and programmes itself afresh.

Similar to @Alphabet1spaghetti2 the only advantage is I can control it all from my phone. And it’s handy when going on holiday as I can control it remotely if I forget to turn it off when leaving the house, and can switch it on to heat up in advance of getting home.

You’d have to get it installed by a qualified engineer usually - could be a plumber or electrician who’s been trained to do the one you want to go with. The company should have a directory.

You can have them connected to phones so they automatically sense when you are arriving home and leaving again and adjust accordingly, also they learn your routines. We had a Nest installed because we didn't have a wall thermostat at all and the individual radiator ones aren't that good. It is a great programmable thermostat, our heating is far better controlled now, but the smart features drove us mad and we deactivated them all.

@veneeroftheyear Did you stick to your existing set up go for smart in the end? I'm currently looking at https://wiser.draytoncontrols.co.uk/ but similar to you not too sure if the initial cost to buy the kit I need and get it installed is worth the savings?

I decided to stick with what we've currently got in the end. I'm not sure it's worth changing it unless I can do it very cheaply.

OP I know it seems illogical but the sales guff about them saving money is somehow true. I dont know why you don’t want a Hive?

I had a Hive fitted last winter (I think if you get it from British Gas you can book the installation with it) and saved over 10% on usage without changing anything else. I had a hallway thermostat and thermostats on all radiators, but the Hive still saved me loads.

One thing I know they do is get to know how quickly your home heats up and cools down, so money isn’t wasted by the temperature overshooting. Eg you set a normal one to 20 deg, at 20 deg the boiler goes off but the rads continue emitting. The Hive stops that wastage as it turns the boiler off at the right point to achieve your target temp.

Another thing, when you leave the house and forget to turn the heating off, you can set the Hive to ping your phone and remind you in case you want to turn heating off. You can also turn it off or change temp while you are out.

It easily paid for itself in one season.