The new hive control from British gas ?

System

I think that people need to sit down and think through what they want from the installation of Smart heating controls. In my view, Hive and Nest have been very cleverly marketed, and offer very little for the investment made. On the other side of the coin, fully zoned heating has significant pros and a few cons. Manufacturers will claim savings of up to 40% - but I suspect that most canny MSErs are already looking carefully at their energy use.

The pros of zoning are:

1. The user has unlimited set up capabilities (i.e.; target temps at given times).

2. The system will learn and take into account room heat loss and, if network capable, the external air temperature.

3. Users can see at a glance the temperatures in various parts of the house and adjust zone temperatures with a swipe.

4. Unlike conventional TRVs, when wifi TRVs are closed no heat is applied to the radiator.

5. Our home is better heated to meet our needs.

The cons are:

1. Wifi TRVs are expensive at £50 to £60 a time.

2. They do whirr - but quietly.

3. The R on Investment is still to be fully assessed: it very much depends on the system starting point and the individual user.

In my view, the pros outweigh the cons. I control my HW in the range 55 to 60C, and I have a rolling programme of heat coming on as and when we use rooms, and going off when we don't. For example, our bedroom/ES comes on in the morning for a couple of hours and stays 'off' until about 10 mins before we normally go to bed. "Off' in this context meaning that if I set a 16C target for, say, 10pm then the system will optimise the 'on' time to achieve this target temperature.

The proof, as they say, is in the figures. I have just checked back and over the past month I have used £65 of gas to cover heating and cooking in a 5 bed house. This included a week when all 5 bedrooms were in use (during a cold snap), and doors were continually being left open.

MillicentBystander

Said it before but worth repeating. After extensive research into the smart thermostat market I came to the conclusion that anyone who buys one of the plethora of all on/all off systems is basically replicating the inherent massive drawbacks in their existing set up. No-one in their right mind would have one light for their whole house so why do we continue to have one heat setting for our whole house? Zoning is without doubt the way to go. Yes, it's more expensive/not as sexy looking as Nest et al but put the £200-£250 you are basically wasting on a 'gadget' towards a system like Evohome or Heat Genius (both systems are modular so can be added to over time) and you won't be full of regret at a later date.

And prices are already coming down if you do your research (certainly the Evohome system I have can be had for £50 less than I paid a couple of months ago).

InstallerDave

MillicentBystander wrote: »

Said it before but worth repeating. After extensive research into the smart thermostat market I came to the conclusion that anyone who buys one of the plethora of all on/all off systems is basically replicating the inherent massive drawbacks in their existing set up. No-one in their right mind would have one light for their whole house so why do we continue to have one heat setting for our whole house? Zoning is without doubt the way to go. Yes, it's more expensive/not as sexy looking as Nest et al but put the £200-£250 you are basically wasting on a 'gadget' towards a system like Evohome or Heat Genius (both systems are modular so can be added to over time) and you won't be full of regret at a later date.

And prices are already coming down if you do your research (certainly the Evohome system I have can be had for £50 less than I paid a couple of months ago).

I think I said this a few times already but I can guarantee that a system such as Heat Genius will save money on the energy bills. In the past I only used to install it in other people's homes but I installed it myself in my own house and for the past few months I've noticed that we're not using at much heating, therefore our bills will be reduced. In the same time, I know that if I'm at home with my kids and wife I can heat the rooms which we are using only - so, if we're spending the day in the lounge for a few hours, the rest of the house doesn't have to be heated at the same temperature. Best part is that I can do all that from my phone :j

giraffe69

I'm sure there are more complex systems than Hive and they may give some a better solution but for me
a. it allows me to set a temperature and to amend it when away. I don't come home to a cold house.
b. Thermostatic valves allow me, for example, to keep the bedroom cooler
c. I thought £199 including fitting was a reasonable price (and the house did not have a proper thermostat before this.

Next time I might buy a product that also can order from the supermarket when the fridge runs low on a product but for the moment it is both more convenient than what preceded it and has led to a cut in the amount of gas used which shows up in my DD payment each month.

System

Just to add a note of caution to my earlier post above. The 'weakness' in wifi boiler controls is wifi interference. I have just looked at the Hive Installation Guide and, like that for Evohome, it states that the boiler relay/s must be located a minimum of 30cms away from anything metal - cylinder, piping, actuators, switch boxes etc. Sadly, most airing cupboards do not have the luxury of space. My boiler demand relays have just been moved (again) as remote access is no use whatsoever if the controller cannot talk to the actuator. If you want complete protection for your home when you away then wired components will provide a greater degree of system security.

GSS.services

Hi all.

I'm prem, I'm a professional gas engineer, who has previously worked for BG and also a trained professional in regards to NEST.

All your answers depend on certain aspects.

1) how much control are you happy with over your heating and hot water?

The 2nd part of this question is:
1b) how much of this is feesable in terms of cost to reach your goal.

1c) have you thought about future expansions in terms of your heating and hot water - expansions as such as adding more to your heating, larger family than previously, etc

2) are you happy with just controlling in your home or would you prefer to control it from anywhere around the world?

3) do you know the capabilities of the controls your wishing to have? E.g having a wireless room stat - depends on how accurate it is, how well it's been positioned and how efficient your current heating system is.

4) have you had a basic look on what is available to you all in regards to controls...?

These are sum questions to think about, not everyone's replies will be the same. But 40% of you will pick standard controls which consists of a programmer and roomstat- the question then is - do you want to control it from outside your home or not.

If not then your choice consists of wireless system in the home or wired system.

If outside the home then the question is which products can do this for you.

The remainder 60% is all to do with what you personally would like. Which I will help further in details as much as I can, dependant upon the replies.

I will explain about hive, nest, evohome, sales and other smart controls available to you. Each with advantages and disadvantages. But before I do this. You all need to answer these questions your selves as then it filters what you particularly looking for.

Hope this helps a bit, before I go in depth.