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Heating control options.

Options
This is a bit of a ramble thinking about what to do as we are unsure where we want to pitch the budget/feature set

Current system fairly basic single zone(danfoss based)
timer/controller(set5)
thermostats(hall, tank)
valve.

Looking to invest some money in better control of heating and water.

Initial thoughts are Programable thermostat for the heating and then the timer can be dedicated to the water, allthough that still means a visit to the closet to do the water boost.

Some features I think we would like(which I have not found as a combination on any of the modules looked at so far)

The ability to set the temp/times a few times a day(this seems fairly common)
Multiple programs that can easily be allocated to a day
Eg Typical progs tend to be Mon-Fri Sat+ Sun. or different patterns each day but repeats weekly. Great if you are a normal worker but we are in/out on a daily basis but different each week.

We would like to be able to set one of a few patterns to any day say up to a week in advance very easily(this seems to be rarer)

Holiday mode( heating low till DDMMYY or X days, return time would be a bonus).

Overides to have non timed and temp boost/reduce(going out).

Some kind of optimising between temp changes to account for weather/heat loss.

One issue we do have is the hall tends to be the coolest space so the main room can get over warm, secondary stat or portable unit would be usefull.
the rest of the house is fine as we run that cool allthough I guess the OH would be happier if the bathroom was warmer.

Our current thermostat is a 3 wire and in the hall if we move it or get a wireless/portable one we would need to fix up the wall or have a decent mounting plate option

initial look seems to be if we go wired(straight swap) we can find something in the £50+-£20 range, wireless will need £100+ but should add more features.


Is there any site that has a good overview of the features of the various units so I can build up a picture of where we might want to pitch.


We don't have TRV which may be another cost effective option even if it was just on the one room that gets warmest first.

I suppose we could look beyond standalone and integation/web based options but not sure I can be bothered just more to play with and go wrong. Tech enough to program a bare bones unit if something exists.

I am getting a feeling that we will get 90% of our benifit from a simple of the shelf module.

Other requirements look OK.
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Comments

  • getmore4less
    getmore4less Posts: 46,882 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper I've helped Parliament
    edited 16 July 2014 at 3:49PM
    I think I have found what I want(subject to reviews/pricing).
    ( quick look £80 B&Q or cheaper £45+ from ebay sellers)

    http://www.homexpertbyhoneywell.com/en-GB/Products/Programmablethermostats/Pages/Programmable%20Thermostats.aspx

    (Also available in wireless)

    Up to 6 changes a day
    manual, auto, off.

    4 temp override option that are very easy to set(this is the rare feature on most).
    Temp, change the temp for the current period only.
    Away, upto 99 days (override to frost setting)
    Home, upto 99 days (override to the Sunday prog)
    Party, upto 23hrs (override to a preset set temp for a time, handy if going for a few hours, or want a timed boost)


    other
    adjustable hysteresis
    min time on/off adjustable
    number of cycles an hour

    can also run cooling system(don't have one).

    Looks OK.

    Edit:
    CM907 seems to be same in a different case.
  • lindens
    lindens Posts: 2,870 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Most of the above was too techincal for me lol. But when we had a new boiler recently we paid extra for a wireless thermostat, which must have got us our money back very soon, as if you are coming home early from somewhere and want the heating to come on earlier than planned, or more importantly, are delayed and dont need the heating coming on until later, you can over ride it from your smart phone. well worth considering
    You're not your * could have not of * Debt not dept *
  • nande2000
    nande2000 Posts: 217 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    Id avoid wireless if possible. I had a new system installed and the wireless controller would drop out if we used the microwave and interfered with my wireless broadband. I was resetting it manually all the time.
  • getmore4less
    getmore4less Posts: 46,882 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper I've helped Parliament
    lindens wrote: »
    Most of the above was too techincal for me lol. But when we had a new boiler recently we paid extra for a wireless thermostat, which must have got us our money back very soon, as if you are coming home early from somewhere and want the heating to come on earlier than planned, or more importantly, are delayed and dont need the heating coming on until later, you can over ride it from your smart phone. well worth considering
    any clue on the system supplier or app name to look for costings
  • I_have_spoken
    I_have_spoken Posts: 5,051 Forumite
    Nest?
  • lindens
    lindens Posts: 2,870 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    BRITISH GAS Supplied and fitted everything and i use an app called MyHome to control it. dont have the docs in front of me-will try and update later. I can't post pictures but if you google this, it looks like the curvey one
    Drayton Digistat+2RF Programmable Room Thermostat Wireless Systems
    You're not your * could have not of * Debt not dept *
  • nande2000 wrote: »
    Id avoid wireless if possible. I had a new system installed and the wireless controller would drop out if we used the microwave and interfered with my wireless broadband. I was resetting it manually all the time.

    Probably a salus or possibly Siemens? I've found these two to be the worst controls( for breaking down)
  • getmore4less
    getmore4less Posts: 46,882 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper I've helped Parliament
    lindens wrote: »
    BRITISH GAS Supplied and fitted everything and i use an app called MyHome to control it. dont have the docs in front of me-will try and update later. I can't post pictures but if you google this, it looks like the curvey one
    Drayton Digistat+2RF Programmable Room Thermostat Wireless Systems

    Thanks.

    That stat is only a 24hr(very limited functions) and does not seem to have web/net interface so is it the one installed?

    I though BG were into installing Hive systems.
  • getmore4less
    getmore4less Posts: 46,882 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper I've helped Parliament
    As far as I can tell the honeywell 7day as mentioned above(CM907) is probably the best featured standalone one(comes wired , mains/battery or wireless)

    started looking for wi-fi enabled for remote access/programming

    prefered option is wired stat with wi-fi remote access,
    some are wireless stats with wire(to router) gateway.

    £250(discounts available) seems to be the price point for the main stream options which is pricy given the tech that is needed to make them.

    nest,hive....

    not read yet but found this review.
    http://programmable-thermostats-review.toptenreviews.com/
    edit:
    Woops USA reviews so unit probably not compatible with UK systems.

    the search continues, feels weird looking for heating controls during a heatwave.
  • I_have_spoken
    I_have_spoken Posts: 5,051 Forumite
    I've used Drayton Digistat 3+RF (?) in several houses, they do a good job IMHO
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