Smart thermostats

whitelightning

Hi,

I've recently moved into a home which doesn't have a thermostat for the central heating system so when I looked into standard thermostats I also came across the smart ones; primarily Hive, Nest and Tado. Pretty much decided I'm going for a smart one (I'm a gadget fan )

Someone will be in the house most of the time so the primary purpose is to regulate the temperature to save energy, with some level of automation. In a 4 bed detached but I think one zone/thermostat is sufficient. Can't decide which one to go for. Any advice?

Thanks

Cardew

Discussed here:


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5067816


Also a comparison here:


http://smarthomeenergy.co.uk/smart-energy-systems-nest-vs-hive-vs-evohome-vs-heat-genius-vs-owl-vs-tado-vs-salus-it500-vs-cosy-vs

System

You do not state whether you have gas or electricity heating? I suspect that you are on gas. Have all your radiators got TRVs - if so, this makes a room thermostat a nice to have rather than an essential item.

Do your research carefully. I went for a smart thermostat that also offers zoning. Basic smart thermostats work best when people are out at work; IE, some shut off the heating when they sense no one is at home, others monitor the user's actions and some offer wifi access. Google Evohome or Heat Genius.

Smiley_Dan

Hengus wrote: »

Have all your radiators got TRVs - if so, this makes a room thermostat a nice to have rather than an essential item.

Assuming you're talking about vanilla TRVs I'm not sure if I agree with that - the ability to turn the boiler off, which normal TRVs do not do, is an important energy saving step. Without that, your boiler will still be cycling and using electricity as well as fuel when it may not need to (ours uses 300-400 watts!).

Good call on the new zoning systems though. I'm getting a HG system installed in the next couple of weeks.

whitelightning

Hi,

Cardew - thanks for the links.


Hengus - We have gas heating and TRVs on each radiator. My concerns with TRVs (maybe due to my lack of understanding) are they can control the temperature of the room but the boiler will keep on working away in the background. With a thermostat, this actually stops the boiler, until the temperature needs topping up.



Smiley Dan - What is a "HG system"?

thanks.

Cardew

whitelightning wrote: »

Hi,

My concerns with TRVs (maybe due to my lack of understanding) are they can control the temperature of the room but the boiler will keep on working away in the background. With a thermostat, this actually stops the boiler, until the temperature needs topping up.

Depends how you define 'working away in the background'.

Even without a wall thermostat, the boiler will not be firing when the water in the CH system reaches the temperature set on the boiler.


However without a wall thermostat the pump would keep running and the system would cycle on and off.


The problem with a wall thermostat is the heating for the whole house is governed by the temperature in the room where that stat is situated. For instance even if you have the TRVs set to maximum in bedrooms/bathrooms/other reception rooms, there will be no heating there if the room with the thermostat is up to temperature.

System

whitelightning wrote: »

Hi,

Hengus - We have gas heating and TRVs on each radiator. My concerns with TRVs (maybe due to my lack of understanding) are they can control the temperature of the room but the boiler will keep on working away in the background. With a thermostat, this actually stops the boiler, until the temperature needs topping up.

thanks.

I assumed, wrongly it would seem, that you would have a timeswitch? You are, of course, correct. The boiler will cut in and out depending on the temperature that you have set on the thermostat. If you intend to use it as you suggest, then you might wish to look at thermostats that do not have to be fixed to a wall. My experience of manual TRVs and thermostats is that heating systems are rarely balanced and often, if set too low, the TRVs, say, in the living room are just opening because of a temp drop just as the thermostat is switching off having reached the correct temp in, say, in the hall.

I think that I have just repeated Cardew's point.

System

Just released in the UK but like most pieces of Honeywell equipment it was released in mainland Europe some months ago:

http://getconnected.honeywell.com/en/thermostats/single-zone-thermostat

Comment here and in other places:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/02/honeywell-single-zone-thermostat-uk/