Installing a smart-thermostat when you don't have a thermostat

Strider590

Andrew_Ryan_89 wrote: »

I skimmed through the article and not getting what people find difficult about using a thermostat...

Can someone elaborate?

I think I explained.........

Some people think that turning it right the way up will heat the house faster, when in fact all it does is overheat the house and waste gas/electricity.
It's the same in offices up and down the country, something called "aircon wars", with people constantly turning it up to maximum and then when it's too hot they turn it minimum, rinse/repeat all day long.

Some people just cannot grasp what a thermostat actually does.

So in reference to smart thermostats, once you get over the gimmicky stuff, all they do is stop people messing with the temperature constantly, mostly because they "learn" what temperature you want as an average and they then increase/decrease it by very small amounts, and I suspect they selectively start to ignore user input when the user tries to turn it up to maximum or down to minimum, thus minimising wasted energy.

A little bit like automatic headlights on a car and more recently DRLs, instead of educating drivers to use their headlights in fog/snow, they simply compensate for stupidity by removing the human element.

getmore4less

With heating systems.

The key addition to timer + stat is a programmable stat.

This addition gets more than timed on/off to a single temp.

you can profile the temp to you usage.

Most newer stats include hysteresis algorithms(off the shelf chips) to allow preheat and cool down periods.

there are plenty of standalone options with the main other features like holiday mode, boost...

The smart addition is more about convenience, handy if your schedules are unpredictable so you need to change your temp/time profile. or just turn it off when you go out and back on when on your way home.

Som try to be clever and use GPS(no good if the pub is too close)

I got a system that also allows us to do a temp/time profile on the hot water.

any improvement to an existing system should be simple as ultimately it is on/off although some systems have cycling restrictions that override the on/off

The next upgrade many can do is Zoning larger properties amy already have more than one zone that needs multiple stats.

one option to upgrade a system to zones is to use programmable radiator stats they give you per room control.

depending on your property and use cases
a standalone programmable stat may be enough <£50,
a single zone smart stat will be a more £100-£200
full blown radiator zoned system loads more.

you might also want to consider if you want integrated to other smart house stuff that may steer your choice.

Andrew_Ryan_89

Thanks guys for the responses. One other questions I forgot to ask. The boiler has dial for the radiator, I am assuming this controls the heat? As mentioned, I don't have a thermostat and control the heat of the radiators by twisting nobs on the radiator. With a smart thermostat in this situation, will it still control the temperature in the house?

getmore4less

Andrew_Ryan_89 wrote: »

Thanks guys for the responses. One other questions I forgot to ask. The boiler has dial for the radiator, I am assuming this controls the heat? As mentioned, I don't have a thermostat and control the heat of the radiators by twisting nobs on the radiator. With a smart thermostat in this situation, will it still control the temperature in the house?

The boiler dial will be to control the water temp at the boiler.


don't think you ever said what you do have for boiler and controls or what sort of nobs are on the radiators(thermostatic or not).


You need to document your current system and post it.

depending what nobs you have been fiddling with you might need to balance the system.