Hive Thermostat - battery problems

Nick_C

I've had my British Gas Hive system since January 2016, and have been really pleased with it, recommending the system to friends and family as well as on this forum.

About three weeks ago, I started getting emails saying the batteries were failing. These were the original 4 * Duracell AA batteries that the BG technician supplied when he fitted the system nearly two years ago. They had lasted well.

A couple of days after getting the first email, the batteries failed. I replaced them with some Kodak batteries that I had had at home for some time, and which came from a pound shop. These lasted less than a week, and then failed. I thought maybe my batteries were not good. I had three more, which I swapped with three of the existing ones, and this lasted a couple of days.

Ten days ago, the batteries were dead and the thermostat stopped working. I bought some Duracell batteries from Wilko and replaced all four in the thermostat. This afternoon, I got another email from Hive to say the batteries need changing!

I did some research on line, and found a thread on the Hive Forum. It seems BG is aware there is a problem with the Hive 2 thermostats.

I called BG, told the problem I was having, and said I understood it was a known issue. The guy I spoke to was really helpful and acknowledged there is a problem, but they don't know what is causing it. He was able to look at the battery discharge rate using the data they collect, and agreed they were discharging far too quickly. He spoke to a colleague on another team, and got authorisation to send me a new thermostat. He has emailed me a Freepost label to return the old thermostat.

I do hope BG get to the bottom of this, and continue to handle these problems as well as they have for me. When the batteries last less than two weeks, then apart from the expense of changing them the whole system becomes unfit for purpose if you are going on holiday.

The BG/Hive thread is at
https://hivehome.uservoice.com/forums/223103-product-ideas/suggestions/20062549-battery-life but I thought this deserves a wider airing!

tslater1961

had exactly the same since mid dec 17 , just contacted Hive , explained the battery life issue which they checked on line and are sending new unit. from all the posts its obviously a known issue and they are happy to replace unit. well done HIVE customer services

System

Out-of-interest, what if any 'failsafe' provision is built into the Hive thermostat/controls? For example, I use a Honeywell smart thermostat which is wirelessly connected to a boiler demand relay (BDR). If communication is lost between the thermostat and the BDR, then the BDR will cycle the boiler to prevent the freezing of radiators and pipes.