Smart Thermostats

System

Just a word of caution to those who think that smart controls might be an ideal solution for their elderly parents. I regard myself as a tech-savvy senior citizen and I can usually obtain the advice that I need to resolve any technical problems. However with a move on the cards, I am not sure that I will go for smart controls in the future. Why?

1. There are very few UK installers that understand smart controls and zoning? The initial installation can be problematical (for example, loss of comms to boiler demand relays due component positioning in an airing cupboard - this took my installer 6 months to resolve and then only with the help of Honeywell).

2. Like all technology, there can be the occasional controller lock up. Nest thermostats ran anyway to max temperature after a forced firmware update.

3. Individual components - such as electronic TRVs - can lose connectivity because of adjacent interference.

4. Individual components do need battery changes.

5. Not many smart controls have built in failsafe protections: Evohome being an exception.

In sum, if you live just around the corner from Mum and Dad, then smart controls may be the way forward. My Son in Law is a very patient man but I suspect that even he would have great difficulty talking my wife through a component or controller battery change. Hard wiring is understood by all CH engineers and it rarely, if ever, goes wrong.

The_Green_Hornet

gsmlnx wrote: »

@matelodave
I maybe wrong but they does seem to be an increase in new users this week and all doing first posts about how great smart thermostats are. And that brand starting with T is getting a lot of mentions plus referral links that have been reported.

I also have a smart thermostat, it is a Tado, and I too think it is great, however I don't believe that it saves me any significant amount money.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

All hot air, and gimmicks. Utility prices are rising again and you can pay more for that goooooogle thing to track you in and out of home!


me, I use 12,100 kWh on average gas per year to heat my house 24/7 365 days a year using a Honeywell timed thermostat! No problems, fixed utility charges and pay around £65 a month, this has been the same for the last four years,


Fixing keeps you bill in check, not the tracking app on the phone!

The_Green_Hornet

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth wrote: »

All hot air, and gimmicks. Utility prices are rising again and you can pay more for that goooooogle thing to track you in and out of home!


me, I use 12,100 kWh on average gas per year to heat my house 24/7 365 days a year using a Honeywell timed thermostat! No problems, fixed utility charges and pay around £65 a month, this has been the same for the last four years,


Fixing keeps you bill in check, not the tracking app on the phone!

Blimey, I wouldn't brag about paying £65 a month for 12,100 kWh of gas. On my current tariff that would cost me just over half that amount (£34). Maybe you should think of switching.

astreix

Does anyone know how to escalate a complaint with Nest. Have a problem with the Thermostat under warranty (2 different gas engineers have identified the issue with Nest and I've shared their report with Nest) however seem to be getting nowhere with Nest.

Outside of Nest, short of small claims court is there anywhere I can take my complaint to?

C_Mababejive

Bottom line,, the plumbing ,boiler and water controls within the system have to be compatible with the controls you hope to install.

As an example, my boiler originally had a basic clock/timer,roomstat and cylinder stat,fully pumped indirect cylinder. The old controls only allowed for ch+HW or HW only so you couldnt have CH only.

I fully rewired it for full mid position diverter valve operation and a 7/2 twin channel programmer plus new room and cyl stats. Result ? far better flexibility of programming, better comfort and lower bills

IanDMcC

Can someone advise me what is needed for a basic heating control system by mobile app? I have internet, WiFi and the mobile phone as well as a new Vaillant Ecotec Sustain boiler with Neomitis programmer and built in thermostat.

I want a simple system to switch the heating on and/or off while out. I imagine it's one wall mounted or free standing box - nothing else - but everywhere I look suggests I need more, a hub, a zone controller etc.

Thank you

[Deleted User]

Our boiler packed in just before xmas and we got a replacement installed by Boxt yesterday. The boiler is awesome, the service fantastic, great price, awesome engineers, but....

Part of the package (not an option, but the default package) was a Nest thermostat. I hadn't looked into what this was and assumed Boxt would provide something fit for purpose. I trusted them and didn't challenge it prior to booking the boiler replacement. I HATE it with a passion - it doesn't let you take control; the house is freezing half the time because it switches off and can't be coaxed back on. We work from home and managed extremely well with a simple temperature regulation thermostat. We kept the whole house at a perfect temperature manually and kept fuel bills to a minimum.

To my mind, this ridiculous Nest thing is a liability - it does nothing useful that I need (I accept for some it's useful). It thinks it knows better than me what temperature my house should be and is a weak link that could break at anytime Google provided a buggy software update. I think it's a very bad move by Boxt to make this their default as I'm sure many will hate it with a passion as we do!

All credit to Boxt - I emailed and explained I hate it and they're sending someone out on Monday to remove it and wire up a standard thermostat.

Hubby and I are both software engineers - we know how buggy most software is and would always prefer to stay in the driving seat ourselves and stick to simpler, mechanical solutions if they do the job.

Takmon

Deleted_User wrote: »

Our boiler packed in just before xmas and we got a replacement installed by Boxt yesterday. The boiler is awesome, the service fantastic, great price, awesome engineers, but....

Part of the package (not an option, but the default package) was a Nest thermostat. I hadn't looked into what this was and assumed Boxt would provide something fit for purpose. I trusted them and didn't challenge it prior to booking the boiler replacement. I HATE it with a passion - it doesn't let you take control; the house is freezing half the time because it switches off and can't be coaxed back on. We work from home and managed extremely well with a simple temperature regulation thermostat. We kept the whole house at a perfect temperature manually and kept fuel bills to a minimum.

To my mind, this ridiculous Nest thing is a liability - it does nothing useful that I need (I accept for some it's useful). It thinks it knows better than me what temperature my house should be and is a weak link that could break at anytime Google provided a buggy software update. I think it's a very bad move by Boxt to make this their default as I'm sure many will hate it with a passion as we do!

All credit to Boxt - I emailed and explained I hate it and they're sending someone out on Monday to remove it and wire up a standard thermostat.

Hubby and I are both software engineers - we know how buggy most software is and would always prefer to stay in the driving seat ourselves and stick to simpler, mechanical solutions if they do the job.

So two software engineers can't work out how to turn off auto-scheduling in the menu and setup a manual schedule on a Nest thermostat :rotfl: ... this would then operate like any other thermostat but also give you the advantage of remote control of the heating to save energy when your out.
No wonder the software you write has so many bugs in it if you can't even work out something like that :rotfl:

Also i doubt they will fit a mechanical thermostat it will probably be a digital one so will still run on that pesky "buggy" software

tim_p

Have to agree with Takmon here! Had a Nest since they first came out here in the UK and whilst it doesn’t really live up to all the claims what it does do is add a huge amount of flexibility and controllability. The scheduling via the App just works! How anybody could struggle with it is beyond me. Rarely touch the actual ‘stat, all interaction is via the App. Now I just need to get off my backside and put in the version with hot water controls too.