Remote control heating

bouicca21

I have a Worcester green star combi boiler. The thermostat is a Salus and I hate it - I find it really difficult to programme (not helped by tiny typeface instructions). Also I don't have a set routine so sometimes out all day, sometimes out part of the day, sometimes in. A set programme doesn't really cope with that.

So I've been thinking about getting one of these smart, control your heating remotely type devices. Bit horrified to find that with fitting it will cost about £250 ish, so trying to work out if it actually worth it.

I think there is a basic choice between a Nest and a Hive. Any ideas on which is better - plus which is easier to use?

Gloomendoom

I can't say which is better. I have Hive and I'm really happy with it. My wife and I work irregular hours and the flexibility of being able to control heating and hot water from a phone app, even from the other side of the world, is a real bonus for us.

Fitted it myself though and got it through some Amazon deal so it cost around £120 a couple of years ago. Took about 15 minutes to do.

giraffe69

+1 for Hive although I was not brave enough to install it myself. I find it suits our life style which also does not have a set routine.

peachyprice

Another vote for Hive. It's so versatile and easy to use, even our 17yo remembers to use the app to put the hot water on boost when she has a shower out of scheduled hours.

We got ours for £149, supplied and fitted, by British Gas as a replacement when our old timer broke.

bob_a_builder

The newer Nest E should be one of easiest to install, wall mounted module (battery powered) goes where your existing stat is - just 2 wires to connect.
And the actual stat ( the remote bit) connects by wifi to the wall mount, but can sit anywhere in the room - does require a mains plug nearby
can only control heating not water

p.s. the US based youtubes about it will make it look more complicated to install than it is in the UK


https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/oct/02/google-launches-new-nest-e-smart-thermostat-install-yourself

£189 @ screwfix

edit : ask me again tomorrow evening how easy it was to install !

J_B

We have Hive and find it excellent.


We bought it on a sort of PAYG deal from British Gas ... cheaper than a one off payment for some strange reason!

southcoastrgi

It depends what your budget is, nest is def the better looking unit

bouicca21

So the Nest E doesn't have to connect to a router?

And it's just occurred to me, if these gadgets work on some sort of wifi, are the likely to interfere with my burglar alarm, which is also wifi (and also has nowt to do with my router).

Gloomendoom

Looks are subjective. My sister has Nest and I prefer the looks of the (new) Hive.

The Nest also has a learning facility that Hive doesn't. It's probably no advantage unless you have a regular routine though. Hive will work without a router, although as with the Nest, you will lose out on a lot of functionality.

Tom99

I replaced my stat will a 99p light switch when it stopped working. Its so easy to operate I have decided to keep it.

bob_a_builder

So the Nest E doesn't have to connect to a router?

If you want to 'remote' control it from outside the house, it will have to connect to your router

There are 2 parts to the nest - the circular 'stat' (temp sense part) and the heatlink box (connection to heating part)

The 'Stat' part will connect to your router in the same way as your phone or PC does, so should be no issues there
The communication between 'stat' and home link uses something called 'Thread'

"The Heat Link doesn’t use your Wi-Fi router or network, instead, it uses a wireless mesh network called Thread to directly communicate with your thermostat.
"The Thread connection is used to send commands from your thermostat to the Heat Link like changing the temperature and turning hot water on or off. It’s also used for sending software updates to the Heat Link. "
Given we live in a connected world nowadays one would like/have to assume this is designed to co-exist with other connected devices

The main difference between the newer E and the existing Nests is how the heatlink box is powered/connected

The E versions heatlink box is battery powered and ONLY needs the two connection wires (on/off) which are in your existing stat.
So those connections are much easier to find, rather than have to delve into the details of the Y plan and S plan etc etc used in the different heating wiring setups

But does mean you can only control Heating remotely with the E