Install smart heating

Dedekind

Hello

I have a very old British gas dual timer clipped on the wall in the first floor landing, near the HW cylinder.

If I wanted to install a smart thermostat like a Hive, would it simply be a matter of replacing the timer with it? I don't want to work on the boiler if I don't need to since I will change it next summer, but I would fancy smart heating this coming winter.

carguy143

My combi boiler only had a timer on the front of it. No roomstat or other controls apart from radiator TRVs.

I installed a Nest by hard wiring it to the boiler using some 5 core cable consisting of live, neutral, earth, comm and return. The latter two are what turns the boiler on and off. Depending on your wall timer, most of that wiring may already be there behind it.

If you go for a Nest, there's a heat link which is wired in to your boiler, and a thermostat you can either hard wire to the heat link, or power it from USB and put it anywhere you like.

A benefit of the Nest is that it can control heating and hot water, or just heat.

If in doubt, let a pro sort it.

ashe

If you need to ask this question it is not a DIY job. A nest pro should only charge £50 to install a Nest, so I would just fork up the cash.

southcoastrgi

ashe wrote: »

If you need to ask this question it is not a DIY job. A nest pro should only charge £50 to install a Nest, so I would just fork up the cash.

Why do you think you set the price, I wouldn't install a nest for £50

jefaz07

carguy143 wrote: »

My combi boiler only had a timer on the front of it. No roomstat or other controls apart from radiator TRVs.

I installed a Nest by hard wiring it to the boiler using some 5 core cable consisting of live, neutral, earth, comm and return. The latter two are what turns the boiler on and off. Depending on your wall timer, most of that wiring may already be there behind it.

If you go for a Nest, there's a heat link which is wired in to your boiler, and a thermostat you can either hard wire to the heat link, or power it from USB and put it anywhere you like.

A benefit of the Nest is that it can control heating and hot water, or just heat.



If in doubt, let a pro sort it.

Just to add, it is very very different installing a Nest the the system you have, likely an S plan or Y plan.
It WILL NOT be as easy as installing on a combi.
Get Someone in to do it.