Smart Thermostats

jbondo

Hi all,

Looking to get a Smart Theromstat at some point but struggling to see which one is the best to go for etc.

I have a 4 bedroom Townhouse so would like to eventually have a TRV on the majority of the radiators and potentially setup zoning for upstairs/downstairs etc.

I've looked at Tado which seemed reasonable to what I wanted it to do however was put off by the subscription fee they now charge.

Looking at Nest, it seems that if I want to do zoning for upstairs and downstairs I would need to have 2 thermostats which is also off-putting although it does seem to be a learning thermostat which is a plus.

Hive seems to be what the majority of people use however not sure if they do zoning etc.

Interesting to see to see what some of you use and your thoughts etc

getmore4less

OWL also went to subscription to access their back end.

A risk with any system that does not have open support

If you want to zone you need thermostats for each zone.

Some systems support programmable TRV that way you can zone by room.

ic

I've gone for Bosch's EasyControl thermostat for my Worcester boiler. I originally had a Worcester weather compensating controller (with an externally mounted thermistor to monitor local temps). I didn't want to lose that feature - and the EasyControl supports it. A few months ago I purchased seven of the TRVs which communicate with it.

I now have four rooms managed by the thermostats, with each room having its own schedule. Initially I had a radiator in the hall and towel radiator in the bathroom on standard TRVs - however we found the whirring of the thermostat in the bedroom disruptive - so swapped them around.

I can't make any claims about cost savings (and frankly doubt there are any, especially considering the initial purchase cost), but we've found temperatures are more stable - previously some rooms would overheat easily, whilst others struggled to get to temp. Its also handy being able to up a room if its unexpectedly used - and that adjustment triggering a demand on the boiler even if the room the main thermostat is in is already up to temperature.

Toki

Have you looked at Drayton Wiser system? It doesn't get a lot of press. I installed a system in November 2019 following a few weeks of research.

It's similar to the Tado system, has OpenTherm if that's of interest to you. It was something I wanted as recently got a OpenTherm compatible boiler. The easiest way of explaining it is like a throttle on a car. Variable temperature of water rather than a full on/off switch which Hive and others are.



I got during an Amazon offer just before Black Friday. Just under £110 for the thermostat and then £35 for each TRV. I was seriously considering Tado but was put off that all programs are stored on their system and like you say, the monthly charge.


So far, I would recommend it if you get a decent price. Hard to say if there has been any savings yet from my old Honeywell programmable stat but certainly gives you a lot more control per room.



Any other questions, just ask.

Sliveredge88

I have got ESI smart WIFI thermostats at my place one in top floor room and one down stairs for zone heating, but the heating system has been plumbed in for zone heating. good product not let me down in 6 months of usage cant control from phone app or on screen. esicontrols. co. uk/

Kiran

I've just installed Honeywell Evohome, I like the fact that I can zone areas accurately. Also, and I know it's their tag line but, Honeywell invented the thermostat. Anything that controls a smart TRV though should give you the functionality.


One work of warning, if you are looking at a system that lets you control upstairs and down stairs separately you need to make sure that the house is piped correctly for that setup.

jbondo

Hi all,

So I'm thinking of either Hive or Tado. Tado seems great because it's got individual TRV's however it's also got a subscription fee for some features. Those who use Tado, do you use the subscription features or not, if not does it make any difference to how to use it?