No frills smart thermostat, drayton wiser?

daivid

I currently have an old fashioned set up with a rotary thermostat and module that is on/off or 24hr programming. I really want to be able to set a seven day schedule and would quite like to be able to set/change the heating from afar. I figure I may as well get a smart set up rather than just upgrade to a better 'dumb' control unit. I've seen the Drayton Wiser and it seems to be more or less the cheapest option and have pretty good reviews.

My wants are:

*7 day programming, ideally with the ability to set different temperatures at different times
*App (and ideally web based) controlling of on/off and temperature
*A relatively simple manual overload in case of wifi failure or perhaps a default setting for such occasions

From what I've read the Drayton Wiser does most of these but I'm not sure on the finer details e.g. of programming and remote access. I don't need or want geofencing or multizone setting. Can anyone confirm if the Drayton meets all my wants (or suggest a better alternative).

P.s. its a combi boiler so no hot water control required

getmore4less

How often do you think you will change the program schedule?

Most people have fairly set routines with work and kids.

I found being able to override when out the house most often was just on/off as something changed with our regular schedule.

As long as the program schedule is downloaded to the stat it should work standalone (says hub is WiFi access point )

Settings like holiday very useful.

Get the manuals for all the ones you are looking at.

daivid

getmore4less said:

How often do you think you will change the program schedule?

Most people have fairly set routines with work and kids.

I found being able to override when out the house most often was just on/off as something changed with our regular schedule.

As long as the program schedule is downloaded to the stat it should work standalone (says hub is WiFi access point )

Settings like holiday very useful.

Get the manuals for all the ones you are looking at.

Once the seven day schedule is set it won't change often; if I had a thermostat I could program for 7 days I would have changed the schedule once so far this winter and will change once more in a month. Two changes per year of heating use is pretty insignificant. In terms of day to day there is a fair variety across the week due to partial working from home and normal weekend activities but each actual day of the week stays pretty constant. I would like to be able to program a different day to night temperature (so the heating is down but not off during sleeping hours and warms up by typical waking times).

The only real reason for wanting wifi connectivity is for trips away, when away over winter I typically turn the thermostat down to about 12 but leave the heating on, if returning from a few nights away during a cold spell being able to switch the heating up a couple of hours before getting home would be great. Typically there are probably 4 or 5 occasions a winter this would be made use of. 

Good idea about downloading manuals, I'll have a look for the drayton one first.

Ibrahim5

Have a look at the Honeywell T6R. I really like it and it sounds suitable.

Martin_the_Unjust

We have one of these which we are very happy with.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Netatmo-Thermostat-individual-boiler-NTH01-EN-EC/dp/B00GWKW8SY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2Q60SDIS9XY49&keywords=netatmo+thermostat&qid=1642402942&sprefix=Neta%2Caps%2C64&sr=8-4

getmore4less

I should have said it was a few years back I researched the options and ended up with OWL which fitted my needs at the time as they were the only one that did a tank thermostat with time and temp (they have gone to a service model with annual fee so no longer recommend)

where I was going with the questions was maybe a standalone programable may be sufficient.
at that time Honeywell 907 was probably the benchmark but I think that is discontinued.

daivid said:

getmore4less said:

How often do you think you will change the program schedule?

Most people have fairly set routines with work and kids.

I found being able to override when out the house most often was just on/off as something changed with our regular schedule.

As long as the program schedule is downloaded to the stat it should work standalone (says hub is WiFi access point )

Settings like holiday very useful.

Get the manuals for all the ones you are looking at.

Once the seven day schedule is set it won't change often; if I had a thermostat I could program for 7 days I would have changed the schedule once so far this winter and will change once more in a month. Two changes per year of heating use is pretty insignificant.

The interface to most standalone is not that bad these days and for a couple of changes a year not significant. 


In terms of day to day there is a fair variety across the week due to partial working from home and normal weekend activities but each actual day of the week stays pretty constant. I would like to be able to program a different day to night temperature (so the heating is down but not off during sleeping hours and warms up by typical waking times).

The trick here is to make sure there are sufficient temp/time setting per day.
I think 3 is the min,   Morning, day time (Out/off)  evening, night.
more is better  and prefer 7d to 5+2d

Then the override options to say advance to evening temp if staying in and some kind of boost option like add 1c  some have other overrides this is where reading the manual helps. 


The only real reason for wanting wifi connectivity is for trips away, when away over winter I typically turn the thermostat down to about 12 but leave the heating on, if returning from a few nights away during a cold spell being able to switch the heating up a couple of hours before getting home would be great. Typically there are probably 4 or 5 occasions a winter this would be made use of. 

Good idea about downloading manuals, I'll have a look for the drayton one first.

For that last point the better standalone have additional settings like away/holiday where you say you are away for X days and you can set the "frost" to lower than night.

I would have to check as I forget, I think we are something like
10c for holiday(the boiler frost stat is 5c in the garage with no heating) ,
15c for away and night(away is for short periods holiday for  long)
Then various day/temp options eg. I bring the house up to 17c early in the morning(15 is a touch nippy) then up to 19c  around getting up time, off (override is advance or 1c for 1hr if we stay in), an evening cycle, then back to night

I find the timed override quite useful we have it set to 1c for 1hr handy if staying up a bit later and the temp drops  


Have a read through the manuals to see what each offer

I found having remote access quite useful but not really missed it since I have just let it run 

I am not up on prices but my point here is a standalone may do the job but having remote access is handy
The heating industry was an install and forget, going smart risks that lifetime model
if you have(or want) TRV then that is an upgrade route to look out for

I got hit by my choice(OWL) going to fee based for their server support not a lot but grates when you paid out for the unit..

I can keep it going and integrate into Home auto if needed without paying for the support,


If looking again I would stick to big players
 

Also consider your other smart home stuff do you want it to integrate well.

Then keep an eye on HUKD for the price drops(and the camel for Amazon).
eg that Netamo linked is currently £150,  regularly £100 and been as low as £70

the Drayton you are looking at the kits go under £100
https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/product/B075GS4WFK

daivid

The Drayton is £140 currently, a seven day on/off programable traditional unit would be £43, a non wifi but programable unit for temps and times £100. I've not tried to crunch the prices down on any of these, but gives an idea. Having read the manual the Drayton wiser allows 8 'events' (temp up or down) per room per day so that is more than enough for me. It has a seven day schedule, has an away mode and can be over ridden for 2 hour on by pressing a physical button. I think it meets all my wants so will see if I can find a deal on it, though they seem to be in short supply at the moment so offers may not be plentiful but seems to be cheaper than the alternatives though.

daivid

Having decided on the Drayton Wiser I've had a proper look at prices. I can purchase the hub and thermostat (1 channel) for £102 or from the same supplier the 2 channel version for £99 - not a big saving but a saving never the less. Is there any good reason not to use a 2 channel hub with just a combi boiler? I assume the hot water channel will just sit idle but thought I'd check in case I'm overlooking something.