Smart Thermostat

AAZ

I am looking to get a smart thermostat for my home, Hive and Nest seem to be two big one , Do people have any feedback on using them.
How do they control temp ? do we need to install something to radiator as well for them to talk to each other ?
My current radiator have their mind of their own, does not matter what temp I set them , they start on their own and stop on their own !!!

littleboo

I can’t comment on Hive and Nest, but have recently installed Drayton Wiser which was straightforward, a little bit of wiring required because I didn’t have a standard controller backplate. Wiser uses smart TRV’s so can control the temp in a room where you have replaced a standard TRV head with a Wiser one. Haven’t used the central heating controls on anger yet, but first impressions are positive. I have a hot water cylinder and the hot water control works well. 
I wasn’t convinced by the need for smart controls, but when the programmable room stat failed decided to go that route.

grumbler

AAZ said:

How do they control temp ? do we need to install something to radiator as well for them to talk to each other ?

Without smart TVRs they just switch the heating on and off depending on the temperature in the room where the thermostat is.

TVRs control the flow through their radiators when CH is on.  Smart TVRs settings can be changed remotely.

My current radiator have their mind of their own, does not matter what temp I set them , they start on their own and stop on their own !!!

Well, if manual TVRs aren't faulty and don't work, then replacing them with smart ones is unlikely to help.

AAZ

grumbler said:

AAZ said:

How do they control temp ? do we need to install something to radiator as well for them to talk to each other ?

Without smart TVRs they just switch the heating on and off depending on the temperature in the room where the thermostat is.

TVRs control the flow through their radiators when CH is on.  Smart TVRs settings can be changed remotely.

My current radiator have their mind of their own, does not matter what temp I set them , they start on their own and stop on their own !!!

Well, if manual TVRs aren't faulty and don't work, then replacing them with smart ones is unlikely to help.

This is the thing I am not sure my thermostat and radiator talk to to each other …. I increase the dial and it shows shows sign that heating is on …. Radiator does not switch on and is very haphazard …. My house is warm but I think I am using way much gas 

BUFF

what make/model of boiler do you have?
Which controls (programmer/room 'stat/TRVs) do you have - again make/model if you can?

grumbler

AAZ said:

grumbler said:

AAZ said:

How do they control temp ? do we need to install something to radiator as well for them to talk to each other ?

Without smart TVRs they just switch the heating on and off depending on the temperature in the room where the thermostat is.

TVRs control the flow through their radiators when CH is on.  Smart TVRs settings can be changed remotely.

My current radiator have their mind of their own, does not matter what temp I set them , they start on their own and stop on their own !!!

Well, if manual TVRs aren't faulty and don't work, then replacing them with smart ones is unlikely to help.

This is the thing I am not sure my thermostat and radiator talk to to each other ….

Normally they don't and work independently. If the thermostat is in a cold room, CH is on and some other room gets too hot, the TVR has to reduce the flow through the radiator in that room or even stop it.

stuartp2000

I have the Tado system which I highly rate.

it was really easy to replace my old unit and put this one in, all via a helpful guide and no engineer required.

it controls the on / off times with schedules for each day or weekly however you want.

the geo fencing and window open assist work really well (24.95 per year I think)

I then in the main rooms in the house have separate radiator valves.

always seem to have deals around Black Friday as well.

I have no involvement with them, just a happy customer 😀

BUFF

stuartp2000 said:

I have the Tado system which I highly rate.

it was really easy to replace my old unit and put this one in, all via a helpful guide and no engineer required.

it controls the on / off times with schedules for each day or weekly however you want.

the geo fencing and window open assist work really well (24.95 per year I think)

Only fee chargeable if you want actions automated & subscribe - just push notification to your 'phone is free but you then need to action manually yourself (or not if you so decide).
The automated actions can also be subscribed to on a  monthly basis so you may e.g. only want to subscribe over a few winter months.

GiantTCR

AAZ said:

I am looking to get a smart thermostat for my home, Hive and Nest seem to be two big one , Do people have any feedback on using them.
How do they control temp ? do we need to install something to radiator as well for them to talk to each other ?
My current radiator have their mind of their own, does not matter what temp I set them , they start on their own and stop on their own !!!

I have the hive smart thermostat installed in my house.

The heating comes on based on the temperature measured in the room where the smart thermostat is, so you can have very different temperature in different rooms.

I'm going to have the Hive smart valves installed on any radiators in the house, this way I can control and set independently the temperature in each room.

The Hive app is very nicely done and easy to use.

fenwick458

if you have a new ish boiler that is compatible, look for a thermostat with the opentherm connections. it will alter the flow temperature of the boiler depending on the weather, makes it more efficient and improves the lifespan.
Hive definitely doesn't have this, Nest does, and so does drayton wiser to cover 3 mentioned on here

daivid

I've had the drayton wiser just under a year and like it. I contemplated smart trvs but didn't bother, I didn't think the cost vs savings was worth it in my house. Layout, how you want to heat different parts and cost of heating may make the benefits greater, also what you are upgrading from; I had a very simple thermostat (on/off, 1day - no temp programing) but did have (dumb) trvs on all radiators. I like that I can program different temperatures at different times and days, and that I can turn the heating back on from away mode when a couple of hours from home after I've been away.