WiFi thermostat - yes or no?

benson1980

We've used a smart thermostat (nest) for years and never had any problems. As grumbler points out, you can use it as a traditional thermostat without wifi connection but it uses wifi for the smart features. We use the away assist feature all of the time; others we know prefer to set theirs manually but remotely when they leave the house. 

FaceHead

Few people have actually lived with more than a couple of these, and have a real experience of more than a couple of brands. 

Perhaps the gas engineer was talking about smart thermostatic valves - it's true that being battery powered, smart TRVs can drop out if you aren't on top of the batteries.

Smart thermostats, however are quite different. In my case, I have the Google nest. It's wired back to the boiler using the original thermostat wiring and that wire gives it both 12V power and (somehow) data. So the communication never drops out, no matter how thick your walls are. The thermostat to boiler connection isn't actually wireless. Only the thermostat to your phone (via WiFi router) is the wireless bit. 

(You can have it community wirelessly with the boiler, but if you've got a wire already, use it)

MoreProbs

Frances_B said:

Thanks all! We don't have particularly thick walls. Our router is in the room next to the thermostat and we have a couple of boosters in other rooms also. This is the current thermostat - I can't photograph the boiler as it's built into a cabinet which is

a pain to open but it's a Worcester Combi I think, 9 years old.

You will almost certainly have no WiFi connection issues.

A 9-year old WB combi is likely to have 5+ years of good life still in it before you'd need to consider its replacement. It'll be 'condensing', so already pretty efficient - so nothing to gain from swapping it early. No idea if it's 'Opentherm' or anything like that - probably not - but that Drayton Digistat 3 is a simple 'on/off' stat in any case.

You quite-rightly would like a replacement with Smart App control. App control not only makes it HUGELY easier to program your heating temps and times in the first place, and to quickly change the schedule if needed, but also gives you remote control at all times. This WILL save you noticeable amounts of energy.

Frances, can you wire a plug without shocking yourself? Can you wield a screwdriver without stabbing yourself in the eye? Ah, ok, but you are still ok with the first part? Cool.

Personally, what I would do is to not bother 'future-proofing' this 'stat's replacement since by the time the boiler needs replacing, who knows what 'protocol' the latest boilers will be using. So I'd look to directly swap this nasty piece of work with a straight-forward smart prog stat which gives you phone app control. This is largely a DIYable task, but this would limit the models available to you. For the full spectrum of options, you'll almost certainly need a sparky to gain access to your boiler cupboard, and to wire a receiver directly to your boiler.

The Drayton 3 you have appears to be an irritating model; it is battery-operated, yes? But likely only 2-wire connection to your boiler. That means, for the easiest direct swap, you need a battery-powered, 2-wire jobbie, and the only one I know of is the Hive SLT5. The problem with that model is that it's rare, and folk ask STUPID money for them. Having said that, I've picked up two of them (one new and unused, and the other second-user but 'as new') for around £25 each by choosing carefully. If you DO manage to get one of them, then it'll directly replace that Digistat altho' requiring some light rewiring. You will also need a WiFi Hub (Nano 2 or 2.5) for App control - you can pick these up for around £35, I reckon. (The Hub connects to your router, and the SLT5 will communicate with it.)

The only alternatives to this will require a sparky to mount and wire a receiver near your combi, and then you'd fit any battery-operated Wireless Smart stat you like where your current one is (the wires would be disconnected).

To replace the batteries in your current unit, do you remove the whole unit from the wall, leaving just a backplate behind? If so, could you do this and photograph that backplate, please? And look carefully to see if there's a third wire also there which has been taped over or otherwise terminated. If there IS a third wire - a neutral - then your options open up significantly, and you could have a Hive 'Mini', for example (gorgeous wee things...), or a Wiser or Tado or...

ashe

I had hive in the old house, and Nest in the new one, and prefer Nest. We also have the smoke alarms and 3 security cameras so its handy having everything in the same ecosystem. 

Never once had the boiler disconnect - why would they care anyway surely they're paid for callouts?

It's great for things like last week when we were getting home from a 4 night trip to Budapest, put heating on when we got off the plane and house nice and warm when we got home. 

MoreProbs

Yes, if Frances needs to get a sparky in to wire a receiver direct to the boiler, then they should explore all the options - the Wiser comes well regarded on here, and there's Tado and Honeywellaswell.

I'm wondering if there's a simpler and cheaper option that the OP can do themselves, for the life of this current boiler.

Ben1989

I've had Hive installed for a number of months and it's fantastic. Fully wireless thermostat. The only time it's dropped out is when the little one grabbed it and turned off the schedule accidentally. 

My Hive has a receiver, a hub and the thermostat. The 'WiFi' features are just to use it remotely to warm the house up before coming home from a holiday, for example.

propertyrental

Frances_B said:

Thanks all! We don't have particularly thick walls. Our router is in the room next to the thermostat and we have a couple of boosters in other rooms also. This is the current thermostat - I can't photograph the boiler as it's built into a cabinet which is a pain to open but it's a Worcester Combi I think, 9 years old.

I had this, and after some 20 years it started playing up so I replaced it with the latest version.




£70 here.

Replacing the old receiver with the new one was a (DIY) piece of cake. No wiring, just unclip the old and clip on the new to the existing backplate.

GiantTCR

When I installed a new boiler almost 2 years ago, the gas engineers that installed it also installed a hive smart thermostat. In almost 2 years it's never lost a beat. And it's useful to have the app because if I go upstairs at night and it's a bit cold, I can just turn on the heating from my phone, without having to go downstairs.

Hive smart radiator valves...those instead I've heard they have connectivity problems, need recalibrated more often than you would want to, and run out of batteries quickly.

bob_a_builder

That means, for the easiest direct swap, you need a battery-powered, 2-wire jobbie, 

The other Smart wireless thermostat designed to go into this exact situation is the Nest E - its a very easy replacement for an existing battery operated manual thermostat
(its a different version of Nest to the one FaceHead refereed too)

https://www.toolstation.com/nest-thermostat-e/p12651?_br_psugg_q=nest+e?searchstr=nest e

Its very easy to DIY - a grey circular part replaces your existing stat - just 2 wire connections and  then the actual stat/display goes in the room (needs a nearby mains plug) you want to monitor ( so an easy way to move stat from hall to lounge)  
The 2 units talk to each other using its own very low power version of wi-fi -( not related to your router)  batteries last 2 years
Only the Stat/display part connects to your routers wi-fi

And thats ALL the wiring you will need to do

alittlecynical

My router is at the front of the house and the boiler at the back on the first floor so I needed a booster but that aside I’ve been impressed with our mini hive and when I called them as I was setting up they were hugely helpful.