Smart Thermostat

Sunshine_and_Roses

I am with Octopus for gas and electricity, moved this year from British Gas.

I have previously looked at Hive so that I can switch my heating on when I am on my way home etc but did not go ahead.  I have emailed Octopus to ask if they have an alternative but still waiting for a reply.

Do I need to purchase the device through the utility company or can I buy and fit myself (or get someone to do it)?  If so, can anyone recommend a device for me please?  It will probably be for switching the heating on for when I am on my way home, or being incredibly lazy and cant be bothered to get out of bed if its too cold!!  

Might see if any recommendations are available on Black Friday deals too.

Thanks for any advice.

FreeBear

You would need to purchase a unit yourself and pay for installation (unless you can DIY it). I'd recommend either Tado or Drayton Wiser if your boiler is OpenTherm compatible (even if it isn't, either will work).

moneysaver1978

I have a Hive which came with the house but not smart as there's no hub (so it is just a digital thermostat) and when looking more into it, you cannot take the Hub with you and you cannot purchase a preowned.

It's essentially locked to your account. I do not like that restriction and Hive have a reputation for discontinuing products.

I would be looking at a Tado system and like you, I am looking at Black Friday sales but not in a great rush.

Is your current thermostat wired or wireless? The benefit of the latter is you can position the control wherever you need it most however a wired version is the only one with OpenTherm (unless they have started shipping OpenTherm enabled wireless version)

Sunshine_and_Roses

moneysaver1978 said:

I have a Hive which came with the house but not smart as there's no hub (so it is just a digital thermostat) and when looking more into it, you cannot take the Hub with you and you cannot purchase a preowned.

It's essentially locked to your account. I do not like that restriction and Hive have a reputation for discontinuing products.

I would be looking at a Tado system and like you, I am looking at Black Friday sales but not in a great rush.

Is your current thermostat wired or wireless? The benefit of the latter is you can position the control wherever you need it most however a wired version is the only one with OpenTherm (unless they have started shipping OpenTherm enabled wireless version)

The thermostat control is stand alone and therefore wireless, not sure if there is anything else.

Will look at Tado, thank you. 

DullGreyGuy

Sunshine_and_Roses said:

I am with Octopus for gas and electricity, moved this year from British Gas.

I have previously looked at Hive so that I can switch my heating on when I am on my way home etc but did not go ahead.  I have emailed Octopus to ask if they have an alternative but still waiting for a reply.

Do I need to purchase the device through the utility company or can I buy and fit myself (or get someone to do it)?  If so, can anyone recommend a device for me please?  It will probably be for switching the heating on for when I am on my way home, or being incredibly lazy and cant be bothered to get out of bed if its too cold!!  

Might see if any recommendations are available on Black Friday deals too.

Thanks for any advice.

If you just want to be able to control your heating remotely then you can buy it from anywhere, just check the one you buy is compatible with your boiler. 

We have Nest which we are happy with and works well, currently its v3, v4 has just been announced in the US but not here yet so they're discounted at the moment. Tado gets good reviews, really hate things that use an internet bridge but if you can get over that it's a good alternative. v4 of the Nest will support Matter so will be good for those not fully emmersed in the google world. 

grn99

Another vote for Drayton Wiser 

bob2302

Sunshine_and_Roses said:

I am with Octopus for gas and electricity, moved this year from British Gas.

I have previously looked at Hive so that I can switch my heating on when I am on my way home etc but did not go ahead.

Personally, when I come in from the cold I always feel warm until about 30 minutes later - there's plenty of time to turn the heating up.

I was offered one for free by first utility and turned it down. I saw it as one more thing that could go wrong and a negligible benefit. 

MikeJXE

I have the Hive and cannot fault it 

I also have Alexa connected so I don’t even have to go to the app to change the heating settings 

When in bed and it’s too cold to get up, Alexa set the heat to 19 and thats it, she also switches the light on/off when I tell her 

moneysaver1978

MikeJXE said:

I have the Hive and cannot fault it 

I also have Alexa connected so I don’t even have to go to the app to change the heating settings 

When in bed and it’s too cold to get up, Alexa set the heat to 19 and thats it, she also switches the light on/off when I tell her 

We have Alexa too and it's been great for lights, TVs, Blink cameras, and even the dishwasher. The only device not smart or not connected in our house was the Hive lol

Reed_Richards

A big fault with Hive is that it doesn't support Opentherm so you cannot use the sophisticated control options that that gives you.

MikeJXE

Reed_Richards said:

A big fault with Hive is that it doesn't support Opentherm so you cannot use the sophisticated control options that that gives you.

Not for me it isn’t 

When I want heat I want it in every room 

I don’t need sophisticated controls