Replacent gas boiler room thermostat

away-with-the-fairies

Hi all, couple of queries on the above.current 'old style' room thermostat is faulty.i try to set temp low but I think it's a guessing game.i want to change it for a fancy pants digital one.do I need an electrician or a gas fitter? It's a Worcester biscuits boiler about 10 years old.is it one size fits all or are they specific to a boiler make?

DullGreyGuy

away-with-the-fairies said:

Hi all, couple of queries on the above.current 'old style' room thermostat is faulty.i try to set temp low but I think it's a guessing game.i want to change it for a fancy pants digital one.do I need an electrician or a gas fitter? It's a Worcester biscuits boiler about 10 years old.is it one size fits all or are they specific to a boiler make?

You need to check the exact model of the boiler to see what will work with it. 

Do you want a digital one or a smart one?

Bosche offer both, depending on your model it can be plug and play or may need wiring in. 

There are plenty of third party ones and they too could be plug and play or need wiring. 


We went with the Nest Smart option, it needed a control panel wired into the boiler that requires a Gas Engineer to do it as its opening up the casing. 

Our old line didnt have enough power to it and couldn't find the transformer so ended up with using it wirelessly and just plugged into a normal socket. Had we wanted it properly wall mounted with no cables then because of the transformer it may have been an electrician's job. 

Note that the Nest have recently launched the next generation in the US, not available here yet and the US one wouldn't work here but if you are a FOMO type person you may get annoyed if you buy the current UK version and its replaced in a few months. 

tacpot12

A heating engineer would be a better bet. Worcester make their own controls, but you can gennerally get Smart Thermostats that work with most boilers. If you post the model of the boiler here, someone may be able to suggest the best option for you. You have a typo in your post:  "biscuits".   

FreeBear

tacpot12 said:

A heating engineer would be a better bet. Worcester make their own controls, but you can generally get Smart Thermostats that work with most boilers. If you post the model of the boiler here, someone may be able to suggest the best option for you. You have a typo in your post:  "biscuits".   

(only one 'n' in generally )

A programmable thermostat that allows for different temperatures throughout the day/week has potential to save up to 15% on gas. In reality, more likely 5%, but at the price of gas, pay back time should be fairly quick.

If the WB supports EMS, a thermostat that talks the same language and is able to modulate the boiler down could save a bit more gas.

Got a (relatively) shiny new Viessmann connected to a smart thermostat that allows for a different temperature every minute of the day & week (I've just got a daytime, evening, and night time temperature programmed in). It also talks to the boiler to reduce the output depending on load (difference between room & target temperatures), and I'm confident that it is saving money.

Vortigern

DullGreyGuy said:

We went with the Nest Smart option, it needed a control panel wired into the boiler that requires a Gas Engineer to do it as its opening up the casing. 

Our old line didnt have enough power to it and couldn't find the transformer so ended up with using it wirelessly and just plugged into a normal socket. Had we wanted it properly wall mounted with no cables then because of the transformer it may have been an electrician's job.

@DullGreyGuy That "control panel" is called a HeatLink. It contains a transformer that is intended to power the fancy wall thermostat. You just need a length of 2-core. It's low voltage and outside of the boiler, so a simple DIY job if you can route the wire.

ThisIsWeird

AWTF, make and model, and ideally a pic, of your boiler, please. And a photo of you existing wall "stat.

away-with-the-fairies

tacpot12 said:

A heating engineer would be a better bet. Worcester make their own controls, but you can gennerally get Smart Thermostats that work with most boilers. If you post the model of the boiler here, someone may be able to suggest the best option for you. You have a typo in your post:  "biscuits".   

I must have been thinking about a cup of tea lol

away-with-the-fairies

The boiler is a greenstar 28i. The thermostat on the wall is a standard honeywell

ThisIsWeird

Thanks.
And there's a timer on the boiler?
As asked by others, what do you want the replacement to be and do?
1) A digital version of this manual 'stat? Ie, you press buttons to turn the temp up and down, and it's displayed on an LCD screen?
2) A Programmable Thermostat that you can also use to set times? Ie, you programme it to, say, give you 20oC at 7am, followed by 18oC at 8am, 21oC at 6pm... Etc?
3) A 'Smart' Prog Stat that can also be accessed via a phone App? This will allow the easiest programming, simplest overriding, control from outside the house, etc.

away-with-the-fairies

I want to replace the wall thermostat with a hand held device and also replace the current boiler on/off timer switch located at the front if thd boiler.i am not bothered about controlling it from a phone app .

ThisIsWeird

away-with-the-fairies said:

I want to replace the wall thermostat with a hand held device and also replace the current boiler on/off timer switch located at the front if thd boiler.i am not bothered about controlling it from a phone app .

And do you hope to DIY this?

Ok, the simplest way would be to leave the boiler timer alone, and just set it to 'permanently on'. That should be an option on there - could you provide a photo, please? The boiler timer will be effectively by-passed.

That'll leave the existing wall stat permanently powered, so whatever you replace it with will handle both timings and temps - ie, it'll be a Programmable Thermostat. And, because you want the control device hand-held, it'll need to be a wireless P-T.

The easiest way to achieve this would be by replacing the wall 'stat with the wireless receiver, with which the hand-held/table-top device will communicate.

One caveat - that existing wall 'stat will need to be '3-wire' - ie have a Neutral supply, as well as a Live and Switched Live. Chances are it will, but that's not certain.

This suggests the cover is prise-offable from the top: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/805492/Honeywell-T6360.html POWER OFF FIRST. Take a good photo, and replace cover.

If you ain't going to DIY the job, then forget all that. I think a sparky might be your best bet, but explain what it is you are after when you call them up. A Heating Engineer should also be able to do this, but some are wary of electrics and actually get a sparky colleague to do this part.

For a 'pro' to do this job, they may well prefer to mount the receiver next to the boiler, and wire it there. Or, if you have a hot water cylinder, there will likely be a 'wiring centre' in that airing cupboard, and that's where they'd fit it.

Have you seen a thermostat that you like?