Hildebrand Glow Display and CAD

shiraz99

Anyone got one the Glow Display CAD/IHDs fro Hildebrand/Glowmarkt?

I'm with Octopus and have one if their home mini devices that doesn't connect and Octopus are not exactly going out of their way to fix it replace it so I was thinking of getting this one as I'd like to have near real time access to usage data on my phone.

squirrelpie

I have a Glow CAD & IHD. I just use it for its CAD abilities and use the Bright app on an iPad to view data (I am electricity only). It works pretty well IMHO.

shiraz99

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81913433#Comment_81913433

I assume it can give you live data via the Bright app?

squirrelpie

Yes, that's right. The app is free and works to some extent even without the CAD I believe (via the DCC), but I don't know what it can show you then.

The_Green_Hornet

Here are some sample screenshots:

Rodders53

The Glow CAD/IHD gets its live data via the same zigbee HAN (home area network) that the gas and electric meters use for communicating to the WAN (wide area network, Arqiva long range radio or mobile phone data) and any supplier's standard IHD unit. That Glow CAD device then communicates via your home WiFi network to the App for live display.

If the IHD is too far / shielded from the electric meter comms box the Glow unit is unlikely to perform much better… The Octopus Mini is intended to act as a zigbee relay (positioned between meter and the IHD) to get round the distance / zigbee signal shielding issue.

If not using the display and only app for watching the live data then it can be placed near the electric meter of course… and is where the mini might be best located?

Bright app I use for 'historic' half hourly consumption data… I'm electric only and the Bright app has data to 11:30 this morning; not always that up to date though and can be missing days / have gaps that eventually do get filled. I'd expect that data to be similarly shown with their CAD system?

Probably better explained by the makers. I'd hope? Glow: informs your smart home – Glow from Hildebrand

squirrelpie

If the IHD is too far / shielded from the electric meter comms box the Glow unit is unlikely to perform much better…

That's not the full story. The Glow CAD uses the HAN to receive data from the meter, and it uses wi-fi to send the data to the Bright app, or anything else connected to it via e.g. MQTT. So it can sit in the middle where it can see both the HAN and the wi-fi and thus feed the app or another display in a place where the HAN is not available.

The Octopus Home Mini only works as long as your supplier is Octopus, I believe, and stops working if you move your supply somewhere else. Alt-HAN is the officially blessed solution to range problems that will keep working, I understand.

shiraz99

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81913533#Comment_81913533

I already use the Bright app but like you say the data comes from the DCC so isn't live but if the CAD produces a live view, similar to the home mini, then that would be great.

shiraz99

@The_Green_Hornet are those screenshots from the Bright app?

The_Green_Hornet

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81913769#Comment_81913769

Yes.

shiraz99

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81913617#Comment_81913617

Similar to the Octopus Home Mini in that regard (when it works 😉). The problem I have with my mini is that it simply won't connect to my Comms hub, no matter how close it is, and Octopus don't seem able to reset or update it to get it to work.