Smart thermostat for combi boiler

[cliveb]

Ok, sorry to muddy the waters but I've just discovered another possible option: Tado Wireless Smart Thermostat X. Anyone got any experience with it? Octopus are in bed with them, so as an Octopus customer I can get Tado stuff at a discount.

 

[Mel Smooth]

We have the Tado. No issues with it at all.

 

[rudebhoy]

Bit of a tangent, but we had an Ideal boiler with their app and thermostat a few years ago. The wireless system was very hit and miss, and I eventually sent it back, got a refund, and put Hive in instead.

Anyway, I just searched my mailbox for “Ideal” to remind myself of the history. It came up with loads of hits on “good”, “best” and “perfect”

I never knew it searched for synonyms, not sure if that’s a good thing or not!

 

[cliveb]

Thanks again for all the replies.

Have now seen oodles of reviews complaining about software and connectivity problems with ALL of the various systems, so am wobbling a bit about pulling the trigger. If I were to install something new and the heating stops working, my wife would make my life utter hell

 

[Mel Smooth]

Thanks again for all the replies.

Have now seen oodles of reviews complaining about software and connectivity problems with ALL of the various systems, so am wobbling a bit about pulling the trigger. If I were to install something new and the heating stops working, my wife would make my life utter hell

I know on the Tado - if you lose connectivity, there's a button on the receiver you can press to turn the heating on manually.
The only issue we've had with connectivity is when we've had internet problems but I guess you have to factor that in to your decision. Personally, I'd always have a smart system, being able to monitor the house temperature when you are out, then switch on the heating for when you arrive home is a great convenience to have.

 

[Neilds]

Thanks again for all the replies.

Have now seen oodles of reviews complaining about software and connectivity problems with ALL of the various systems, so am wobbling a bit about pulling the trigger. If I were to install something new and the heating stops working, my wife would make my life utter hell

What you should remember is a lot (most?) people only leave reviews when they have an issue so you don't get a balanced view. Take the reviews with a pinch of salt.

 

[cliveb]

What you should remember is a lot (most?) people only leave reviews when they have an issue so you don't get a balanced view. Take the reviews with a pinch of salt.

Yes, agreed.

As long as I keep the old PRT3 system so it can be reinstated if things go pear shaped, it's probably worth trying.

Hive seems to still be in pole position, and it's in stock at my local Screwfix.

 

[upsidedown]

Oil fired combi boiler and use a Honeywell thermostat which I installed myself. Runs with the Residio app, been fine for 2 years since install

 

[rudebhoy]

Yes, agreed.

As long as I keep the old PRT3 system so it can be reinstated if things go pear shaped, it's probably worth trying.

Hive seems to still be in pole position, and it's in stock at my local Screwfix.

I have Hive at home and had Nest at our old holiday cottage, purely because the Hive app wouldn't let you have 2 properties on the same app. Hive is far superior imo.

 

[road2ruin]

Yes, agreed.

As long as I keep the old PRT3 system so it can be reinstated if things go pear shaped, it's probably worth trying.

Hive seems to still be in pole position, and it's in stock at my local Screwfix.

We've had Hive installed for years, absolutely no issues with it and the app is really easy to use for creating schedules or just boosting the heating if needed. We've also had no issues with losing connectivity to the boiler etc.

 

[chellie]

Also this old thread https://forums.golfmonthly.com/threads/smart-heating-controls-hive-nest-advice-please.111672/

 

[cliveb]

Bought a Hive mini/receiver/hub kit today as it was down to £105 in Screwfix's Black Friday sale. (At last - something in Black Friday that I actually wanted!).
I had been intending to prevaricate a bit longer but thought I ought to snap up the deal while it was around.
So thanks for all the advice, and here's hoping I've made the right decision

 

[larmen]

Thanks again for all the replies.

Have now seen oodles of reviews complaining about software and connectivity problems with ALL of the various systems, so am wobbling a bit about pulling the trigger. If I were to install something new and the heating stops working, my wife would make my life utter hell

You have to check out which system does the steering locally and which does it in the cloud.


We have Drayton Wiser, missing my Tado from my old place.
Tado had that nice geofencing feature (now behind a paywall I think) where if all mobile phones were out it was putting the system into away mode, but if it noticed one of us approaching the flat it would put the heating on again.
On Wiser I have to push a button in the app.

 

[kp17]

Pretty sure we have an ideal logic combi boiler and hive, two physical thermostats one downstairs and one upstairs. Never touched them in 6 years, always just used the app and from memory not had one issue.

Great for putting on when heading home and the timers work well in the winter for during night.

 

[Aztecs27]

Thanks again for all the replies.

Have now seen oodles of reviews complaining about software and connectivity problems with ALL of the various systems, so am wobbling a bit about pulling the trigger. If I were to install something new and the heating stops working, my wife would make my life utter hell

We have Nest....Turns out that the earlier models are rubbish and prone to problems - we've had ours for about 3 or 4 years with no issues. If the internet goes down, we can push a button on the hub that's directly connected to the boiler and it will control it manually. It's really handy for switching on remotely when required (and programming/re-programming is a breeze)

If there's a power cut, we won't have any heating or hot water anyway, because combi...but it is what it is.

My best/oldest mate is a Gas Engineer. He said if/when the Nest starts to give any issues, make the switch to Hive as it's a better system all round.

You'll be fine making the switch. The installation is the worst part, and even that's not super difficult.

 

[cliveb]

Update:

For various reasons I wasn't able to install the Hive system until today.
DOES. NOT. WORK.

The Hub connected fine, and is visible in the App.
The Receiver powers up.
The Mini Thermostat boots up.

But none of the devices will pair. I followed the instructions to the letter: no go.
I've tried other lateral thinking approaches: nada.

It's impossible to get any support. There's no phone number, and on multiple occasions when I tried firing up the online chat, always got a message saying all their agents are busy and to try again later.

Even if it's the case that I happened to get a faulty example, given the lack of support I can't have such a device like that in my home.

Fortunately Screwfix were absolutely fine about returning it. Didn't suggest anything else to try; just immediately refunded me.

 

[rulefan]

Update:

For various reasons I wasn't able to install the Hive system until today.
DOES. NOT. WORK.

The Hub connected fine, and is visible in the App.
The Receiver powers up.
The Mini Thermostat boots up.

But none of the devices will pair. I followed the instructions to the letter: no go.
I've tried other lateral thinking approaches: nada.

It's impossible to get any support. There's no phone number, and on multiple occasions when I tried firing up the online chat, always got a message saying all their agents are busy and to try again later.

Even if it's the case that I happened to get a faulty example, given the lack of support I can't have such a device like that in my home.

Fortunately Screwfix were absolutely fine about returning it. Didn't suggest anything else to try; just immediately refunded me.

Does it show on the website?

Hive Single Sign-On Service

Single Sign On Login

sso.hivehome.com

 

[cliveb]

Does it show on the website?

Hive Single Sign-On Service

Single Sign On Login

sso.hivehome.com

When I logged on, got the message "sorry, your hub is not talking to us, it's appearing offline".
That's what I'd expect, given it's back with Screwfix. But it does imply the hub was successfully registered.

As I said, all the devices appeared to be operating ok - lights doing what they should. But they just wouldn't pair. I even put them right next to each other, but they always timed out.

 

[cliveb]

One final experience with Hive...

Decided that since I've now returned the system, I should delete the Hive account that I had to set up.
Used "Ask Hive" on their app how to delete the account. It replied I would have to contact customer support and actually gave me a phone number. (I hadn't been able to find any phone number anywhere on Hive's website). Called the number to be told there was a 25+ minute wait, but to their credit was able to book a callback.
Someone called me back. When I explained I wanted to delete the account, he went through some questions to verify my identity, then happily removed the devices on the account (ie. the Hub, which was the only device I was ever able to register).
I said "no, I don't want you to just remove devices, I want the account itself deleted".
So he put me on hold, then came back to say he'd have to refer it elsewhere and I would be called back sometime in the next two weeks (two weeks??!!) and I'd be asked to prove my identity before the account could be deleted. This is after I'd verified my identity to him and he'd been happy to remove the devices!

So glad I'm not going to be involved with this bunch of clowns any longer.

Pleased for anyone who's got a working Hive system. Let's just hope you never need any support for it.

 

[Green Man]

I have the Wiser three zone system with the radiator valves and it works great.