rad Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 So as a forum of Geeks, does anyone here have experience of Hive or Nest Heating systems? Reviews put them as equal, our boiler is being changed so looking at this to be installed at the same time.
mikeprice Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 I am interested in this too - especially about security etc as there seem to be a lot of reports that some stuff like this is easily hacked TIA
DrCheese Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 I just put Tado in - Little thing is much cheaper than Nest & works with homekit - Self installed too (It's just removing the old thermos and putting in 3 wires!) I don't really see Nest surviving in it's current form given it's internal troubles at present.
techy32 Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 I am using Nest for the last two years and found very good. It can also learns your routine for a week and switch on/ off itself without the need of adjusting it. I control it myself and it's one of the best thing for saving energy and of course money. It also send me reports every month about my energy usage.
Michael Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 I use a Worcester Wave - does the same thing and it's very good
Michael Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 As for security, you're given a long string of numbers (unique to your device), as well as a strong password of your choice. The Wave itself connects to WiFi using WPA2 encryption. I suppose yes there's always a risk, but I am sure these companies go to great efforts to minimise risk.
s1d972 Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 So as a forum of Geeks, does anyone here have experience of Hive or Nest Heating systems? Reviews put them as equal, our boiler is being changed so looking at this to be installed at the same time. I've got Nest 2nd edition -and absolutely love it. Easy to use and does hot water as well which was important to me. Highly recommend,
XiJ Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 Earlier adopter if Tado here. Absolutely fantastic. The geolocation works without any issue. Support is also very good if you need anything. One of the best purchases I've made.
MatthewL Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 This is something I am looking to do, at the minute my heating comes on and the whole house is the same temperature, looking to have say downstairs warmer than upstairs can this be done with these?
XiJ Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 This is something I am looking to do, at the minute my heating comes on and the whole house is the same temperature, looking to have say downstairs warmer than upstairs can this be done with these? Tado are releasing smart valves for each radiator. Not 100% sure how they'll work as I have two zones anyway so don't plan on using them.
Achandler Posted October 10, 2016 Posted October 10, 2016 Now I may be a dinosaur with this, but I don't see the point in the devices. Though my heating is 2 years old, all new radiators and a wireless thermostat that we have moved to balance everything fine. Most people get up and go to work, and get home at the same time 5 days a week. You know when your home and when you will need the heating on. Never once have I thought, oh I wish I could turn my heating on from my phone, nor have I cared that much to be desperately wanting the heating to turn off as I leave my house. Maybe I live in a house that keeps its heat really well (it is insulated everywhere) and we don't suffer like our old house where once the heating is off the house cools down very quickly, I kind of understand it then. But for me the only time I don't want the heating on at a normal time is when i'm on holiday and then I just use the thermostat.
Andrew_C Posted October 10, 2016 Posted October 10, 2016 looking to have say downstairs warmer than upstairs can this be done with these?With traditional plumbing you've got bigger issues to sort first. You'd need a valve on the heating to divert the water up/down/both. This would only work if you have two loops of pipework, with no up/down links other than where the valve is. I believe there are radiator valves that can be individually wireless controlled. These could do what you want, but you'd need a valve per radiator. 1
elsiegee40 Posted October 10, 2016 Posted October 10, 2016 With traditional plumbing you've got bigger issues to sort first. You'd need a valve on the heating to divert the water up/down/both. This would only work if you have two loops of pipework, with no up/down links other than where the valve is. I believe there are radiator valves that can be individually wireless controlled. These could do what you want, but you'd need a valve per radiator. In my house (built 1992) the pipes for the downstairs radiators drop down the wall from the upstairs ones. There's no upstairs and downstairs circuit. Individual radiator valves are the only way to do this here.
DrCheese Posted October 10, 2016 Posted October 10, 2016 These could do what you want, but you'd need a valve per radiator. Yeah, Tado do radiator valves now as well, but it's fairly expensive at £50 each radiator.
TechMonkey Posted October 10, 2016 Posted October 10, 2016 (edited) Now I may be a dinosaur with this, but I don't see the point in the devices. Though my heating is 2 years old, all new radiators and a wireless thermostat that we have moved to balance everything fine. Most people get up and go to work, and get home at the same time 5 days a week. You know when your home and when you will need the heating on. Never once have I thought, oh I wish I could turn my heating on from my phone, nor have I cared that much to be desperately wanting the heating to turn off as I leave my house. Maybe I live in a house that keeps its heat really well (it is insulated everywhere) and we don't suffer like our old house where once the heating is off the house cools down very quickly, I kind of understand it then. But for me the only time I don't want the heating on at a normal time is when i'm on holiday and then I just use the thermostat. The idea is to be more flexible and to save energy and therefore money. If you have a set routine that you never vary from then you probably have no need for these devices. But I know with Nest (from research, I haven't got one) that it monitors when you get in and leave so if you set the timer to get in at 6 but you are actually getting at quarter to it can adjust the timer. If you go out it can throttle back the heating and if you regularly go out, say to an evening class, it will learn that and adjust it's programming. The remote access is a piece of mind thing but also for emergencies. You've gone away for the weekend, did you turn the heating off before you left or is it heating an empty house? Unexpectedly the temperature plummets through the day and you want to be nice and toasty, so you remote in and set the heating to come on for you. Nest, & I think Hive will also keep an eye on the weather and temp and adjust it's programming down to that, saving you money if we have a sudden warm spell and saving you from getting chilly if there is a cold snap. I was talking to a friend who lived out in Germany for a while and he commented on their heating systems, back in the 80's, had external thermostats that could adjust the heating as well. He never understood why we didn't follow suit. A friend of mine has one set up in a holiday home so he can keep an eye on it and if the rentees decide they want to sit around in shorts and whack it up to 40 he gets a notification and throttles it back down. Can lead to some interesting remote battles but he enjoys that kind of thing. I think part of it is the rule of incremental savings. If you can shave off a bit of time the heating is on unnecessarily everyday then you reap the rewards without seeing much difference. Edited October 10, 2016 by TechMonkey
DrCheese Posted October 10, 2016 Posted October 10, 2016 Most people get up and go to work, and get home at the same time 5 days a week. You know when your home and when you will need the heating on. Never once have I thought, oh I wish I could turn my heating on from my phone, nor have I cared that much to be desperately wanting the heating to turn off as I leave my house. Maybe I live in a house that keeps its heat really well (it is insulated everywhere) and we don't suffer like our old house where once the heating is off the house cools down very quickly, I kind of understand it then. But for me the only time I don't want the heating on at a normal time is when i'm on holiday and then I just use the thermostat. I think for me it's the convenience of setting it and forgetting it, whist saving energy if I'm not around. i.e now if I'm out the house for whatever reason when my heating is due to come on, it just won't come on - But will rise slowly the closer I get to home. I can also have different temps for different times now, whereas before if the heating was due to come on it would go to whatever temp the thermostat was set to before. It also takes into account the forecast that day, i.e if it knows today is going to be a hot day, it knows when to turn the heating off to allow nature to warm instead. ... Plus it's handy being able to turn it on without getting out of bed
XiJ Posted October 10, 2016 Posted October 10, 2016 As a tight Yorkshire man we were always trying the heating off when out. Then had to crank it on when we got home. Although I now live In a new build that is very energy efficient, this fact I can just leave the house and the heating knows this via geolocation and turns the heating off (with a minimum away temperature setting and frost detection) is brilliant. Don't have to think about touching the controls. Similar on that it warms up as I'm on the way home - so ready for when I'm in. To be fair I'm in and out at different times so this works well for me. Now all I need is a decent smart lock so i don't have to fiddle with then old fashioned and annoying keys 1
rad Posted October 10, 2016 Author Posted October 10, 2016 Thanks all for the feedback. I have given Nest the nod and will update later. We have a restricted timer, only 2 settings for the week and 2 for the weekend. This doesnt work in our varied lifestyle when we go away on the weekends and want it warm for our return but not heating the house inbetween. I also like the option of adding other devices to the system.
Andrew_C Posted October 10, 2016 Posted October 10, 2016 Does anyone know, without me researching it, how many "residents" these systems handle? There are 5 of us, with quite varied patterns of home & away.
MatthewL Posted October 10, 2016 Posted October 10, 2016 Yeah, Tado do radiator valves now as well, but it's fairly expensive at £50 each radiator. That is what I need I think. It's 2 rooms I would want it in, the rest of the house would be ok so these sound ideal. My bedroom is the main one, don't want it too hot when I go to bed but the heat from the rest of the house will keep it right. Might have to look into this further.
DrCheese Posted October 10, 2016 Posted October 10, 2016 Cool - You'd still need to replace your thermostat with a Tado one (I believe the TRV's commuicate with it)
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