Recently moved into my new house and I have discovered the thermostat on the wall does not work for the central heating which is leaving me having to go to the control unit near the boiler and selecting the option for the heating to be permanently on. 

 

That said I am looking for a smarter alternative thermostat which has brought me to miGenie, has anyone used this or the British Gas alternative, Hive?

 

A question for any plumbers out there, given I do not currently have a thermostat and I am turning my central heating on directly at the boiler, even though I have valves on each radiator will my bill increase due to my setup? Also, its a combi boiler and the central heating is currently set to 80 degrees, surely this is too high? Looking on different websites I get mixed messages - Hoping someone can advise me the best temp I should set for central heating on my boiler.

 

Cheers.

Get a Nest!

I have a twin channel Hive on my gravity fed central heating and stored hot water sytem. My son also has a single channel Hive on his combi boiler and both systems work well and we are very pleased with them.

 

Do you not have a time switch on your boiler for the heating?

nest for me

Just read your comment about the boiler temperature.

If you check if your boiler has a connection called opentherm then the nest will automatically adjust the boiler temperature as required.

But yes 80c is on the high side and too intense for my liking.

Just read your comment about the boiler temperature.

If you check if your boiler has a connection called opentherm then the nest will automatically adjust the boiler temperature as required.

But yes 80c is on the high side and too intense for my liking.

 

Thanks - I read somewhere that on Combi boilers the temp should be high so that the boiler can condense?

All means nothing to me. 

I use a Salus iT500

Edited 14 December, 20169 yr by Welsh_kai_boy

Get a Nest!

 

I have Nest, its GREAT at learning how you use energy also.  :yes:

Would it help knowing which boiler you have?

 

I've just had a new boiler installed, it's all new to me as my old boiler was 22 yrs old. My old one didn't have a room stat linked to it, I just set it at the boiler and that was it.

Now I have a free standing room stat/control unit. It plugs in to the boiler and needs setting up by a professional I guess.

 

Mine's a Salus unit.

I've been contemplated this sort of thing as well, and got as far as looking at Nest.

 

Is a DIY installation possible/recommended, or have those that have it used a plumber/installer?

My Hive was easy (I did not originally have a thermostat).

 

I replaced my timeswitch with the Hive receiver using the same backplate with no wiring changes, connected the hub to my router, put batteries in the Hive thermostat and then followed the the instructions to pair them all together wirelessly. As all my radiators had thermostatic valves I wound the living room one, where the thermostat is, wide open.

 

I then created an online account to enable me to programme and control the heating/hot water from my phone and tablet.

I've been contemplated this sort of thing as well, and got as far as looking at Nest.

 

Is a DIY installation possible/recommended, or have those that have it used a plumber/installer?

If you are competent with wiring etc then it perfectly diy-able.

You wire the receiver box into a live and neutral from your boiler's power supply. Then wire into the boiler controller ideally with the opentherm connection if your boiler supports it (just 2 wires).

Then if your current stat is on a wired connection put those into the control box and connect the nest plate to the other (this allows the nest receiver to supply a low voltage supply to the thermostat via its wall plate).

Took me about 30 mins.

As above, it's pretty straightforward to connect up the Nest by removing time clock and fitting Nest receiver box, then fitting Nest thermostat in place of old stat and modifying wiring a bit. Best thing about the Nest is you don't need a separate hub connected to your router.

As above, it's pretty straightforward to connect up the Nest by removing time clock and fitting Nest receiver box, then fitting Nest thermostat in place of old stat and modifying wiring a bit. Best thing about the Nest is you don't need a separate hub connected to your router.

 

Yeah I like this feature, all the rest you do and also need power for the HUB, I asked if the Hub would work if I delivered power by means of POE but it isnt possible :(

Annoying. More home users should definitely have PoE switches or injectors in their houses :)

As above, it's pretty straightforward to connect up the Nest by removing time clock and fitting Nest receiver box, then fitting Nest thermostat in place of old stat and modifying wiring a bit. Best thing about the Nest is you don't need a separate hub connected to your router.

I like the Hive as the thermostat is battery piwered and fully portable (I have 3D printed a stand for it) so I can place it anywhere in whatever room I like. I do not mind the hub being connected to the router as I already have power there.

A colleague has just fitted a Honeywell EvoHome setup in his new house, its very similar to Hive / Nest but goes one step further by adding motorised thermostatic valves to the radiators. You can set heating profiles for individual rooms without requiring a multi circuit heating system.

 

Its a bit more expensive than Nest or Hive but I was very impressed by it, so much so that I am pricing it up for the house I am moving into.

A colleague has just fitted a Honeywell EvoHome setup in his new house, its very similar to Hive / Nest but goes one step further by adding motorised thermostatic valves to the radiators. You can set heating profiles for individual rooms without requiring a multi circuit heating system.

 

Its a bit more expensive than Nest or Hive but I was very impressed by it, so much so that I am pricing it up for the house I am moving into.

 

Can you control this remotely?

Can you control this remotely?

Yep there are Android and iOS apps to control the system