Hive or something else?

[alan333]

Hi,

Are there better alternatives to the Hive central heating control system? We've never had any problems in the 2 years (or so) we've had ours, except on odd occasions when our internet was down (which obviously can't be blamed on Hive).

A workmate has bought a new-to-him house and was asking about it. He's "pretty sure" the new house has a combi boiler (but he hasn't got the keys yet). I understand it would be a slightly different system to ours, since ours also controls the DHW.

He's only intending to use it to control the heating, and isn't bothered about controlling specific rooms etc.

Any advice welcome

 

[Espencer86]

I'm a big fan of Tado (and have had on installed since they were first released).

The big plus for me of the Tado is the geolocation feature (sure it's not unique) whereby if it 'knows' when I am coming home so begins to heat the house, and if i stay in the pub for an extra hour or two it doesn't heat an empty house. May be more of an issue for families where the kids come home earlier and don't necessarily have a compatible phone, but you can still do timer heating as usual.

 

[ollski]

The hive has the geo-location system too. Bg are so commited to it I can only ever see its additional uses growing.

 

[muggles]

It depends on what boiler he has, and how expandable he wants the system to be. Does he want to control individual radiators, or just the boiler? If his boiler is OpenTherm compliant then he'd be better off with an OT-compatible stat such as Tado or Nest

 

[alan333]

Thanks for the replies guys
I don't think the geo location would work for him since he regularly drives in close poximity to his house multiple times throughout the working day. He also isn't bothered about controlling individual rads since he's "pretty sure he saw" TRV's on the rads. Obviously it'll be different if this turns out not to be the case.
I don't know anything about Open Therm - what is it? I assumed (perhaps wrongly) that his system would have a thermostat in the hallway or something and his system could be controlled like ours, ie if the hall thermostat calls for heat then the system comes on.
I'll have a look at Tado and Nest, but so far it seems they all do a similar job, and not any better nor worse than each other?

 

[muggles]

OpenTherm is a more efficient control protocol that some boilers use to reduce gas consumption. Only relevant if your friend's boiler understands it though, which it's impossible to say without knowing what boiler it is!

I'm not such a fan of Tado - I find the control unit on the wall to be a bit less intuitive than others on the market. Nest will continue to work even if your Internet is down (not via the app, of course, but you can still control it from the unit on the wall and it'll continue to follow the schedule you've given it)

 

[vulcancontinental]

OpenTherm is a more efficient control protocol that some boilers use to reduce gas consumption. Only relevant if your friend's boiler understands it though, which it's impossible to say without knowing what boiler it is!

I'm not such a fan of Tado - I find the control unit on the wall to be a bit less intuitive than others on the market. Nest will continue to work even if your Internet is down (not via the app, of course, but you can still control it from the unit on the wall and it'll continue to follow the schedule you've given it)

Doesn't Tado work without the internet then? Ours does plus it can be installed on/off a traditional installation then changed to Open Therm if an Open Therm boiler is installed later.

 

[hertsboilers]

Hive is an on/off control, and Nest is TPI (adding 1% to 2% extra gas saving above on/off heating controls) and OpenTherm compatible.

 

[alan333]

Ok, so... Tado could save a few pence on gas if the boiler is OT compliant, but the control unit isn't the best.
Nest looks similar to Hive but works when internet is down.
Hive expanding the possibilities with lights controllers etc.

I never thought about Hive not working from the thermostat in my hall if the internet is down - is this the case? I assumed I could force it ON by holding in the central heating button at the kitchen control panel.

Thanks again for the replies guys

 

[hertsboilers]

Ok, so... Tado could save a few pence on gas if the boiler is OT compliant, but the control unit isn't the best.
Nest looks similar to Hive but works when internet is down.
Hive expanding the possibilities with lights controllers etc.

I never thought about Hive not working from the thermostat in my hall if the internet is down - is this the case? I assumed I could force it ON by holding in the central heating button at the kitchen control panel.

Thanks again for the replies guys

Nest will save bit than Hive on gas bill.

 

[TheKeymeister]

Hive expanding the possibilities with lights controllers etc.

There's a huge amount of things that "Work with Nest" as well...and Nest does OpenTherm too. I haven't had mine in long but I'm happy with it, although I've never used any other system so I've got nothing to compare it to! The main thing for me was that the 3rd gen Nest controls the hot water as well (I'm on a y plan setup not a combi), and not all of them do.

 

[imiller9]

Hive will work without the internet, it will follow any times already programmed or you can turn on/off/up/down/boost via the thermostat on the wall. The only functionality you lose without the internet is via the phone/tablet remote stuff.
Hive also now has remote light bulbs, plugs, motion sensors and door/window sensors that all work through the same app

 

[imiller9]

Hive will work without the internet, it will follow any times already programmed or you can turn on/off/up/down/boost via the thermostat on the wall. The only functionality you lose without the internet is via the phone/tablet remote stuff.
Hive also now has remote light bulbs, plugs, motion sensors and door/window sensors that all work through the same app.