Hive questions
Discussion
Amazon are flogging Hive with install this week for £159 (HW and CH version). Our thermostat is old and flaky, so I'm tempted. I have Echo and Dots around the house, and Hue controlled lights (mix of Hue and Ikea Tradfri).
Our boiler control system has a nasty feature where HW only works when CH is 'on' (regardless of thermostat, so works fine in summer). I know the boiler has input from a thermostat for HW and CH, so that will allow us to have 10 mins of HW before the CH takes over and gives poor water heating.
The house in on 3 floors, so the temperature can range vastly from top to bottom. Is Hive the right choice? I've seen the Honeywell Evohome, which looks like a better solution but with 17 radiators in the house that can be individually controlled will be expensive to roll out properly. My hangup with Hive is that apart from Amazon integration, I can't see a next step...
Thanks!
Our boiler control system has a nasty feature where HW only works when CH is 'on' (regardless of thermostat, so works fine in summer). I know the boiler has input from a thermostat for HW and CH, so that will allow us to have 10 mins of HW before the CH takes over and gives poor water heating.
The house in on 3 floors, so the temperature can range vastly from top to bottom. Is Hive the right choice? I've seen the Honeywell Evohome, which looks like a better solution but with 17 radiators in the house that can be individually controlled will be expensive to roll out properly. My hangup with Hive is that apart from Amazon integration, I can't see a next step...
Thanks!
We use Hive, its been in for coming up to 2 years. I think you can make it 2 zones if your heating system allows. We have a number of bulbs, 1 plug, 2 door contacts and a motion sensor. Our motion sensor is set so that after midnight if it detects movement it turns the bathroom light on, you can set other actions. You can dim the bulbs and we have 1 colour change bulb.
I like the system, support is good but i wish the app was a little easier to set schedules. We don't use amazon dot/echo but i'm thinking of adding one so we can shout things at it. Its not a cheap system though and it would be nice if they added remote valves for radiators and light switches or sockets.
I like the system, support is good but i wish the app was a little easier to set schedules. We don't use amazon dot/echo but i'm thinking of adding one so we can shout things at it. Its not a cheap system though and it would be nice if they added remote valves for radiators and light switches or sockets.
I inherited Hive heating and decided to add the lights. It's OK and I find it to be generally reliable with Amazon Echo. For some reason despite connecting the Hive account to Amazon you still have to say "tell Hive to turn the light on" rather than just "turn the light on".
One thing to be wary of is they are pushing a subscription model which new features seem to be exclusive to. Personally I think it's mean spirited to inflict this on existing customers who have already forked out on hubs, thermostats and bulbs.
One thing to be wary of is they are pushing a subscription model which new features seem to be exclusive to. Personally I think it's mean spirited to inflict this on existing customers who have already forked out on hubs, thermostats and bulbs.
RaymondVanDerDon said:
One thing to be wary of is they are pushing a subscription model which new features seem to be exclusive to. Personally I think it's mean spirited to inflict this on existing customers who have already forked out on hubs, thermostats and bulbs.
Thanks both - this is one of 2 reasons I've moved away from Hive. The other is the fact that the current install time is 2 months. Now, I could probably do it myself, but I've started looking elsewhere and Honeywell Evohome might be dearer, but looks verrrrry good. Problems with Hive:
1. Is Zigbee based and cannot switch 2.4 WiFi network channels automatically - This can only be done remotely. So if you say, update the firmware on your router, be prepared for a long call with them to do a reset. Powering off the hub does nothing useful.
2. If you lose internet connectivity you cannot control the lights, other than on / off via the switches.
3. The move to a subscription service is already a concern.
4. Centrica.
It works, but I don't like the dependency on the internet having to be available for so much, I'm looking for a wholly local system for lights, water heating control now. Which is proving more difficult than I expected, but something SmartThings based might the answer soon as it can control all sorts of devices. One trick pony systems are showing their limitations, unless you have a fetish for lots of 'bridge' units.
My Hive is going to be replaced once I find something that is suitable, its ok in the short-term IMHO as a basic straight hot water / heating replacement.
To the OP, you want something like Evohome for three floors.
1. Is Zigbee based and cannot switch 2.4 WiFi network channels automatically - This can only be done remotely. So if you say, update the firmware on your router, be prepared for a long call with them to do a reset. Powering off the hub does nothing useful.
2. If you lose internet connectivity you cannot control the lights, other than on / off via the switches.
3. The move to a subscription service is already a concern.
4. Centrica.
It works, but I don't like the dependency on the internet having to be available for so much, I'm looking for a wholly local system for lights, water heating control now. Which is proving more difficult than I expected, but something SmartThings based might the answer soon as it can control all sorts of devices. One trick pony systems are showing their limitations, unless you have a fetish for lots of 'bridge' units.
My Hive is going to be replaced once I find something that is suitable, its ok in the short-term IMHO as a basic straight hot water / heating replacement.
To the OP, you want something like Evohome for three floors.
We have had Hive for about 2.5 years. It works really well for us.
We do not use the schedules at all as our days differ so much. Works well on iPhones both in house and away
We also control ours on a mixture of Echos and Dots. Very reliable.
We have two switches and a few bulbs, again all working on phones and Alexa
The motion sensors and switches are really good. My workshop and garage doors are monitored and I get alerts when opened and closed. I also have a motion sensor to cover the drive. It is in a sheltered spot and seems unaffected by weather.
The cameras are good but in no way integrated to regular Hive. I think this is a bit of a con. Having said that the camera definition is good....far better than my CCTV. I one discreetly placed in a upstairs window and it picks up outside movement extremely well.
I like the graphs you get.....they are only on browser
What is really lacking is wifi TRVs and proper camera integration plus an external camera
We do not use the schedules at all as our days differ so much. Works well on iPhones both in house and away
We also control ours on a mixture of Echos and Dots. Very reliable.
We have two switches and a few bulbs, again all working on phones and Alexa
The motion sensors and switches are really good. My workshop and garage doors are monitored and I get alerts when opened and closed. I also have a motion sensor to cover the drive. It is in a sheltered spot and seems unaffected by weather.
The cameras are good but in no way integrated to regular Hive. I think this is a bit of a con. Having said that the camera definition is good....far better than my CCTV. I one discreetly placed in a upstairs window and it picks up outside movement extremely well.
I like the graphs you get.....they are only on browser
What is really lacking is wifi TRVs and proper camera integration plus an external camera
I just got a free hive hub and two bulbs and am unsure where to go from here.
Installation went fine and I now have a couple of bulbs I can operate and dim from my phone app.
What I'm unclear about is the bigger picture as to how people use them.
As an example, our living room has 4 lamps and two ceiling lights. Lights are operated as normal from the wall switch and the 4 lamps are plugged into remote controlled plugs so I can switch all 4 on with a single button press.
So when I introduce hive what next.?
Do I leave all 6 bulbs on at the switch, and control using the hive app? So we enter the room and then use the app to single switch and dim the appropriate bulbs. Then at bed time, we singly switch off all bulbs via the app?
This all seems very time consuming and odds are that people will use physical switches over time, leaving some bulbs on and other off.
Am I missing something? I'm not sure I see any efficiency or benefit in this system.
Installation went fine and I now have a couple of bulbs I can operate and dim from my phone app.
What I'm unclear about is the bigger picture as to how people use them.
As an example, our living room has 4 lamps and two ceiling lights. Lights are operated as normal from the wall switch and the 4 lamps are plugged into remote controlled plugs so I can switch all 4 on with a single button press.
So when I introduce hive what next.?
Do I leave all 6 bulbs on at the switch, and control using the hive app? So we enter the room and then use the app to single switch and dim the appropriate bulbs. Then at bed time, we singly switch off all bulbs via the app?
This all seems very time consuming and odds are that people will use physical switches over time, leaving some bulbs on and other off.
Am I missing something? I'm not sure I see any efficiency or benefit in this system.
sas62 said:
Do I leave all 6 bulbs on at the switch, and control using the hive app? So we enter the room and then use the app to single switch and dim the appropriate bulbs. Then at bed time, we singly switch off all bulbs via the app?
This all seems very time consuming and odds are that people will use physical switches over time, leaving some bulbs on and other off.
Am I missing something? I'm not sure I see any efficiency or benefit in this system.
Exactly the same as me, we use Hive heating which seems to work well and was about to buy some bulbs today but it just seems so restrictive to have to switch them on and off with the app or have them go on and off at set times.This all seems very time consuming and odds are that people will use physical switches over time, leaving some bulbs on and other off.
Am I missing something? I'm not sure I see any efficiency or benefit in this system.
Don't know if i'm missing something or people only use the bulbs in stand alone lamps.
Install the bulb, leave them on then set schedules so they come off and on when you want. We have some of them where they come on at 70% and then dim down to 20% later at night. You can combine them with sensors, so we have a motion sensor upstairs. You can set this to notify you of movement during set times. Or as we do if it picks up movement between 12am and 6am it turns the bathroom light on. We have a couple of door sensors too that notify us the doors are opened while we are at work.
If you buy from Hive direct there is 25% off this weekend.
If you buy from Hive direct there is 25% off this weekend.
sas62 said:
I just got a free hive hub and two bulbs and am unsure where to go from here.
Installation went fine and I now have a couple of bulbs I can operate and dim from my phone app.
What I'm unclear about is the bigger picture as to how people use them.
As an example, our living room has 4 lamps and two ceiling lights. Lights are operated as normal from the wall switch and the 4 lamps are plugged into remote controlled plugs so I can switch all 4 on with a single button press.
So when I introduce hive what next.?
Do I leave all 6 bulbs on at the switch, and control using the hive app? So we enter the room and then use the app to single switch and dim the appropriate bulbs. Then at bed time, we singly switch off all bulbs via the app?
This all seems very time consuming and odds are that people will use physical switches over time, leaving some bulbs on and other off.
Am I missing something? I'm not sure I see any efficiency or benefit in this system.
Ive added an Echo Dot into the equation and that had made everything much more usable. I have now bought a few more bulbs and grouped them in Alexis. So now I can switch on/off both overhead lights as a single group and control all 4 lamps within a single group. Without the Dot I think we would have given up on the Hive lighting as addressing each bulb individually was not practical.Installation went fine and I now have a couple of bulbs I can operate and dim from my phone app.
What I'm unclear about is the bigger picture as to how people use them.
As an example, our living room has 4 lamps and two ceiling lights. Lights are operated as normal from the wall switch and the 4 lamps are plugged into remote controlled plugs so I can switch all 4 on with a single button press.
So when I introduce hive what next.?
Do I leave all 6 bulbs on at the switch, and control using the hive app? So we enter the room and then use the app to single switch and dim the appropriate bulbs. Then at bed time, we singly switch off all bulbs via the app?
This all seems very time consuming and odds are that people will use physical switches over time, leaving some bulbs on and other off.
Am I missing something? I'm not sure I see any efficiency or benefit in this system.
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