Best Wifi enabled thermostat
Discussion
Leithen said:
Worth giving Honeywell a call about the water - they may well have brought something new out that deals with megaflows. It wasn't an option when we installed our evohome.
There are two ways to deal with a room with multiple radiators - you can make one of the TRVs the sensor for the room and the others slaves, or use a room thermostat. We use both solutions - the bathrooms have either two towel rails or a rail radiator combination - being smaller rooms there is no need for a room stat, so one of the TRVs acts as the sensor.
Our living areas are larger however, so we have room stats that give you the ability to move them to the optimum position to set the room temp from.
We are using oil, and I think we are making substantial savings. I say think because we've had a much warmer summer this year, so our oil company had been reporting a widespread reduction in deliveries that matches our experience. We were on a top up schedule and I've had to cancel several orders.
We also have a three month old baby, and one of the bedrooms is set permanently at a temp, rather than scheduled like the other kids bedroom, so I would have expected more consumption because of this. Instead we still seem to be using less.
I'll have to run the system for a year to know for sure, but I think it'll pay for itself in 2/3 years easily.
Thanks for the info.There are two ways to deal with a room with multiple radiators - you can make one of the TRVs the sensor for the room and the others slaves, or use a room thermostat. We use both solutions - the bathrooms have either two towel rails or a rail radiator combination - being smaller rooms there is no need for a room stat, so one of the TRVs acts as the sensor.
Our living areas are larger however, so we have room stats that give you the ability to move them to the optimum position to set the room temp from.
We are using oil, and I think we are making substantial savings. I say think because we've had a much warmer summer this year, so our oil company had been reporting a widespread reduction in deliveries that matches our experience. We were on a top up schedule and I've had to cancel several orders.
We also have a three month old baby, and one of the bedrooms is set permanently at a temp, rather than scheduled like the other kids bedroom, so I would have expected more consumption because of this. Instead we still seem to be using less.
I'll have to run the system for a year to know for sure, but I think it'll pay for itself in 2/3 years easily.
What thermostats do you use as opposed to the TRV's?
Well, after reading this thread through last night and spending a few further hours of research, I've bitten the bullet and bought the Tado (including the extension kit to replace the Drayton programmer I have connected to my Worcester 30CDI system boiler). I hesitated as I use juicedefender to maximise my android phone's battery life and I guess I'll have to create an exception for the Tado app within Juice Defender to enable the geofencing to work properly. I'm hoping to clawback the cost of the system over a couple of winters....fingers crossed!
The geofencing appealed to me as my wife and my two young daughters are in and out the house at different times on a daily basis and the Nest's motion sensing didn't sound too quick to react in that situation. Plus I like the HW control that the Tado extension kit offers.
The geofencing appealed to me as my wife and my two young daughters are in and out the house at different times on a daily basis and the Nest's motion sensing didn't sound too quick to react in that situation. Plus I like the HW control that the Tado extension kit offers.
Leithen, I was hoping to pick your brains.
I have been following this thread for a while, and have gone through the thoughts of getting a Tado, then a Nest, then back to Tado and now I am thinking more of the Honeywell Evohome, as it looks best suited to my requirements.
To put it into context, we live in a very old (17th cent) 3 bed house. I have spent a good while sorting insulation issues and have pretty much got it as good as its going to get but there are still a few draughts as you would expect. We rent the place, so any serious disruption to wired circuits and DIY is not ideal although I am capable of doing it. We have our first child on the way, due January.
So I am thinking the Evohome because I can make the baby's room on full time, like you have done. I can then have individual programs for the remaining rooms.
Will probably go for 4 TRVs to start with, and increase as necessary. Can you tell me if the TRVs are quiet in operation? Last thing I want is click/creaking/groaning TRVs as they adjust.
Some of our walls are quite thick, so wifi is limited in some areas of the house (but still achievable in all locations) - do you find the reception for the TRVs to its base ok?
What happens if the internet falls over? Is any of the program saved locally on the TRV itself so if the internet goes down, it reverts to its previously saved state?
Does anything need to get plumbed into the boiler? Its a basic combi-boiler. I had assumed that the boiler is just set to "on", and the TRVs shut off when needed. When all TRVs are off, the boiler would self-shutdown.
So, my shopping list would need to be: Evohome wireless colour controller, 4 pack of TRVs, internet gateway thing so I can control from phone - is that it?
Thanks in advance
I have been following this thread for a while, and have gone through the thoughts of getting a Tado, then a Nest, then back to Tado and now I am thinking more of the Honeywell Evohome, as it looks best suited to my requirements.
To put it into context, we live in a very old (17th cent) 3 bed house. I have spent a good while sorting insulation issues and have pretty much got it as good as its going to get but there are still a few draughts as you would expect. We rent the place, so any serious disruption to wired circuits and DIY is not ideal although I am capable of doing it. We have our first child on the way, due January.
So I am thinking the Evohome because I can make the baby's room on full time, like you have done. I can then have individual programs for the remaining rooms.
Will probably go for 4 TRVs to start with, and increase as necessary. Can you tell me if the TRVs are quiet in operation? Last thing I want is click/creaking/groaning TRVs as they adjust.
Some of our walls are quite thick, so wifi is limited in some areas of the house (but still achievable in all locations) - do you find the reception for the TRVs to its base ok?
What happens if the internet falls over? Is any of the program saved locally on the TRV itself so if the internet goes down, it reverts to its previously saved state?
Does anything need to get plumbed into the boiler? Its a basic combi-boiler. I had assumed that the boiler is just set to "on", and the TRVs shut off when needed. When all TRVs are off, the boiler would self-shutdown.
So, my shopping list would need to be: Evohome wireless colour controller, 4 pack of TRVs, internet gateway thing so I can control from phone - is that it?
Thanks in advance
Wing Commander said:
Will probably go for 4 TRVs to start with, and increase as necessary. Can you tell me if the TRVs are quiet in operation? Last thing I want is click/creaking/groaning TRVs as they adjust.
They do make a noise - inevitable I suppose as they are physically having to wind and unwind. Is it loud - no, but it's not silent either. They also cycle once a day from fully on to fully off to keep the valve from sticking. We have got used to the noise - even in our bedroom where we still have No.3's cot and the temp is being kept up. The TRVs aren't adjusting all the time, so it's a very intermittent thing that we hardly notice now.Wing Commander said:
Some of our walls are quite thick, so wifi is limited in some areas of the house (but still achievable in all locations) - do you find the reception for the TRVs to its base ok?
We have thick walls too, but with the controller centrally located we seem to be OK - one of the rooms seems to fall in and out of reception, but we aren't using it much, so It's not an issue at the moment. I've chatted to the engineer who installed ours about putting a system into my father's house which has thick walls and is also an elongated layout. He's offered to bring a test system to make sure it would be OK - perhaps you ought to consider using an installer who could demonstrate the TRV's too.Wing Commander said:
What happens if the internet falls over? Is any of the program saved locally on the TRV itself so if the internet goes down, it reverts to its previously saved state?
There is a failsafe option in the controller settings to have the boiler relay and TRV's either switch off in the event of signal loss or fall back to a 20% on 80% off setup. We have ours switched to "off". It's worth noting that the system is working on a different wireless frequency than that used by routers, computers etc. So it's not really the internet, although the wireless gateway allows connection to a router/internet network. I believe the controller settings are "saved" so a loss of power to it does not lose anything. Also bear in mind that the TRV's can be manually overridden by simply turning their dial.Wing Commander said:
Does anything need to get plumbed into the boiler? Its a basic combi-boiler. I had assumed that the boiler is just set to "on", and the TRVs shut off when needed. When all TRVs are off, the boiler would self-shutdown.
We have an conventional oil boiler that requires a boiler relay and a separate timer for the water as we are using unvented megalflows. I have no idea re using a combi boiler - best call honeywell or an installer. Our boiler now switches itself on for the hot water timed periods and whenever the evohome controller demands heat.Wing Commander said:
So, my shopping list would need to be: Evohome wireless colour controller, 4 pack of TRVs, internet gateway thing so I can control from phone - is that it?
I think you ought to check with honeywell re the combi boiler, and also ask about range - an friendly installer might be able to test this for you and also allow you to hear the TRVs in action.Hope that helps.
Leithen said:
Wing Commander said:
Will probably go for 4 TRVs to start with, and increase as necessary. Can you tell me if the TRVs are quiet in operation? Last thing I want is click/creaking/groaning TRVs as they adjust.
They do make a noise - inevitable I suppose as they are physically having to wind and unwind. Is it loud - no, but it's not silent either. They also cycle once a day from fully on to fully off to keep the valve from sticking. We have got used to the noise - even in our bedroom where we still have No.3's cot and the temp is being kept up. The TRVs aren't adjusting all the time, so it's a very intermittent thing that we hardly notice now.Wing Commander said:
Some of our walls are quite thick, so wifi is limited in some areas of the house (but still achievable in all locations) - do you find the reception for the TRVs to its base ok?
We have thick walls too, but with the controller centrally located we seem to be OK - one of the rooms seems to fall in and out of reception, but we aren't using it much, so It's not an issue at the moment. I've chatted to the engineer who installed ours about putting a system into my father's house which has thick walls and is also an elongated layout. He's offered to bring a test system to make sure it would be OK - perhaps you ought to consider using an installer who could demonstrate the TRV's too.Wing Commander said:
What happens if the internet falls over? Is any of the program saved locally on the TRV itself so if the internet goes down, it reverts to its previously saved state?
There is a failsafe option in the controller settings to have the boiler relay and TRV's either switch off in the event of signal loss or fall back to a 20% on 80% off setup. We have ours switched to "off". It's worth noting that the system is working on a different wireless frequency than that used by routers, computers etc. So it's not really the internet, although the wireless gateway allows connection to a router/internet network. I believe the controller settings are "saved" so a loss of power to it does not lose anything. Also bear in mind that the TRV's can be manually overridden by simply turning their dial.Wing Commander said:
Does anything need to get plumbed into the boiler? Its a basic combi-boiler. I had assumed that the boiler is just set to "on", and the TRVs shut off when needed. When all TRVs are off, the boiler would self-shutdown.
We have an conventional oil boiler that requires a boiler relay and a separate timer for the water as we are using unvented megalflows. I have no idea re using a combi boiler - best call honeywell or an installer. Our boiler now switches itself on for the hot water timed periods and whenever the evohome controller demands heat.Wing Commander said:
So, my shopping list would need to be: Evohome wireless colour controller, 4 pack of TRVs, internet gateway thing so I can control from phone - is that it?
I think you ought to check with honeywell re the combi boiler, and also ask about range - an friendly installer might be able to test this for you and also allow you to hear the TRVs in action.Hope that helps.
Just installed my new rented Tado. Pleased so far. It took around a week from phone call order to self installation - which was easy. All working as advertised. The only slight thing is my house is only losing 1.3c overnight. Less than I would have guessed. I did take my loft insulation from an adequate 100mm to a toasty 300mm a month ago. Clearly in really cold weather I will see more of a temperature drop. But I do wonder a little about the actual benefits of the geofencing feature. When away during the day I seem to only be avoiding a small number of brief 'boosts' to the heating. I suppose those would add up though eh?! Also overnight temp is set to 16c but I may only see that used in really arctic conditions?
I would be interested to know what temp drop others are seeing overnight. So mine is a 1980's traditional 4 bed detached. Double glazed. Bish-bash-bosh (meaning low) standard of cavity fill. Night time outside temp of 8-10c sees a 1.3c drop indoors.
I would be interested to know what temp drop others are seeing overnight. So mine is a 1980's traditional 4 bed detached. Double glazed. Bish-bash-bosh (meaning low) standard of cavity fill. Night time outside temp of 8-10c sees a 1.3c drop indoors.
technogogo said:
Just installed my new rented Tado. Pleased so far. It took around a week from phone call order to self installation - which was easy. All working as advertised. The only slight thing is my house is only losing 1.3c overnight. Less than I would have guessed. I did take my loft insulation from an adequate 100mm to a toasty 300mm a month ago. Clearly in really cold weather I will see more of a temperature drop. But I do wonder a little about the actual benefits of the geofencing feature. When away during the day I seem to only be avoiding a small number of brief 'boosts' to the heating. I suppose those would add up though eh?! Also overnight temp is set to 16c but I may only see that used in really arctic conditions?
I would be interested to know what temp drop others are seeing overnight. So mine is a 1980's traditional 4 bed detached. Double glazed. Bish-bash-bosh (meaning low) standard of cavity fill. Night time outside temp of 8-10c sees a 1.3c drop indoors.
1970s terraced ex council here, old double glazing, without conservatory doors we normally see similar drop, with them maybe 2c if its a cold night. I would be interested to know what temp drop others are seeing overnight. So mine is a 1980's traditional 4 bed detached. Double glazed. Bish-bash-bosh (meaning low) standard of cavity fill. Night time outside temp of 8-10c sees a 1.3c drop indoors.
However this morning I was in later than normal, and the heating came on after my wife left for 20-30 minutes. I would wager thats still a fair whack of gas!
R26Chris said:
My Tado v2 is doing my head in. The presence detection doesn't work at all and keeps heating an empty house.I'm considering returning for a refund...
At least it isn't the other way around. The auto-away on the Nest is a bit of a pain if you want to sleep in; woke up the other Saturday to find it had decided, due to lack of movement, that we were out. Cold is putting it mildly (it was -18c outside).R26Chris said:
My Tado v2 is doing my head in. The presence detection doesn't work at all and keeps heating an empty house.I'm considering returning for a refund...
What phone do you have, it works ok on my iPhone 4, which is not exactly state of the art anymore! Have you spoken to Tado they can adjust the parameters?Wing Commander said:
What happens if the internet falls over? Is any of the program saved locally on the TRV itself so if the internet goes down, it reverts to its previously saved state?
Does anything need to get plumbed into the boiler? Its a basic combi-boiler. I had assumed that the boiler is just set to "on", and the TRVs shut off when needed. When all TRVs are off, the boiler would self-shutdown.
So, my shopping list would need to be: Evohome wireless colour controller, 4 pack of TRVs, internet gateway thing so I can control from phone - is that it?
Thanks in advance
It doesn't need the internet at all, runs on its own wireless network. You only need the internet gateway if you wish to control it from a smartphone and when away from the home.Does anything need to get plumbed into the boiler? Its a basic combi-boiler. I had assumed that the boiler is just set to "on", and the TRVs shut off when needed. When all TRVs are off, the boiler would self-shutdown.
So, my shopping list would need to be: Evohome wireless colour controller, 4 pack of TRVs, internet gateway thing so I can control from phone - is that it?
Thanks in advance
Nothing gets 'plumbed' into the boiler, however the relay unit needs to be wired to it. It is basically just a switch, when the controller or one of the valves asks for heat, the switch closes and completes the heating control circuit in the boiler. You would connect it in place of your current thermostat.
If you want to wall mount it you need a kit for that, bloody expensive for what it is at around £40. Otherwise it comes with a table top stand.
Presence detection is now fixed in the latest update. Schedule still doesn't update properly in the app but that's a minor annoyance. Its too much hassle to send back now-though to their credit Tado offered a full refund including the fitting charge. Hopefully they'll iron out these minor bugs and start introducing a few new features.
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