Nest heating control? - Zones?

[IceBoy]

Hi All,

Lots of heating questions this week!

I love the idea of the Nest controller and being able to switch things on from outside of the home.

The thing is, we want about 4-5 zones, upstairs, downstairs, kitchen and living room.

So can the next control zones? or is it best to have rooms stats in the zones I want and then one nest controller?

Help.
IceBoy

[gpb1]

To do zones with Nest you need a Nest thermostat in each zone.

[IceBoy]

gpb1 said:

To do zones with Nest you need a Nest thermostat in each zone.

Really...wow!

Is there another simpler solution? Honeywell or Hive?

IceBoy

Edited by IceBoy on Thursday 20th April 14:47

[anonymous-user]

gpb1 said:

To do zones with Nest you need a Nest thermostat in each zone.

^This

Whilst the nest is a nice bit of kit (I have one), aside from the clever algorithms, internet connectivity and scheduling, once you strip away all the clever stuff, all it does is send a signal to the boiler to either turn on or off.

[iambigred]

Honeywell Evohome might suit you better as each rad becomes a zone, but it is more expensive. The last time I looked the additional evohome TRV's were a lot cheaper on Amazon's German site.

[cerbfan]

I've got zone heating in every room using Heatmiser Neo Stat's. They work really well and the new software is a massive improvement over the old version. I think it does most things that Nest does apart from the learning part, however you can control over the internet, control the temperature in every zone individually, have it come on and off based on your physical location (switch off say when more than 5km from house etc).

To do this however you need to have a manifold with actuated valves for every room, we have downstairs with the underfloor heating and we installed radiators upstairs onto a manifold system as well so we have individual room control.

[chasingracecars]

Its not a simple as a nest in each room. The nest connects to the boiler so 5 nest units if one room is cold and another is already hot nest will tell the boiler to fire then the hot room with fight to turn it off. You could do this with TRV's I think Honeywell do something better for what you want.

[gpb1]

chasingracecars said:

Its not a simple as a nest in each room. The nest connects to the boiler so 5 nest units if one room is cold and another is already hot nest will tell the boiler to fire then the hot room with fight to turn it off. You could do this with TRV's I think Honeywell do something better for what you want.

You are right that it's not quite as simple as a Nest Thermostat in each zone, you would need a Heat Link and valve for each zone as well.
https://nest.com/uk/support/article/Does-Nest-work...

[Jambo85]

cerbfan said:

I've got zone heating in every room using Heatmiser Neo Stat's. They work really well and the new software is a massive improvement over the old version. I think it does most things that Nest does apart from the learning part, however you can control over the internet, control the temperature in every zone individually, have it come on and off based on your physical location (switch off say when more than 5km from house etc).

To do this however you need to have a manifold with actuated valves for every room, we have downstairs with the underfloor heating and we installed radiators upstairs onto a manifold system as well so we have individual room control.

I have the same but most of my heating is via radiators, no manifold, but actuators on each rad. Relatively simple to install, best done before decorating though...! Really happy with it, wish it was simple to measure oil consumption and hence savings though to geek out a bit more...

[Jambo85]

cerbfan said:

I've got zone heating in every room using Heatmiser Neo Stat's. They work really well and the new software is a massive improvement over the old version.

Cerbfan are you beta testing? I've been checking repeatedly for the new software but still can't see it...! I'm on iOS... maybe you're on Android and that version is already out? Cheers

[cerbfan]

Jambo85 said:

cerbfan said:

I've got zone heating in every room using Heatmiser Neo Stat's. They work really well and the new software is a massive improvement over the old version.

Cerbfan are you beta testing? I've been checking repeatedly for the new software but still can't see it...! I'm on iOS... maybe you're on Android and that version is already out? Cheers

Hi Rambo, yes I put my name down for beta testing and I'm on Android although having said that I think its out of Beta now and anyone can download it, they must be behind with the IOS version. Just looked at the comments in the Google Play store for it and there are a lot of negative reviews but for me its a big improvement over the old version and I've had no issues at all with it.

[wiggy001]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Nest-compatible TRVs in the near future. Nest, owned by Google, has opened up the APIs and has a developer program so there are lots of integrations being developed.

As part of a loft conversion/boiler replacement I'm looking to add Nest to our home later this year as it seems to "just work".

Yes, I do also own an iPhone...

[joestifff]

For the nest multiple zones, what I have thought is using a third gen (expensive) one on the main house as these control water, then buy a cheaper 2nd gen (possibly even second hand) for the other zone. They are about £80 on eBay.

[Jambo85]

cerbfan said:

Jambo85 said:

cerbfan said:

I've got zone heating in every room using Heatmiser Neo Stat's. They work really well and the new software is a massive improvement over the old version.

Cerbfan are you beta testing? I've been checking repeatedly for the new software but still can't see it...! I'm on iOS... maybe you're on Android and that version is already out? Cheers

Hi Rambo, yes I put my name down for beta testing and I'm on Android although having said that I think its out of Beta now and anyone can download it, they must be behind with the IOS version. Just looked at the comments in the Google Play store for it and there are a lot of negative reviews but for me its a big improvement over the old version and I've had no issues at all with it.

Ah cool, I put my name down too but never heard back... I'll just have to wait I guess! Increased speed and 6 temperature levels instead of 4 will be a big improvement to me. Thanks.

[IceBoy]

Hi All,

OP here, so after a bit of googling over the weekend, it seems like the Honeywell Evohome II is the product for me, although I would have preferred wall thermostats rather than TRV valves.

So does anyone have the Honeywell Evo with zone control?

What is it like?

IceBoy

[WestyCarl]

wiggy001 said:

I wouldn't be surprised to see Nest-compatible TRVs in the near future. Nest, owned by Google, has opened up the APIs and has a developer program so there are lots of integrations being developed.

As part of a loft conversion/boiler replacement I'm looking to add Nest to our home later this year as it seems to "just work".

Yes, I do also own an iPhone...

Went looking for some more info on next this weekend. Guy at the shop quietly whispered to wait 3 weeks as the latest version is coming out which will control individual rooms. Can't guarantee this is true though as nothing appears on the net.

[wiggy001]

WestyCarl said:

Went looking for some more info on next this weekend. Guy at the shop quietly whispered to wait 3 weeks as the latest version is coming out which will control individual rooms. Can't guarantee this is true though as nothing appears on the net.

So a bit more than 3 weeks later and no sign of any new Nest gear being launched (other than the new Cam IQ).

Just had my new boiler installed but for various reasons have opted not to have Nest installed just yet. Will get one later in the year when the loft is done, so will be interesting to see if a new thermostat or TRVs are released.

[Harry Flashman]

IceBoy said:

Hi All,

OP here, so after a bit of googling over the weekend, it seems like the Honeywell Evohome II is the product for me, although I would have preferred wall thermostats rather than TRV valves.

So does anyone have the Honeywell Evo with zone control?

What is it like?

IceBoy

I have Evohome with wet UFH and 12 zones. It is awesome.

Occasionally the controller flashes up that a TRV is having a communication problem, but this seems to solve itself with overnight firmware updates.

It is not easy to set up though, despite the internet telling you it is. Get a Honeywell Engineer to do it for you. I tried, and am pretty handy. I still messed it up. Adds to the cost, sadly - this is an expensive system. But I love it enough that it is going into the new house too.