Smart thermostat for Windows Phone

Smart thermostat for Windows Phone

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montecristo

Original Poster:

1,044 posts

178 months

Wednesday 25th January 2017
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I need a smart thermostat system for the house. I have Windows Phone. I tried the Netatmo, which has a Windows Phone app, but it communicates via radio waves (and WiFi) and since I have thick stone walls, the radio waves don't get through.

Apparently, Nest doesn't use radio waves, it uses just WiFi and a cable, which is fine because I get WiFi in all rooms.

Can I set up and use Nest without Android/iOS e.g. just by logging in to a website? There are a couple of Nest apps for Windows Phone but they don't seem great.

Thorpy

251 posts

149 months

Wednesday 25th January 2017
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A good friend of mine has the TADO smart thermostat, he is a Windows phone user. He loves the TADO system.

iambigred

192 posts

126 months

Wednesday 25th January 2017
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The Nest definitely does use radio (it uses a protocol called zigbee), but maybe if it's connected using the 12V cable back to the heatlink rather than 5V USB for power then it could communicate via the 12v line.

ILoveMondeo

9,614 posts

227 months

Wednesday 25th January 2017
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Yes, you can setup and control nest entirely from the website no requirement to use the mobile app, but it's a nice addition.

I think the Auto-Away stuff tracks if you're heading home or buggering off somewhere... could be wrong though, I dont fiddle with mine much but it's nice to flick the heating on without getting off my arse! smile

As has been said, the thermostats can be wired back to the "heatlink" which sits next to your boiler control gubbins, or wirelessly linked to it using their own radio stuff (not wifi). sounds like you may need to hard-wire the thermostat(s) to the heatlink.

They thermostats also need a wifi connection to speak back to the cloudy website stuff.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my nest setup, just two zones. Although I was a bit cheesed that 3 months after I got it they released a newer version that does hot water as well as central heating.




montecristo

Original Poster:

1,044 posts

178 months

Wednesday 25th January 2017
quotequote all
I had a look at TADO but it uses radio too.

The chap who tried to install the Netatmo is pretty confident he can install Nest to work by wire rather than radio, so now that I know I can access it all via the web, I think I will go for that.

minimods

135 posts

240 months

Wednesday 25th January 2017
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The Nest (3rd gen) can't be hard wired, but needs to be powered so either needs to be connected to USB or wired back to the Heat-link which can deliver 12v. Communication between thermostat and heat-link is all wireless.

I would recommend the Nest though after fitting one myself a few weeks back. It is one of, if not the original smart thermostats and I think it shows. The quality of the kit and app is really nice and polished.

Buzz84

1,148 posts

150 months

Wednesday 25th January 2017
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montecristo said:
I had a look at TADO but it uses radio too.

The chap who tried to install the Netatmo is pretty confident he can install Nest to work by wire rather than radio, so now that I know I can access it all via the web, I think I will go for that.
There is a relay output on the back of the TADO thermostat so it can directly wired into the boiler. In fact that is how it works as standard, You have to buy the extension kit sperately in order to use it wirelessly (and/or to have a second output for hot water)

The bridge for the web connection connects to the thermostat via radio, but you could possibly use a set of powerlines adapters or a long network cable to place this within range of the thermostat.

I have a TADO with extension kit, thermostat and bridge are on the ground floor and the extension kit reciever is in the loft and it works fine while we actually struggle with wifi and require a booster upstairs in my three bed semi detached house

montecristo

Original Poster:

1,044 posts

178 months

Wednesday 25th January 2017
quotequote all
minimods, that seems to take me back to square one. When you say communication is all wireless", do you mean wifi or wifi and radio?

My current thermostat is a five year old, white plastic, rotary dial one, I don't know if it has a 12v connection already.