Tado, Nest or Hive

[HTP99]

I am thinking of getting a smart thermostat with hot water controls, having looked at what is out there it appears either Tado, Nest or Hive are the leading players, all at a similar cost however Tado are currently offering their starter kit set up for £100 from their website.

Looking at their websites it is a tad confusing what they can and cannot do so I would like to hear real world experiences.

Scenario is:

1. 2 bed semi
2. just me and the wife
3. Gas water and heating
4. Standard timer for water and heating with, I think up to 4 set time programs during the day, this is in the airing cupboard next to the hot water tank
5. Wired twisty thermostat
6. I am out during the day pretty regularly 08:00-18:30
7. Wife is kind of in and out during periods of the day with no regularity apart from leaving the house at 07:15 but possibly back by 09:30 but possibly not and definitely out again at 14:30 until 18:30, hence why I am thinking of a smart thermostat so I we don't need to keep the heating on when she might be in but might not be.

I believe the Nest and Tado have geo fencing which would be good for the wife being in and out, meaning the heating can come on when she is near home and go off when she leaves, I am assuming a general timer can still be set though, i.e. it comes on at a set time in the morning and then goes off and then comes on again in the evening remaining on until sat 22:30? Does the geo fencing incur additional costs?

Installation, this is where it gets confusing as some need connecting to the boiler directly but it seems not in all scenarios, would my set up of a timer for both the water and heating in the airing cupboard also still require a direct connection to the boiler separately or will collection be solely via the existing water and heating timer in the airing cupboard?

Also I do not need or see myself needing any fancy zone heating capability going forward, it is a small house with just the 2 of us.

Thankyou

Edited by HTP99 on Friday 13th September 11:37

[simon_harris]

We have the honeywell solution and it is really good, with the app you can change the heating from anywhere you have an internet connection.

No idea of cost comparison though we've had ours a while now.

[Jobbo]

Tado starter kit is £85 at Screwfix currently, if you go for that.

Edited by Jobbo on Friday 13th September 11:49

[HarryW]

The first question is what boiler make do you have? What type is it, Open vent, system or combi?
The reason I ask is the OEM controls are designed for their boilers and tend to get the best out of the boiler and utilise all of its features properly, rather than a one size fits all with an after market one.

[rustyuk]

We had Nest and had it replaced with a Tado System as they offer remote thermostats for each radiator.

Plus I never really got on with the Nest Auto features and was constantly turning them off.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

I've had Tado for several years now and really like it. They have recently launched a newer version of their thermostats (Tado X) here in Germany. I can't see them on the UK website but I suspect that is the reason the older ones are being offered at lower prices.

https://shop.tado.com/en

[HTP99]

RedWhiteMonkey said:

I've had Tado for several years now and really like it. They have recently launched a newer version of their thermostats (Tado X) here in Germany. I can't see them on the UK website but I suspect that is the reason the older ones are being offered at lower prices.

https://shop.tado.com/en

Can it be installed directly to the existing heating and hot water controls in the airing cupboard as opposed to some videos showing it being installed directly to the boiler?

[RedWhiteMonkey]

HTP99 said:

RedWhiteMonkey said:

I've had Tado for several years now and really like it. They have recently launched a newer version of their thermostats (Tado X) here in Germany. I can't see them on the UK website but I suspect that is the reason the older ones are being offered at lower prices.

https://shop.tado.com/en

Can it be installed directly to the existing heating and hot water controls in the airing cupboard as opposed to some videos showing it being installed directly to the boiler?

Don't know about hot water controls but you can have just the thermostats on individual radiators if you want. I live in an apartment block with a central boiler so don't have any direct control over the boiler, we just have the thermostats on the radiators and it works well for us.

[Richard-D]

We had Ember installed at our current place (was easiest to have 3 zones) and had Hive at a previous house.

Both allow you to turn the hot water and heating on from an app. Haven't had any issues with either (so far). The Hive system was better for information in the app and gave you more control of the heating. It allowed you to set the house for 1 temperature in the morning and a different in the evening etc. With Ember you can only have a single set temp. I liked the ability to have it cooler through the day (when I'm more active) and warmer in the evening for lounging around. Not a big deal but would prefer it to have that feature.

Edit: setup was easier with Ember, very fast.

Edited by Richard-D on Friday 13th September 12:43

[DKS]

I have Hive. Was easy to install on a combi (bit of speaker wire to the boiler, mains supplied from the boiler to the network adaptor), will be a little more work on a conventional system.
However the app has gone downhill in the last couple of years. Was flawless for about 3 years, but now I've noticed every connected device shows a different temperature so I'm never sure when the heating will actually come on and ended up just putting the heating 'on' (set it to 24) or 'off' (set to 13) manually.
The shortcut for the lights is messed up, with some disappearing and refusing to allow me to remake them.

[craig1912]

We had Nest in old house and now Hive. Both were fine for what we need.

[TurboRob]

HTP99 said:

Can it be installed directly to the existing heating and hot water controls in the airing cupboard as opposed to some videos showing it being installed directly to the boiler?

Yep, this is how I installed my Tado

[Candellara]

We installed a HIVE thermostat along with Hive TRV's. It's excellent. Purchased everything from Screwfix. Easy DIY install.

[IanA2]

Had Tado for years now, no issues. Can be voice controlled which is useful.

[HTP99]

Bought a Tado starter kit yesterday from Screwfix; £85.00 which seems a Billy bargain, however I think they are cheap as there is a new version soon to be launched but hey I'm fine with the "older" version, it does exactly what I want it to do.

Have yet to install it, it looks as though I am going to be one of the few who will struggle to DIY it, good thing though my daughters boyfriend is an electrician, they were round for dinner last night, he had a look and said it should be relatively easy for him to do, he just needs to check a couple of mains feeds to the controller in the airing cupboard, he'll pop back during this coming week.

[HTP99]

Thought I'd have another look tonight and rather than steaming in thinking "oooh, loads of wires, not a clue", I sat back fired up the app, selected my controller system and installed it all with no hassle.

App is really easy and simple to use, so far (ok only a few hours!) I'm impressed.

[TT86]

I had tado in our last house and it was great. It was hardwired to the boiler and the wall unit in the hallway (which was always freezing TBF!)

Moved now and have a basic wireless stat and a new Worcester combi boiler.

Is your new tado set up wireless? Sounds like you managed to install yourself?

V tempted to grab another at that price, especially if I can self install