Best Wifi enabled thermostat
Discussion
kambites said:
Yes, the basic kit has two things - one is basically a 240 volt relay which would replace the timer unit you already have on the boiler. The other is the thermostat unit thing which talks to the first bit wirelessly to tell it when to turn on and off. This also talks to your wifi network to allow you to set thing up using a phone app.
On top of that you can add things like smart TVRs, which can talk to the thermostat to tell it to turn the boiler on and off if a particular radiator is demanding heat.
Great, so I don't need someone to wire stuff up and chase through walls, just replace the bit on the boiler and away you go with the wireless thermostat. How does the unit fit on the boiler? The timer is circular, I've seen photos of the digital version which is also circular, the thing that comes with the Wiser seems to be a long rectangular box?On top of that you can add things like smart TVRs, which can talk to the thermostat to tell it to turn the boiler on and off if a particular radiator is demanding heat.
Edited by kambites on Friday 24th November 13:36
Most likely there will be a cable from boiler to timer so the timer can operate as a mains voltage switch for the boiler.
If it's a powered timer, it'll be a three-core and earth cable with live and neutral from boiler to timer (to power the timer) then a switched live back to the boiler. If it's a purely mechanical timer, it'll probably be a two-core and earth with just live coming into the timer from the boiler and switched live going back out to the boiler.
If the former, you can simply directly replace the timer using the same cable. If the latter, you'll need to take the cover off the boiler (if it's like ours the electrics are just behind the plastic cover right at the bottom of the boiler, you don't have to go near the gas) and do a bit of rewiring. There's guides on youtube on how to wire these things up to a WB combi-boiler or conventional boiler.
I haven't done it yet, but it doesn't look scary in the least.
ETA: If you have a non-combi boiler, I guess there will be two switched lives, one for hot water and one for central heating?
If it's a powered timer, it'll be a three-core and earth cable with live and neutral from boiler to timer (to power the timer) then a switched live back to the boiler. If it's a purely mechanical timer, it'll probably be a two-core and earth with just live coming into the timer from the boiler and switched live going back out to the boiler.
If the former, you can simply directly replace the timer using the same cable. If the latter, you'll need to take the cover off the boiler (if it's like ours the electrics are just behind the plastic cover right at the bottom of the boiler, you don't have to go near the gas) and do a bit of rewiring. There's guides on youtube on how to wire these things up to a WB combi-boiler or conventional boiler.
I haven't done it yet, but it doesn't look scary in the least.
ETA: If you have a non-combi boiler, I guess there will be two switched lives, one for hot water and one for central heating?
Edited by kambites on Friday 24th November 14:15
After reading many posts I am still undecided between tado and nest for 3 bed semi . Our schedules are generally quite fix but I like the idea of having remote access. Tado has TRV facility which is brilliant as I can set room temperature individually but that is also expensive. Any more thoughts?
For hot water tado has extension kit. Does it simply act like a 7 day programmer? Does it allow remote on and off for hot water?
Currently we run heating 3 hours in morning and 3 in evening. Will either nest or tado run during day or is it fully switched off provided no one is home.
How is override facilities for manual control when guests are home with tado?
For hot water tado has extension kit. Does it simply act like a 7 day programmer? Does it allow remote on and off for hot water?
Currently we run heating 3 hours in morning and 3 in evening. Will either nest or tado run during day or is it fully switched off provided no one is home.
How is override facilities for manual control when guests are home with tado?
This (personally) would put me in asylum (read the small print!)
How does manually editing my schedule on the Nest Learning Thermostat affect Auto-Schedule?
Affected products: Nest Thermostat E, 3rd-gen Nest Learning Thermostat, 2nd-gen Nest Learning Thermostat, 1st-gen Nest Learning Thermostat
Nest Sense uses its unique Auto-Schedule feature to create a comfortable temperature schedule from the changes you make to the temperature in your home or business.
How it works
The Nest Learning Thermostat’s Auto-Schedule uses a series of algorithms and weighted pattern-recognition to create a temperature schedule. At first, every adjustment you make is incorporated into the schedule, but over time your Nest Thermostat will only incorporate patterns of changes.
The Nest Thermostat listens attentively to your changes at first, but later on - when your schedule is set and initial learning is complete - you’ll need to make an adjustment on more than one day to have an effect.
For example, if you start getting up half an hour earlier and adjust the thermostat each day, the Nest Thermostat will soon learn this new pattern and change your schedule’s morning target temperature.
What happens if I make manual adjustments to my schedule?
If you want, you can add new target temperatures, and remove or change existing ones on the Nest Thermostat, with the Nest app, or on the Web. Once you’ve made manual schedule changes, Auto-Schedule continues learning but the target temperatures you’ve created or adjusted will not be changed.
How does manually editing my schedule on the Nest Learning Thermostat affect Auto-Schedule?
Affected products: Nest Thermostat E, 3rd-gen Nest Learning Thermostat, 2nd-gen Nest Learning Thermostat, 1st-gen Nest Learning Thermostat
Nest Sense uses its unique Auto-Schedule feature to create a comfortable temperature schedule from the changes you make to the temperature in your home or business.
How it works
The Nest Learning Thermostat’s Auto-Schedule uses a series of algorithms and weighted pattern-recognition to create a temperature schedule. At first, every adjustment you make is incorporated into the schedule, but over time your Nest Thermostat will only incorporate patterns of changes.
The Nest Thermostat listens attentively to your changes at first, but later on - when your schedule is set and initial learning is complete - you’ll need to make an adjustment on more than one day to have an effect.
For example, if you start getting up half an hour earlier and adjust the thermostat each day, the Nest Thermostat will soon learn this new pattern and change your schedule’s morning target temperature.
What happens if I make manual adjustments to my schedule?
If you want, you can add new target temperatures, and remove or change existing ones on the Nest Thermostat, with the Nest app, or on the Web. Once you’ve made manual schedule changes, Auto-Schedule continues learning but the target temperatures you’ve created or adjusted will not be changed.
dmsims said:
This (personally) would put me in asylum (read the small print!)
How does manually editing my schedule on the Nest Learning Thermostat affect Auto-Schedule?
Affected products: Nest Thermostat E, 3rd-gen Nest Learning Thermostat, 2nd-gen Nest Learning Thermostat, 1st-gen Nest Learning Thermostat
Nest Sense uses its unique Auto-Schedule feature to create a comfortable temperature schedule from the changes you make to the temperature in your home or business.
How it works
The Nest Learning Thermostat’s Auto-Schedule uses a series of algorithms and weighted pattern-recognition to create a temperature schedule. At first, every adjustment you make is incorporated into the schedule, but over time your Nest Thermostat will only incorporate patterns of changes.
The Nest Thermostat listens attentively to your changes at first, but later on - when your schedule is set and initial learning is complete - you’ll need to make an adjustment on more than one day to have an effect.
For example, if you start getting up half an hour earlier and adjust the thermostat each day, the Nest Thermostat will soon learn this new pattern and change your schedule’s morning target temperature.
What happens if I make manual adjustments to my schedule?
If you want, you can add new target temperatures, and remove or change existing ones on the Nest Thermostat, with the Nest app, or on the Web. Once you’ve made manual schedule changes, Auto-Schedule continues learning but the target temperatures you’ve created or adjusted will not be changed.
They should rename it to "Borg"How does manually editing my schedule on the Nest Learning Thermostat affect Auto-Schedule?
Affected products: Nest Thermostat E, 3rd-gen Nest Learning Thermostat, 2nd-gen Nest Learning Thermostat, 1st-gen Nest Learning Thermostat
Nest Sense uses its unique Auto-Schedule feature to create a comfortable temperature schedule from the changes you make to the temperature in your home or business.
How it works
The Nest Learning Thermostat’s Auto-Schedule uses a series of algorithms and weighted pattern-recognition to create a temperature schedule. At first, every adjustment you make is incorporated into the schedule, but over time your Nest Thermostat will only incorporate patterns of changes.
The Nest Thermostat listens attentively to your changes at first, but later on - when your schedule is set and initial learning is complete - you’ll need to make an adjustment on more than one day to have an effect.
For example, if you start getting up half an hour earlier and adjust the thermostat each day, the Nest Thermostat will soon learn this new pattern and change your schedule’s morning target temperature.
What happens if I make manual adjustments to my schedule?
If you want, you can add new target temperatures, and remove or change existing ones on the Nest Thermostat, with the Nest app, or on the Web. Once you’ve made manual schedule changes, Auto-Schedule continues learning but the target temperatures you’ve created or adjusted will not be changed.
xyz123 said:
After reading many posts I am still undecided between tado and nest for 3 bed semi . Our schedules are generally quite fix but I like the idea of having remote access. Tado has TRV facility which is brilliant as I can set room temperature individually but that is also expensive. Any more thoughts?
For hot water tado has extension kit. Does it simply act like a 7 day programmer? Does it allow remote on and off for hot water?
Currently we run heating 3 hours in morning and 3 in evening. Will either nest or tado run during day or is it fully switched off provided no one is home.
How is override facilities for manual control when guests are home with tado?
I’m in a similar quandary. Have ordered a Nest at £150 with free stand (Screwfix), but still wondering whether Tado is the better bet or not.For hot water tado has extension kit. Does it simply act like a 7 day programmer? Does it allow remote on and off for hot water?
Currently we run heating 3 hours in morning and 3 in evening. Will either nest or tado run during day or is it fully switched off provided no one is home.
How is override facilities for manual control when guests are home with tado?
We are soon to be moving into a 3 bed semi, but there's only 2 adult occupants, so 2 bedrooms will be basically spare / guest rooms / lightly used. Current thinking was they'll just get the existing manual TRVs turned down low and the doors kept shut. And then manually adjusted when we use them for guests etc.
Then that would effectively leave the remainder of the house to be dealt with by the Nest - as I can't see too much benefit in zoning off the remaining space, which is pretty small.
Tado appeals because it can do more, but I'm not sure how beneficial it would be in my circumstances. So, with Tado and matching TRVs, the main bedroom, for example, could be set to not demand heat in the day time, but it would need to save a lot of gas to recoup the additional cost of Tado. Plus, if you need to use a room outside of the set TRV schedule then I guess you have to put up with the cold (unless you were able to plan in advance and increased the TRV temp in that room).
Tado would be £150 for the thermo (current sale price), plus £70 or so for the extension (as existing thermo is wireless).
So that's £70 extra to get Nest equivalence.
Then each TRV is a further £70. I'm just not sure where the value is for me? Putting aside any environmental considerations, surely it’d be more comfortable and convenient to let a Nest get on with it and heat up all rooms according to the manual TRVs - I can't see the extra gas usage matching the expenditure on smart TRVs and the extension kit (£70x8) for a long time. Plus being able to use any room on a whim, and it being warm, and not needing to be religious about door shutting, seems more convenient.
So, is Nest most suitable in a 3 bed semi - especially if 2 bedrooms aren't occupied? Or have I misunderstood something?
Edited by MaxSo on Friday 24th November 18:56
MaxSo said:
I’m in a similar quandary. Have ordered a Nest at £150 with free stand (Screwfix), but still wondering whether Tado is the better bet or not.
We are soon to be moving into a 3 bed semi, but there's only 2 adult occupants, so 2 bedrooms will be basically spare / guest rooms / lightly used. Current thinking was they'll just get the existing manual TRVs turned down low and the doors kept shut. And then manually adjusted when we use them for guests etc.
Then that would effectively leave the remainder of the house to be dealt with by the Nest - as I can't see too much benefit in zoning off the remaining space, which is pretty small.
Tado appeals because it can do more, but I'm not sure how beneficial it would be in my circumstances. So, with Tado and matching TRVs, the main bedroom, for example, could be set to not demand heat in the day time, but it would need to save a lot of gas to recoup the additional cost of Tado. Plus, if you need to use a room outside of the set TRV schedule then I guess you have to put up with the cold (unless you were able to plan in advance and increased the TRV temp in that room).
Tado would be £150 for the thermo (current sale price), plus £70 or so for the extension (as existing thermo is wireless).
So that's £70 extra to get Nest equivalence.
Then each TRV is a further £70. I'm just not sure where the value is for me? Putting aside any environmental considerations, surely it’d be more comfortable and convenient to let a Nest get on with it and heat up all rooms according to the manual TRVs - I can't see the extra gas usage matching the expenditure on smart TRVs and the extension kit (£70x8) for a long time. Plus being able to use any room on a whim, and it being warm, and not needing to be religious about door shutting, seems more convenient.
So, is Nest most suitable in a 3 bed semi - especially if 2 bedrooms aren't occupied? Or have I misunderstood something?
We have Tado in our house. It was a 3 bedroom semi but we have just doubled the size of the house with an extension. We only use the thermostat and have used the manual TRV's turned down in spare rooms etc like you plan to do. It works really well. I did buy a TRV so I could manage the temperature of my daughters nursery but found the motor in the TRV quite noisy and it didn't end up really been a benefit so we sent it back for a refund with no issues. The TRV in the room could just be turned up or down manually so you could heat it during the day if you wanted etc outside of a set schedule. I've not used Nest but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Tado and would buy it again.We are soon to be moving into a 3 bed semi, but there's only 2 adult occupants, so 2 bedrooms will be basically spare / guest rooms / lightly used. Current thinking was they'll just get the existing manual TRVs turned down low and the doors kept shut. And then manually adjusted when we use them for guests etc.
Then that would effectively leave the remainder of the house to be dealt with by the Nest - as I can't see too much benefit in zoning off the remaining space, which is pretty small.
Tado appeals because it can do more, but I'm not sure how beneficial it would be in my circumstances. So, with Tado and matching TRVs, the main bedroom, for example, could be set to not demand heat in the day time, but it would need to save a lot of gas to recoup the additional cost of Tado. Plus, if you need to use a room outside of the set TRV schedule then I guess you have to put up with the cold (unless you were able to plan in advance and increased the TRV temp in that room).
Tado would be £150 for the thermo (current sale price), plus £70 or so for the extension (as existing thermo is wireless).
So that's £70 extra to get Nest equivalence.
Then each TRV is a further £70. I'm just not sure where the value is for me? Putting aside any environmental considerations, surely it’d be more comfortable and convenient to let a Nest get on with it and heat up all rooms according to the manual TRVs - I can't see the extra gas usage matching the expenditure on smart TRVs and the extension kit (£70x8) for a long time. Plus being able to use any room on a whim, and it being warm, and not needing to be religious about door shutting, seems more convenient.
So, is Nest most suitable in a 3 bed semi - especially if 2 bedrooms aren't occupied? Or have I misunderstood something?
Edited by MaxSo on Friday 24th November 18:56
ST-Alex said:
We have Tado in our house. It was a 3 bedroom semi but we have just doubled the size of the house with an extension. We only use the thermostat and have used the manual TRV's turned down in spare rooms etc like you plan to do. It works really well. I did buy a TRV so I could manage the temperature of my daughters nursery but found the motor in the TRV quite noisy and it didn't end up really been a benefit so we sent it back for a refund with no issues. The TRV in the room could just be turned up or down manually so you could heat it during the day if you wanted etc outside of a set schedule. I've not used Nest but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Tado and would buy it again.
Thanks, that's useful. If my boiler set up didn't require the Tado system to need the separate extension kit then I think I would have tried Tado, as the option of adding the TRVs later does appeal. It's just a bit of a shame the extension is required. The other thing handy about Nest is that it doesn't take up a router port as I don't think I have a free one.Hopefully Nest will come out with their own TRVs sooner or later. Or other ones will become compatiable. I'm aware some energenie ones are already are but they didn't have great review and are expensive.
If anyone is sitting on the fence about Tado you may like to know that Maplin are selling the V2 Smart Thermostat for only £80.
https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/tado-v2-smart-thermosta...
There is no difference from V2 to V3, apart from an updated internet bridge with Apple HomeKit compatibility.
I’ve had Tado for the last 12 months and I must say the geofencing/location is by far and away the best feature and makes it the winner over all others for me. It means the system is genuinely fit and forget (once a good schedule is setup), and there’s now no more arguments between me and the wife.
When she’s home it’s warm, and when we’re out it’s not. Genuinely SMART.
https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/tado-v2-smart-thermosta...
There is no difference from V2 to V3, apart from an updated internet bridge with Apple HomeKit compatibility.
I’ve had Tado for the last 12 months and I must say the geofencing/location is by far and away the best feature and makes it the winner over all others for me. It means the system is genuinely fit and forget (once a good schedule is setup), and there’s now no more arguments between me and the wife.
When she’s home it’s warm, and when we’re out it’s not. Genuinely SMART.
stub101 said:
If anyone is sitting on the fence about Tado you may like to know that Maplin are selling the V2 Smart Thermostat for only £80.
https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/tado-v2-smart-thermosta...
There is no difference from V2 to V3, apart from an updated internet bridge with Apple HomeKit compatibility.
I’ve had Tado for the last 12 months and I must say the geofencing/location is by far and away the best feature and makes it the winner over all others for me. It means the system is genuinely fit and forget (once a good schedule is setup), and there’s now no more arguments between me and the wife.
When she’s home it’s warm, and when we’re out it’s not. Genuinely SMART.
Yes I came across that option earlier but unfortunately there's no remaining stock. Other option is to rent Tado - but I can't quite see what the benefit of that is supposed to be, particularly as you have to pay 12 months up front.https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/tado-v2-smart-thermosta...
There is no difference from V2 to V3, apart from an updated internet bridge with Apple HomeKit compatibility.
I’ve had Tado for the last 12 months and I must say the geofencing/location is by far and away the best feature and makes it the winner over all others for me. It means the system is genuinely fit and forget (once a good schedule is setup), and there’s now no more arguments between me and the wife.
When she’s home it’s warm, and when we’re out it’s not. Genuinely SMART.
MaxSo said:
Decided to cancel the Nest and have ordered a Tado. The reviews on the app store for the Nest app aren't very encouraging, and software is a major part of it to my mind.
Could have saved yourself a bit if you waited a couple of weeks:mjb1 said:
I had an email from them advertising 20% discount off starter kits between Dec 11th and 31st.
How does nest (current favourite) fair with you going on holiday?
I will shortly be starting work offshore so away for 2 weeks at a time.
I can see the appeal of the learning thermostat if you work a 9-5 and I can see it learning a difference for 2 days in 7 when you have different requirements at the weekend but can it really learn a shift pattern?
Current shift pattern is 1 week on nights, 1 week off, 1 week on days, 2 weeks off. This is even more complicated as it's working onshore so I'm at home for sleep during day/night.
The way I see it I have 4 different weekly cycles it would have to learn.
1. Night shifts
2. Long lay ins on my 1 week off recovering from nights. (Getting better throughout the week)
3. Early morning starts for day shifts
4. Slightly later morning starts for 2 weeks off.
Ultimately, how easy is it to just manually program? Do I have to keep adjusting it untill it learns? Are there presets I can program and select depending on what week I'm in?
I will shortly be starting work offshore so away for 2 weeks at a time.
I can see the appeal of the learning thermostat if you work a 9-5 and I can see it learning a difference for 2 days in 7 when you have different requirements at the weekend but can it really learn a shift pattern?
Current shift pattern is 1 week on nights, 1 week off, 1 week on days, 2 weeks off. This is even more complicated as it's working onshore so I'm at home for sleep during day/night.
The way I see it I have 4 different weekly cycles it would have to learn.
1. Night shifts
2. Long lay ins on my 1 week off recovering from nights. (Getting better throughout the week)
3. Early morning starts for day shifts
4. Slightly later morning starts for 2 weeks off.
Ultimately, how easy is it to just manually program? Do I have to keep adjusting it untill it learns? Are there presets I can program and select depending on what week I'm in?
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