Best Wifi enabled thermostat

[Trustmeimadoctor]

AW10 said:

mrpbailey said:

Also found a couple of radiators hot when not calling for heat, seems the thermostats allowing water to pass

are you sure they arnt being kept open for a reason my evo home will keep the valve open a bit to maintain temp will only close it fully when it really overshoots the set point

room that it maintains temp in



room that overshoots so locks the valve down quickly

[RizzoTheRat]

So without reading the whole 196 pages of this thread, is the idea these days that you leave the standard thermostat controller in places, set to always on, and fit smart TRV's everywhere, or do you need a smart controller/thermostat as well as the TRVs?

Currently we have a Honeywell controller/thermostat in the lounge, but just basic tap valves on all the radiators. Probably about 10 radiators in total.

[rossyl]

kambites said:

rossyl said:

Has anyone had NEGATIVE experiences with their system?

Wiser certainly isn't perfect. A few comments:

1) The TRVs eat batteries (you need to replace them roughly once a year).
2) Some of the more advanced features such as automatic geofencing are missing (although I believe many can be implemented via IFTTT).
3) Occasionally the valves drop off the network for a few seconds, which is fine unless they happen to miss a command to open or close in which case that command never gets pushed again so they stay in the wrong state. In the few years ours has been installed, twice a valve has stuck open when it should have closed and one room has ended up sweltering. This hasn't happened for over a year now though so they might have fixed it.
4) There is no way to program how far the valves open, which means if you put the Wiser TRV head on a cheap "TRV4 clone" body it sometimes wont open far enough to let hot water into the radiator. I had to replace two knock-off bodies with real ones when I installed ours.
5) The room thermostat unit is pretty basic compared to much of the competition. You pretty much have to use the app.
6) They keep changing the app. Usually the changes are for the better but it's a bit annoying that everything keeps moving around!
7) Alexa integration is a bit clunky if you want to use that.

It's enough cheaper than the competition that I certainly don't regret going for it, but it's not perfect. If you keep an eye out for sales, you should be able to get the Wiser TRV heads for about £35, which is considerably cheaper than the others.

ETA: I also found Drayton's customer service to be remarkable the one time I had to use it, which is handy for when things do go wrong.

Edited by kambites on Saturday 8th January 14:22

Thanks very much, helpful feedback.

[S6PNJ]

RizzoTheRat said:

So without reading the whole 196 pages of this thread, is the idea these days that you leave the standard thermostat controller in places, set to always on, and fit smart TRV's everywhere, or do you need a smart controller/thermostat as well as the TRVs?

Currently we have a Honeywell controller/thermostat in the lounge, but just basic tap valves on all the radiators. Probably about 10 radiators in total.

In my case (Drayton Wiser system), the hub takes the place (functionality / control / call it what you will) of the original thermostat (mine was a simple relay open/closed 2 wire control), albeit I've moved the position of the hub from the old thermostat position during my house refurb so it is out of sight. I do have one smart thermostat in use and I use this in the lounge as a 'master control' for the lounge which then controls the 2 radiators, each with a smart TRVs.

Alternatively, yes, you can leave the old thermostat in place switched fully on and wire the hub in-line further 'downstream' towards (or at) the boiler (obviously check what wiring you have and need - each install is different). You could also alternatively permanently connect your 'call for heat' wires, remove the wall mounted thermostat and fit a cover plate (again, check the electrics permit this - I'm not a domestic electrician but am electrically/electronically trained). If you are unsure, get a spark in - I know my system is all zero volt switched, yours might not be.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

RizzoTheRat said:

So without reading the whole 196 pages of this thread, is the idea these days that you leave the standard thermostat controller in places, set to always on, and fit smart TRV's everywhere, or do you need a smart controller/thermostat as well as the TRVs?

Currently we have a Honeywell controller/thermostat in the lounge, but just basic tap valves on all the radiators. Probably about 10 radiators in total.

the last one you need to replace it all or the trv/zone cant call for heat

[AC43]

rossyl said:

Thanks guys, a positive response for Tado, Wiser and Evohome.

Has anyone had NEGATIVE experiences with their system?

Thanks

Funny you should say that......after 3.5 years of faultless service, my Evohome system had a massive burp on Saturday. I woke up to a cold home and went to investigate. The first thing I noticed that the boiler was off, the second was that all the electronic controls on the manifold for the UFH were flashing red and the TRV's upstairs were displaying a comms fault.

For reasons not clear to me, the Evohome controller had lost communication with everything. I did a soft restart and the 6 x UFH heating zones came back but not the rads upstairs or the water. But that was liveable with as at the weekend we're mostly downstairs and I have an immersion heater for the water.

Went to the Honeywell site on Monday morning and by lunchtime had an extremely well qualified heating engineer on site. It took him about an hour to reprogramme it whilst explaining all sorts of aspects of how it worked that I'd never fully understood.

I've booked him back in for next month to do an annual service on my boiler, HW tank & Evohome system.

The moral of the story is that (1) if you are relying on a system like this and it goes wrong you're on your own (or at least I am) (2) Honeywell's technical back up is extremely good and (3) it's a good idea to treat the Evohome system to an annual service along with your boiler & cylinder.

PS; we never did work out why it dropped but at least now I have a decent guy to call out if it ever happens again and I now have an annual service plan.

Edited by AC43 on Tuesday 18th January 12:48

[nebpor]

My Evohome system loses it's connection to the boiler once or twice a year - but never to the radiator TRVs funnily enough.

It's easy enough to fix (basically hold the button on the boiler controller in for 5 secs, then do a rebind on the Evohome unit), but it's still strange it happens and doesn't resolve itself.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

mines never done it but im using the opentherm one not the std bdr91

[dmsims]

nebpor said:

My Evohome system loses it's connection to the boiler once or twice a year - but never to the radiator TRVs funnily enough.

It's easy enough to fix (basically hold the button on the boiler controller in for 5 secs, then do a rebind on the Evohome unit), but it's still strange it happens and doesn't resolve itself.

Lets see a pic of where the BDR91 is installed

[AC43]

nebpor said:

My Evohome system loses it's connection to the boiler once or twice a year - but never to the radiator TRVs funnily enough.

It's easy enough to fix (basically hold the button on the boiler controller in for 5 secs, then do a rebind on the Evohome unit), but it's still strange it happens and doesn't resolve itself.

I tried doing the rebind thing and it seemed to work partially for a short period (ie some of the Zones & rads were re-appearing in the controller and app) and then lose comms again.

What really got me scratching my head was why the UFH zones came back to life even though the weren't appearing on the screens. I wasn't complaining though, I was more than happy to have the downstairs warm. And it meant I could resume my original seven hour Saturday plan of pub/football/pub.

[nebpor]

dmsims said:

Lets see a pic of where the BDR91 is installed

Evohome is in the hall, walk through door to kitchen, then through door to utility and BDR91 is installed on the wall there (boiler is in an outbuilding through the back of the utility) - about 25ft end to end max - 30s house, wifi signals have a tough job but I know the Honeywell kit will be using a lower frequency industrial protocol that may penetrate walls better

[dickymint]

AC43 said:

rossyl said:

Thanks guys, a positive response for Tado, Wiser and Evohome.

Has anyone had NEGATIVE experiences with their system?

Thanks

Funny you should say that......after 3.5 years of faultless service, my Evohome system had a massive burp on Saturday. I woke up to a cold home and went to investigate. The first thing I noticed that the boiler was off, the second was that all the electronic controls on the manifold for the UFH were flashing red and the TRV's upstairs were displaying a comms fault.

For reasons not clear to me, the Evohome controller had lost communication with everything. I did a soft restart and the 6 x UFH heating zones came back but not the rads upstairs or the water. But that was liveable with as at the weekend we're mostly downstairs and I have an immersion heater for the water.

Went to the Honeywell site on Monday morning and by lunchtime had an extremely well qualified heating engineer on site. It took him about an hour to reprogramme it whilst explaining all sorts of aspects of how it worked that I'd never fully understood.

I've booked him back in for next month to do an annual service on my boiler, HW tank & Evohome system.

The moral of the story is that (1) if you are relying on a system like this and it goes wrong you're on your own (or at least I am) (2) Honeywell's technical back up is extremely good and (3) it's a good idea to treat the Evohome system to an annual service along with your boiler & cylinder.

PS; we never did work out why it dropped but at least now I have a decent guy to call out if it ever happens again and I now have an annual service plan.

Edited by AC43 on Tuesday 18th January 12:48

Basically it's costing you money annually now hopefully the call out was under warranty or you had to pay to get it running without knowing what the problem was....i wouldn't like that!

[Xaero]

Gary C said:

It is, but cheaper than the Tado one

Not sure about Wiser, but the Tado one is a ridiculous size too, the same mould as the thermostat. I wish they did a discreet unit I could hide on top of a door frame, rather than a light switch size unit. Can be done via the home assistant route, but more faff.

[kambites]

Xaero said:

Not sure about Wiser, but the Tado one is a ridiculous size too, the same mould as the thermostat. I wish they did a discreet unit I could hide on top of a door frame, rather than a light switch size unit. Can be done via the home assistant route, but more faff.

The wiser is about 8cm square. and maybe 2.5cm thick.

[Gary C]

Xaero said:

Gary C said:

It is, but cheaper than the Tado one

Not sure about Wiser, but the Tado one is a ridiculous size too, the same mould as the thermostat. I wish they did a discreet unit I could hide on top of a door frame, rather than a light switch size unit. Can be done via the home assistant route, but more faff.

Know what you mean

I have one in the Kitchen (glass roof makes it necessary) and it looks fine, but not in the living room.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Gary C said:

Xaero said:

Gary C said:

It is, but cheaper than the Tado one

Not sure about Wiser, but the Tado one is a ridiculous size too, the same mould as the thermostat. I wish they did a discreet unit I could hide on top of a door frame, rather than a light switch size unit. Can be done via the home assistant route, but more faff.

Know what you mean

I have one in the Kitchen (glass roof makes it necessary) and it looks fine, but not in the living room.

dont they do a version with a stand then you can just stick it on a shelf somewhere like the dt92e its not pretty but its easier to hide

[Gary C]

Trustmeimadoctor said:

dont they do a version with a stand then you can just stick it on a shelf somewhere

They don't appear too.

[page3]

Has anyone any experience of Radbot TRV’s (https://www.radbot.com/). They look like an interesting alternative to the usual programmable “smart” TRV’s, but I’m not sure how well they’ll work.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

well it cant call for heat so can only control the temp when you have it scheduled anyway

but its a halfway house better than a dumb trv but no where near as good as a proper setup

for me i have my kitchen set at 15 deg all the time no matter if im in there or not but if needed i can turn the dial on the trv and it will heat up to what i set it to

with that if you want to heat the kitchen id have to alter the schedule to make sure the timer was calling for heat then you could set the trv to allow it to heat up that room

but if you had the schedule set to heat say the living room and you went into the kitchen for 10 minutes do you really want to go ah there is light i will start allowing the rads to heat up now ?

Edited by Trustmeimadoctor on Wednesday 19th January 17:19

[Trustmeimadoctor]

well it cant call for heat so can only control the temp when you have it scheduled anyway

but its a halfway house better than a dumb trv but no where near as good as a proper setup

for me i have my kitchen set at 15 deg all the time no matter if im in there or not but if needed i can turn the dial on the trv and it will heat up to what i set it to

with that if you want to heat the kitchen id have to alter the schedule to make sure the timer was calling for heat then you could set the trv to allow it to heat up that room

but if you had the schedule set to heat say the living room and you went into the kitchen for 10 minutes do you really want to go ah there is light i will start allowing the rads to heat up now ?

Edited by Trustmeimadoctor on Wednesday 19th January 17:24