Detached Victorian renovation, London.

[AC43]

paralla said:

RoverP6B said:

Whatever was wrong with an old-fashioned rotary dial thermostat plus individual valves on each radiator just like everybody used to have? Sounds like some techno-whizzkid decided heating had to be smartened for its own sake rather than it actually improving anything.

Traditional TRV's don't have the ability to set a program that heats different rooms/zones in the house at different times of day.

The ability to not heat rooms or parts of the house that are not being used without intervention results in significant energy savings.

Plus the learning function means that the system uses only the absolute minimum energy to reach and maintain any given temp in any room at any given time.

The guy that installed mine is a massive eco-head. His original business plan was to specialise in ground source heat pumps but he finds a much bigger market for Evohome so it's a second-best option for him.

[paralla]

Plus geo-location aware systems (I have Tado) mean that we never heat an empty flat and we never come home to a cold flat.

I just explained to my husband how to turn the electric floor heating on in case of boiler failure when I’m not here, he said “bugger that, I’ll be checking into a hotel”.

Edited by paralla on Saturday 29th January 09:59

[number2]

On the geo location, I understand the theory, but in practice:

- house takes x hours to heat up (can get home from 5 miles away in 10 minutes so how can the house be warm in that time?)
- speed of travel affects time to get home and this varies (could be a mile from home but do the journey in 2 minutes or 30)
- might be near home (pub etc) but not going home (thinks you're coming home and turns heating on but you won't be home for days )

How sophisticated is the system, or is it: Joe Blogs is within a mile of the house so turn the heating on?

[paralla]

number2 said:

On the geo location, I understand the theory, but in practice:

- house takes x hours to heat up (can get home from 5 miles away in 10 minutes so how can the house be warm in that time?)
- speed of travel affects time to get home and this varies (could be a mile from home but do the journey in 2 minutes or 30)
- might be near home (pub etc) but not going home (thinks you're coming home and turns heating on but you won't be home for days )

How sophisticated is the system, or is it: Joe Blogs is within a mile of the house so turn the heating on?

The system uses the location of the mobile phones associated with it, the outside temperature (from the internet and the postcode), it has learnt the rate at which the flat heats so it heats up to have it at the target temperature when I arrive at home.

If I’m commuting home on my motorbike I’m travelling much faster (in traffic) than I would be if I was in my car, Tado knows this and uses the information to inform the most efficient heating strategy. It’s not perfect but it’s does a better job of not knowing where we are at all.

If I get the tube home my location is lost as soon as I go underground and isn’t found again until I come above ground which is only a couple of minutes walk away from home. Because I’m aware of this I manually switch it to home mode on my way home before going underground.

As soon as everyone leaves home it switches to away mode. If we leave home but stay close by it will stay on, again I’m aware of this so can switch it to away mode using my phone.

90% of the time it works perfectly, 10% of the time, I either switch it manually on my phone or not worry about it at all, if I’m close to home it’s probably not long until I’m at home.

[number2]

paralla said:

The system uses the location of the mobile phones associated with it, the outside temperature (from the internet and the postcode), it has learnt the rate at which the flat heats so it heats up to have it at the target temperature when I arrive at home.

If I’m commuting home on my motorbike I’m travelling much faster (in traffic) than I would be if I was in my car, Tado knows this and uses the information to inform the most efficient heating strategy. It’s not perfect but it’s does a better job of not knowing where we are at all.

If I get the tube home my location is lost as soon as I go underground and isn’t found again until I come above ground which is only a couple of minutes walk away from home. Because I’m aware of this I manually switch it to home mode on my way home before going underground.

As soon as everyone leaves home it switches to away mode. If we leave home but stay close by it will stay on, again I’m aware of this so can switch it to away mode using my phone.

90% of the time it works perfectly, 10% of the time, I either switch it manually on my phone or not worry about it at all, if I’m close to home it’s probably not long until I’m at home.

Cheers. that makes sense. It's good but doesn't have a crystal ball .

I'm a simple NEST man. Think it has geo too but I turn it on when I know I'm going to be home in x hours etc. I use the 'intelligent' heating system so it pre heats etc. in conjunction with the timer otherwise.

[Harry Flashman]

Harry Flashman said:

Low ground clearance sports car parking problem solved!

This really has been a first world problem, if I have to be critical of myself. I tell myself that this was all for future proofing the house, increasing value, making it have more kerb appeal.

But that little spoiled voice inside has also been moaning about not having an easy place for this old girl to be housed.

Time to count my blessings, rather than moan, on reflection.

So, that nice new dropped kerb and crossover? It was all going so well...

... Until the genius council contractors painted the line outside the wrong driveway.

Edited by Harry Flashman on Thursday 3rd February 20:34

[HM-2]

I would put money on you being able to get out there with the white emulsion and a nice wide brush and replicating their work for free, and nobody ever being the wiser.

[Harry Flashman]

I totally could. Need the correct road paint, though.

[paulrockliffe]

number2 said:

Cheers. that makes sense. It's good but doesn't have a crystal ball .

I'm a simple NEST man. Think it has geo too but I turn it on when I know I'm going to be home in x hours etc. I use the 'intelligent' heating system so it pre heats etc. in conjunction with the timer otherwise.

With Tado you can tell it to preheat fully, preheat a bit, preheat not so much, or not preheat at all. The main purpose of Geolocation is that you go out and the heating goes off and when you come home it goes back on again, without any thought. And you can install the app on anyone who uses the house without needing to teach them how to mess with the heating. I use IFTTT with Google WiFi to detect when my parents are at home and put Tado into Home mode, so Geolocation is extended to them without them needing to install the app.

It will work best with massive radiators and loads of insulation because you need rate of response to be able get the preheat to work well enough, the insulation lowers the risk of you wasting money.

Tado basically works by applying an algorithm to the low set point based on how eco you set it and how far away you are. Then it relies on being able to heat up quickly as you get near to home. If you can't preheat quick enough then it'll still be colder when you get home, but still warmer if you didn't have a smart system.

You soon learn if you need to manually intervene, no amount of algorithm is going to be able to get a Victorian detached house warm in the depths of winter if you've been away for a week! I use IFTTT to send alerts if I'm away with the house temperature in the morning, it acts as a reminder to turn the heating on again when I'm heading home.

[okgo]

We’ve just paid that shower of cnts 4 grand for some trees. I await them planting knotweed.

[ooid]

Harry Flashman said:

So, that nice new dropped kerb and crossover? It was all going so well...

... Until the genius council contractors painted the line outside the wrong driveway.

Edited by Harry Flashman on Thursday 3rd February 20:34

Lovely Xj12 there? (If I'm not going total blind...)

[Harry Flashman]

LWB Daimler. Just appeared a few days ago. Tatty, but gorgeous in turquoise.

There's also a mint Alfasud parked round the corner. Some nice classics round here! I suspect as we are just outside the ULEZ, some folk have moved there cars to our street. Mostly non-compliant diesels, but also some true gems.

Edited by Harry Flashman on Thursday 3rd February 23:09

[okgo]

There’s a Renault 5 Monaco in Herne Hill.

[Harry Flashman]

That has suddenly become an expensive car to drive then!

[Harry Flashman]

A lot of people have moved here in the last year, been doing what we did a few years back and buying decrepit houses and renovating. Probably coming from smaller but equivalent value houses in nicer areas.

So suddenly there's an 812 Superfast, Mac 720S, and a smattering of Astons, Bentley and Porsche around the place.

I've lived in the area since 2004. This is quite a big recent change in metal!

[ooid]

Love it... I remember in SW and SE London, used to see loads of classics parked up. After scrappage schemes and massive classic car bubble of post 2012 many of them disappeared into hidden garages. Looks like ULEZ resurfacing some of these now.
;

[okgo]

Harry there’s a great many Chods in our area. (Chod spot is a twitter you need to follow). Around Abeville there’s many giants of the scene.

[Harry Flashman]

Loads here too! A really crusty Volvo 740 estate is a current favourite. It has things growing out of the bonnet.

[Harry Flashman]

This also lives here. Belongs to a friend and needs serious help.

[Harry Flashman]

And this is literally round the corner from our house (not owned by the same person). Check out the seat covers!