Gas Combi Boiler - No Thermostat, Winter Heating

[smithyithy]

Old terraced cottage, little gas combi boiler upstairs with very rudimentary controls (basically on/off, with one of those clicky timer wheels that doesn't seem to work) and no separate thermostat present. Radiator in each room with a '1-5' dial on the valves.

The house is empty and won't be moving in until Spring, realistically, at which point I'll get internet sorted and probably go down the Nest / Hive route..

But for now, while we're doing work to the house and we have freezing temps coming in - what's the best option?

Shall I just get a basic (wireless?) thermostat installed so I can at least set it to a time or have it come on at a steady temp when it does drop really cold?

[ooo000ooo]

Hive can work without an internet connection. you just can't control it from your phone. Probably worth getting it installed so you can use the thermostat with a view to using the hub on down the line when internet is sorted.

[smithyithy]

ooo000ooo said:

Hive can work without an internet connection. you just can't control it from your phone. Probably worth getting it installed so you can use the thermostat with a view to using the hub on down the line when internet is sorted.

Ah okay, I didn't realise they were an option without WiFi and hub etc. That's interesting then it might be an option to get it partially up and running now..

Cheers

[Mr Pointy]

For £40 or less you can pick up a Honeywell T3 programmer which will do all you need & you can decide on which smart system you want later:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326001258111
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126786795487

[smithyithy]

There's some at ScrewFix for less than 20 quid to be fair, I just wasn't sure the order of installing bits, or how they interact together..

I guess I could go cheap-and-cheerful basic thermo short term, then go Smart later on when I'm in... or go 'non-smart' Nest / Hive now and connect it up later

I haven't fully scrutinized the smart options yet but I'd probably prefer Nest as I mainly use Google's stuff already

[Mr Pointy]

smithyithy said:

There's some at ScrewFix for less than 20 quid to be fair, I just wasn't sure the order of installing bits, or how they interact together..

I guess I could go cheap-and-cheerful basic thermo short term, then go Smart later on when I'm in... or go 'non-smart' Nest / Hive now and connect it up later

I haven't fully scrutinized the smart options yet but I'd probably prefer Nest as I mainly use Google's stuff already

What boiler is it as you might be able to find the wiring instructions online. The programmer just makes a relay contact closure which tells the boiler to fire but that timer in the boiler might need bypassing, or set to permanelty on.

[alangla]

smithyithy said:

Ah okay, I didn't realise they were an option without WiFi and hub etc. That's interesting then it might be an option to get it partially up and running now..

Cheers

If you’ve got an old mobile lying about, you could put a cheap PAYG SIM card in it & leave it on a charger with it set to hotspot mode. I can’t imagine Hive or Nest will be sending huge amounts of data out, so something like a £5/month Lebara/Smarty/Asda/Lyca card would do the job, obviously pick whichever network has decent coverage at your address & leave the phone near a window.

[ooo000ooo]

alangla said:

If you’ve got an old mobile lying about, you could put a cheap PAYG SIM card in it & leave it on a charger with it set to hotspot mode. I can’t imagine Hive or Nest will be sending huge amounts of data out, so something like a £5/month Lebara/Smarty/Asda/Lyca card would do the job, obviously pick whichever network has decent coverage at your address & leave the phone near a window.

You have to connect the hive hub via ethernet so you'd need one of those 4g router things.