Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Thermostat
Hi
I am going to be changing my boiler and with it the thermostat controls. I am quite confused by the options and wonder what people thought of apps. I like the idea of being able to control the heating when I am away but I am not sure how it works. If it relies on wifi what happens is the wifi drops out. I am wondering whether to stick with more traditional controls. Would be great to have some advice on this?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by DrWhams on
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If you don't think you need an app and are worried about sharing data, then go for a regular wireless thermostat (wireless here just means how it communicates with the unit attached to the boiler, it doesn't mean WiFi). The usual makes of honeywell, danfoss, Drayton are all pretty reliable.
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Aha, thermostats, one of my favourite pet subjects! For about 15 years I had one of the basic Honeywell wireless thermostats that worked well (like this: https://www.screwfix.com/p/honeywell-home-t4r-wireless-programmable...) This basic type lets you set separate timers for every day of the week so that it can come on in the morning, lunchtime and evening. Some of these basic ones do have mobile apps now too.
However, I'm somewhat of a control freak, and when lockdown started and we were spending all day at home, as gas bills were increasing I started to look at the next level up like the Evohome (https://www.screwfix.com/p/honeywell-home-evohome-heating-hot-water...). These let you have separate schedules *for each room*. Each radiator valve is wirelessly connected (not via wifi) to the controller. So now we're not paying for heating up the bedrooms or kitchen when no one is using them. It's been absolutely great, and now that fuel bills are going through the roof, it'll give us a massive saving.
This multi-zone system is definitely for people like me who like to fiddle with it. It comes with an app, which is useful for programming the schedules, but I haven't ever had the need to use it to set the temperature when I'm not actually at home. Oh, and I've never had a problem with it going on or off because the Wifi was down.
For most people I think a simple 7-day programmable thermostat (including Nest, Hive, or the non-smart ones), combined with a few smart radiator valves (eg https://www.screwfix.com/c/heating-plumbing/radiator-valves/cat8309...) means that you can save a huge amount on your fuel bills by not heating up rooms that aren't used.
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Permalink Reply by KP on
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Thank you DrWhams. I also have the basic Honeywell one at the moment which is fine to be honest. But as I am upgrading the boiler I figure I might as well change the controls at the same time. I only live in a small flat so I don't think have room controls is going to be that useful to me and I just want something simple so I don't have to keep messing around with it
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Permalink Reply by JJ B on
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'Wireless' is not necessarily 'connected' (to the net). DrWhams has laid it out so well...
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To be honest, I don't think you would benefit from upgrading it if you already have something that works and you don't need the app. So stick with what you have and save some money!
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I wasn't sure either but the boiler is so old that I am not sure the new one would be all that compatible with the old controls. I figure it's cheaper to get everything changed together rather than changing the thermostat later on which I think I would have to do eventually
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I wouldn't worry - the connection between the boiler and the unit attached to it is really standard, so old controllers will work with new boilers or vice versa.
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Permalink Reply by Anna Maria Dipino on
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My thermostat at my fully furnished private rented is Salus RT510RF and it is fantastic.
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