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I stayed clear of smart appliances for a long time for the reasons I'm sure we're all well aware of. However, recently we had our central heating boiler changed

I stayed clear of smart appliances for a long time for the reasons I'm sure we're all well aware of. However, recently we had our central heating boiler changed and my partner was very keen on having Hive. It's almost useless. I can't believe how incompetently it seems to have been designed. Essentially there are three parts, a receiver connected to the boiler, a network bride connected to the router and the thermostat connected to both. Within the first week of having it installed we had times when we realised the heating hadn't come on as scheduled. Checking the display on the thermostat would show no signal. In effect the receiver on the boiler had disconnected from the thermostat and as such you have no heating. After several occurrences of this I broke down and moved the thermostat to the closest reasonable place I could. The thermostat is now in the worst place in the house for taking a temperature reading but at least it vaguely heats the house up when I expect it to. However, it is now almost constantly disconnected from the network bridge which enables the "smart" part. The solution to this if I can ever be bothered is to run a network cable from the router to the same room as the thermostat. Why it was designed like this is beyond me. Why not have the schedule stored on the receiver, at least in memory. That way if it lost contact with the thermostat at least it could put the heating on full during the schedule. Why make the wireless bridge a separate part? If I could add my WiFi details to the thermostat I guarantee it would have a reasonable connection.

m4tthumphrey 6y ago
I have to say my experience with Hive has been nothing but exceptional. All the way from having it installed back in 2016 (when we moved in) to this day when it came on for an hour this morning. The controller is right next to the boiler in the eaves of my house and is connected via ethernet through a TP-Link TL-PA9020P powerline adaptor. In all fairness the thermostat is very close to the receiver, in the landing, so maybe that's why it's never been an issue. I don't think I've ever once had a single issue with using the app, whether that's from downstairs or from the other side of the Atlantic. It will be the first thing on the shopping list when/if we ever move.
- VBprogrammer 6y ago
  Thanks for the hint on ethernet over power. I can plug one in reasonably close to the thermostat and another close to the router and they'd be on the same ring main so should work pretty well.
  - vvanders 6y ago
    EoP has huge RFI issues, it basically turns your house wiring into a giant antenna broadcasting broadband noise.
    - VBprogrammer 6y ago
      Alas, if it makes my heating work the way it is supposed to then it's a price I'm willing to pay.
      - vvanders 6y ago
        Spectrum is a shared resource, it's a cost we all pay. Part 15 doesn't give you a free pass to blast RFI everywhere. If you're over the legal limit and found to be broadcasting you will be asked to stop using it.
- drcongo 6y ago
  I've had a Hive since, I think, late 2013 and my experience is a little closer to the GP's. The Hive hub crashes and needs a hard reboot on a very regular basis, at least once per month, sometimes 4 times a week.
greggman3 6y ago
Do you think your partner will opt for the less techie option next time or do they incurable gadget lust (like many of us have to fight within ourselves)
- VBprogrammer 6y ago
  She is currently slightly obsessed by the ring doorbell. I feel her techie lust is incurable.
stoobs 6y ago
Not all smart systems are terrible, I've the Honeywell evohome system and it has been flawless for the 18 months or so that it's been installed, bit it looks like a different strategy was used - the main thermostat/bridge/controller is linked via wifi, but everything else is run over a different RF standard, so all the TRV's, thermostats and the boiler controller talk to the main controller directly (iirc it's in the 900MHz range) The main controller runs the scheduler and is the only device which reaches out to the internet (to sync with honeywell's cloud systems so you can control heating etc from an app remotely when away from home). Other than the interface on the controller being a bit clunky, I've no complaints, even the batteries in the TRVs seem to be lasting well.
apexalpha 6y ago
I have installed a Tado smart thermostat and it's nothing short of phenomenal. I've done a setup once and now it just runs automatically. Can't remember the last time I've even touched the thermostat. It shuts down when I leave home, it heats up when I'm on my way home. When it's a sunny day it let's the sun heat up the house in stead of using the heating. It's almost recouped it's costs in the first year by just gas savings (as opposed to my time based thermostat).

m4tthumphrey 6y ago

I have to say my experience with Hive has been nothing but exceptional. All the way from having it installed back in 2016 (when we moved in) to this day when it came on for an hour this morning. The controller is right next to the boiler in the eaves of my house and is connected via ethernet through a TP-Link TL-PA9020P powerline adaptor. In all fairness the thermostat is very close to the receiver, in the landing, so maybe that's why it's never been an issue. I don't think I've ever once had a single issue with using the app, whether that's from downstairs or from the other side of the Atlantic. It will be the first thing on the shopping list when/if we ever move.

VBprogrammer 6y ago
Thanks for the hint on ethernet over power. I can plug one in reasonably close to the thermostat and another close to the router and they'd be on the same ring main so should work pretty well.
- vvanders 6y ago
  EoP has huge RFI issues, it basically turns your house wiring into a giant antenna broadcasting broadband noise.
  - VBprogrammer 6y ago
    Alas, if it makes my heating work the way it is supposed to then it's a price I'm willing to pay.
    - vvanders 6y ago
      Spectrum is a shared resource, it's a cost we all pay. Part 15 doesn't give you a free pass to blast RFI everywhere. If you're over the legal limit and found to be broadcasting you will be asked to stop using it.
drcongo 6y ago
I've had a Hive since, I think, late 2013 and my experience is a little closer to the GP's. The Hive hub crashes and needs a hard reboot on a very regular basis, at least once per month, sometimes 4 times a week.

greggman3 6y ago

Do you think your partner will opt for the less techie option next time or do they incurable gadget lust (like many of us have to fight within ourselves)

VBprogrammer 6y ago
She is currently slightly obsessed by the ring doorbell. I feel her techie lust is incurable.

stoobs 6y ago

Not all smart systems are terrible, I've the Honeywell evohome system and it has been flawless for the 18 months or so that it's been installed, bit it looks like a different strategy was used - the main thermostat/bridge/controller is linked via wifi, but everything else is run over a different RF standard, so all the TRV's, thermostats and the boiler controller talk to the main controller directly (iirc it's in the 900MHz range) The main controller runs the scheduler and is the only device which reaches out to the internet (to sync with honeywell's cloud systems so you can control heating etc from an app remotely when away from home). Other than the interface on the controller being a bit clunky, I've no complaints, even the batteries in the TRVs seem to be lasting well.

apexalpha 6y ago

I have installed a Tado smart thermostat and it's nothing short of phenomenal. I've done a setup once and now it just runs automatically. Can't remember the last time I've even touched the thermostat. It shuts down when I leave home, it heats up when I'm on my way home. When it's a sunny day it let's the sun heat up the house in stead of using the heating. It's almost recouped it's costs in the first year by just gas savings (as opposed to my time based thermostat).