SMART technology / thermostat

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Ty Cerrig
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2019 2:38 pm

SMART technology / thermostat

Post by Ty Cerrig »

Hello all, I'm seeking some advice / guidance / feedback on the various SMART heating technologies as Ive done some research but am now slightly overwhelmed. I am looking for something that can be managed remotely with the ability to lock or limit the ability for guests to change the heating levels. I have a combi boiler and good WiFi (although could potentially get it wired). I'm the least techy person ever so feel free to dumb the answers down....! Thanks in advance
Parrotperson
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 6:18 pm
Location: Alnwick, Northumberland

Post by Parrotperson »

try https://www.inspirehomeautomation.co.uk

the landlord one does all you need. I've had it set up in my holiday let for three years. works remotely via wifi and you cab limit the temperatures that the customers set on the heating. ie ive set my limit t0 24 degrees so even if they ask the thermostat to go higher it won't.
SusanMay
Posts: 125
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:23 pm
Location: Dorset

Post by SusanMay »

We went for Hive in June as it's simple, popular and has quite a nice looking thermostat.

It doesn't allow you to limit the maximum temperature but if you set a schedule of different temperatures across the day (so higher morning and evening, lower during the day and night) and someone manually changes the temperature at the thermostat it will revert to the scheduled temperature at the next time block.

I thought about getting one with a maximum (reading old forum posts the Inspire mentioned above seem the obvious one for that) but in our case decided we didn't need it as we want people who stay in our cottage to feel at home. If occasionally they want it hotter than i think they should then so be it.

Incidentally the people who left on Saturday wrote "the heating is amazing and so easy to use"
Joanna
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Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:12 pm
Location: Chester, North West England & Sidmouth, East Devon
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Post by Joanna »

We've got Hive and it works very well. Guests can set whatever temperature they want and I can re-set it remotely when they leave. Like SusanMay we decided not to go for anything that limited the temperature as we want our guests to feel comfortable.

As always, it depends on the market you're aiming at. As a guest, I'd expect limited heating controls in budget accommodation, but if I was paying mid to high end prices I'd expect to be able to adjust the heating.
Jo

Joint owner of Baker's Cottage in Chester & Chandler's Cottage in Sidmouth
Ty Cerrig
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2019 2:38 pm

Post by Ty Cerrig »

Thanks all, that's really helpful. The gas supply is via LPG cylinders (stupidly expensive but a tank isnt feasible). There is also the mother of all log burners in the lounge and so I want people to use that rather than turning the heat up to silly levels, if possible..... Apparently HIVE is on offer at Costco currently if anyone is looking!
Running Chrissy
Posts: 75
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2016 8:33 am
Location: Cornwall

Post by Running Chrissy »

We went for Nest and it's working well so far. Like with Hive, you can't set a maximum but we also have a schedule that stops someone leaving it on all day. Guests seem to have been able to figure it out so far.
Making a start in North Cornwall &#127754;
Pengman
Posts: 115
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:54 pm
Location: Portland, Dorset UK

Post by Pengman »

We went for Nest and it was fine for 6 or 7 months but lately the thermostat has been going off line. It wouldn’t be an issue if we lived close to the property, but every time it drops out I have to spend 5 hours in the car and and use half a tank of fuel to reset it (my phone has to be close to the thermostat when it resets). Can’t figure out what the problem is. Any ideas anyone?
I came, I saw, I bought it.
Sparks
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:50 pm

Post by Sparks »

@Pengman

I've been using Nest at 2 properties for over 2 years and they have been rock soild.

My first thought would be signal loss from interference of nearby wifi on the same channel. Maybe setting the Nest to run on the 5GHz band?

If you have a laptop you can download inSSIDer for free allowing you to monitor interference from other networks.
Of course if your property is in the middle of nowhere with no neighbours it is unlikely to be this but is still might be worth checking signal strengths.
Being able to remotley reboot the router might also be an advantage but if it doesn't restart then you have the driving issue again.
Pengman
Posts: 115
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:54 pm
Location: Portland, Dorset UK

Post by Pengman »

Thanks Sparks - great advice!

I drove down there today to fix the issue and, following the Nest Troubleshooting advice, reset the thermomenter. I also moved the thermostat to the other side of the living room to see if that prevented future droipouts. All seemed well and I could access it over the app whilst in the property and set the heating schedule for the week ahead. Then drove home and - sod's law - have an error again but this time it's the thermostat that can't talk to the heat link. Admittedly where I've moved it to is further away from the heat link and there's more masonry in the way. So I need to drive back down tomorrow and put it back where it was (theres no other location possible), but this time I'll check out for interference as you suggest. I've downloaded inSSIDer as you suggest and I can see that I've got no interference issues at home as my home WiFi is on channel 11, and neighbours wifi are on channels 7 and 1. Re my holiday let, it's a semi detached cottage and, judging from the occasional noise transfer through the party wall (the adjacent property has been largely unoccupied the past 12 months), separated from the adjacent property by a comparatively thin party wall, methinks possibly as thin as 140mm blockwork. The adjacent property was done up and put on the market last summer and I don't know if it's sold or not, but if it is and the new owner has had WiFi installed, and on the same channel as mine, that could be the answer! Re setting the Nest to run on the 5GHz band, I haven't seen anything in the Nest troubleshooting about this - is it easy to do and how do you do it? Re remotely rebooting the router, I didn't know it was possible to do this - I'll Google it and see how.
Many thanks for the advice!

Graham
I came, I saw, I bought it.
Sparks
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:50 pm

Post by Sparks »

The Nest should connect to the stongest signal. If you look on your router setup page it should show if it is connected to 5GHz or 2.4GHz. If you are using the router supplied by your provider it might be an idea to upgrade.

I'm using a Draytek that lets you remote in using a VPN. So you can reboot remotely.It also has loads of other features that I've found useful. I've been able to troubleshoot some guest issues remotely.

Only had to drive up there once to fix after guest reported no WIFI. When I got there found out that thy had unplugged the router to use the socket for a Firestick then denied that they had touched it. The mind boggles how they think the Firestick was going to work.
Pengman
Posts: 115
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:54 pm
Location: Portland, Dorset UK

Post by Pengman »

Thanks Sparks. Still having issues with it. Had to drive down for a thrid time yesterday - this time I removed an adjacent Bluetooth receiver that just may have been causing interference (although I doubt it). Nest Help says the speed should be upwards of 50 - mine was between 64 and 66, so no issues there. It also said to check the ping speed which should be less than (or maybe more than?) 1500ms (can't remember which off hand). However, the Technical Info tab in settings on the thermostat doesn't give piing speed, so my guess is there's been a firmware update which the Nest Help files haven't caught up with yet. I'm going down again on Sunday and taking with me a Netgear WiFi range extender which I don't use at home anymore. If that doesn't solve the issue, I guess I'll upgrade from the standard Plusnet router, so thanks again for the suggestion.
I came, I saw, I bought it.
Pengman
Posts: 115
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:54 pm
Location: Portland, Dorset UK

Post by Pengman »

Just updating on my earlier posts on this subject. Whatever I did on 03rd February appears to have worked (then again it may have been a further software update that sorted the problem). All I did was to remove the bluetooth device that was located close to the Nest thermostat and may have been causing interference. I also move the WiFi to channel 11 on the recommendation of my broadband supplier (Plusnet). So far I haven't felt the need to add my Netgear WiFi extender I'd previously used at home. However I have noticed another issue with the Nest app - the history is no longer reporting accurately, Some days are showing as 'no usage' even though there is usage, then when you click on the day showing 'no useage', the usage is shown. Thee reverse has been happening too - when I click on a day showing (say) 5 hours usage, it shows no usage. But somedays everything is working fine. To me (and call me a Doubting Thomas if you want to), all these issues seem to stem from Google acquiring Nest last year.
I came, I saw, I bought it.
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