Hive Active Heating etc

metricspaces · 26-06-2017 9:57pm

I was just reading the terms and conditions https://www.bordgaisenergy.ie/docs/publications/Dual+Fuel+plus+Hive+Terms+and+Conditions+Final.pdf . There is only a €50 penalty for cancelling the 2 year contract with Bord Gais, and no mention of them taking back the Hive system.

I see the Bord Gais discounted rates drop after the first year of the contract. So you could in theory switch to another supplier after the first year and just pay Bord Gais €50?

The offer only comes with two zones (one heating and one water) and they charge €119 for additional zones. These only cost €90 on Amazon, can you buy additional zones yourself from Amazon and just add it to the system yourself after Bord Gais install? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hive-HAH2PMZ-Multizone/dp/B018E1SHQU/

niallo27 · 01-07-2017 8:47pm

Bought one of these off the Amazon warehouse. Installed it but couldn't get the hub to register. Rang hive and it's already linked to another account. Nothing they can they say. It's ****ing ridiculous and a scam they can't unlink an account. Have to uninstall it now and send it back.

metricspaces · 01-07-2017 10:07pm

metricspaces wrote: »

I was just reading the terms and conditions https://www.bordgaisenergy.ie/docs/publications/Dual+Fuel+plus+Hive+Terms+and+Conditions+Final.pdf . There is only a €50 penalty for cancelling the 2 year contract with Bord Gais, and no mention of them taking back the Hive system.

I see the Bord Gais discounted rates drop after the first year of the contract. So you could in theory switch to another supplier after the first year and just pay Bord Gais €50?

The offer only comes with two zones (one heating and one water) and they charge €119 for additional zones. These only cost €90 on Amazon, can you buy additional zones yourself from Amazon and just add it to the system yourself after Bord Gais install? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hive-HAH2PMZ-Multizone/dp/B018E1SHQU/

In case anyone else is interested, I heard back from Bord Gais:

* The customer owns the Hive equipment the minute it is installed.

* If the heating system has two zones then Bord Gais will only install a system with two zones i.e. you can't ask them to install a one zone system and add a second zone yourself afterwards.

pm1977x · 02-07-2017 10:34am

niallo27 wrote: »

Bought one of these off the Amazon warehouse. Installed it but couldn't get the hub to register. Rang hive and it's already linked to another account. Nothing they can they say. It's ****ing ridiculous and a scam they can't unlink an account. Have to uninstall it now and send it back.

That's a killer, amazed they won't/can't unlink it.

niallo27 · 02-07-2017 3:20pm

pm1977x wrote: »

That's a killer, amazed they won't/can't unlink it.

Ya very frustrating. I don't understand what the problem is and why they can't do a factory reset like a Philips hub or an echo. They won't even ring the person that originally bought the product.

tandcapply · 04-09-2017 8:29pm

Anyone heard of new deals for Hive etc with/out Boiler service?
Usually this time of the year they come out with such deals for Hive/EPH and etc?

Looking for simple programmer replacement to allow me to switch on/off remotely.

oinkely · 05-09-2017 2:54pm

tandcapply wrote: »

Anyone heard of new deals for Hive etc with/out Boiler service?
Usually this time of the year they come out with such deals for Hive/EPH and etc?

Looking for simple programmer replacement to allow me to switch on/off remotely.

I got the hive through amazon and self installed recently. Standard two channel for downstairs and hot water and single channel for upstairs. Cost £148 for both and well worth it.

metricspaces · 05-09-2017 5:41pm

oinkely wrote: »

I got the hive through amazon and self installed recently. Standard two channel for downstairs and hot water and single channel for upstairs. Cost £148 for both and well worth it.

What does two channel downstairs mean?

Do most boiler have three options/zones ?
1) Heat upstairs
2) Heat downstairs
3) Heat hot water

With this setup you need to buy an additional thermostat. So wondering how many zones you have as the base price on Amazon is £148 with only one thermostat included.

tandcapply · 05-09-2017 9:31pm

oinkely wrote: »

I got the hive through amazon and self installed recently. Standard two channel for downstairs and hot water and single channel for upstairs. Cost £148 for both and well worth it.

Do you have a link to the seller please?
Cheapest I see for 178GBP without multizone:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hive-Active-Heating-Install-Amazon/dp/B011B3J6B8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504643480&sr=8-1&keywords=hive+active+heating+and+hot+water

Keedowah · 06-09-2017 8:37am

Use CamelCamelCamel to see how the price has changed on that product on Amazon:

https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/Hive-Active-Heating-Install-Amazon/product/B011B3J6B8

You can see that the lowest that has gone to is £118. You can sign up and create an alert for when it gets to a desired price - say £130, handy if you are not in a rush to buy it.

oinkely · 12-09-2017 12:10pm

metricspaces wrote: »

What does two channel downstairs mean?

Do most boiler have three options/zones ?
1) Heat upstairs
2) Heat downstairs
3) Heat hot water

With this setup you need to buy an additional thermostat. So wondering how many zones you have as the base price on Amazon is £148 with only one thermostat included.

We have 3 zones, upstairs, downstairs,and Hot water.

Bought a hive two zone - for downstairs and hot water and a single zone - for upstairs

That gives two thermostats and one bridge.

The extra zone was £60 in an amazon prime sale and at the same time i bought a warehouse dual zone for £80. I had a new one in the basket but while considering it it went from 99 to 140 odd.

I decided that it was not worth it at that price but when i saw the warehouse one i figured i'd give it a shot.

The box had been opened but everything was there and worked fine.

Have it linked to Alexa now also and the voice control is a nice touch.

We use the remote activation for the hot water a lot. And will use it for the heating in the winter too. no more wasted heating on a timer when we forget to go home!

oinkely · 12-09-2017 12:11pm

tandcapply wrote: »

Do you have a link to the seller please?
Cheapest I see for 178GBP without multizone:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hive-Active-Heating-Install-Amazon/dp/B011B3J6B8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504643480&sr=8-1&keywords=hive+active+heating+and+hot+water

It was amazon direct - primes sale around July time. that was for the extra zone. the main unit was an amazon warehouse one.

metricspaces · 12-09-2017 1:03pm

oinkely wrote: »

We have 3 zones, upstairs, downstairs,and Hot water.

Bought a hive two zone - for downstairs and hot water and a single zone - for upstairs

That gives two thermostats and one bridge.

The extra zone was £60 in an amazon prime sale and at the same time i bought a warehouse dual zone for £80. I had a new one in the basket but while considering it it went from 99 to 140 odd.

I decided that it was not worth it at that price but when i saw the warehouse one i figured i'd give it a shot.

The box had been opened but everything was there and worked fine.

Have it linked to Alexa now also and the voice control is a nice touch.

We use the remote activation for the hot water a lot. And will use it for the heating in the winter too. no more wasted heating on a timer when we forget to go home!

Wow, fantastic deal! I must keep an eye out. What did it cost to get it fitted?

I had initially intended on getting Hive free with one of the energy suppliers. But you had to sign up for a 2 year deal, discounted rates only for a year. So I worked it out that you'd be cheaper buying the Hive yourself and getting the cheapest rates on the market for gas/electricity.

tandcapply · 12-09-2017 7:56pm

metricspaces wrote: »

Wow, fantastic deal! I must keep an eye out. What did it cost to get it fitted?

I had initially intended on getting Hive free with one of the energy suppliers. But you had to sign up for a 2 year deal, discounted rates only for a year. So I worked it out that you'd be cheaper buying the Hive yourself and getting the cheapest rates on the market for gas/electricity.

Same here, it's also 412 on hivehome with the extra zone, considering I'm only looking for something to remotely boost hot water (after sports) I've no intension to pay this kind of money.

oinkely · 13-09-2017 10:11am

I self installed and it was really quite easy (after some help from the plumbing forum here on boards). If you have a modicum of wiring ability and can follow the diagrams in the instructions it's not particularly difficult.

Replace your current controller with the two receivers, either remove the wired thermostats and join the wires together or just turn them up to the max setting and ignore. Plug in hub and follow the pairing instructions. That was what i had to do for my system anyway.

At some stage i might get an electrician to move the receivers from the current location (wall in the hallway - where the old heating control was) so that they are hidden in the press where the motorised valves are located. There was a serious mess of wiring there so i though best not interfere with that!

Had to call the install helpline in the UK to get the hub talking to the thermostats but the guy there was most helpful and had it all sorted in about 10 minutes.

I too wanted the remote boost function, though am loving the voice control through alexa too.

oinkely · 13-09-2017 10:12am

tandcapply wrote: »

Same here, it's also 412 on hivehome with the extra zone, considering I'm only looking for something to remotely boost hot water (after sports) I've no intension to pay this kind of money.

keep an eye on amazon and amazon warehouse - the warehouse one i got was 'used' but in reality it appeared that the box had just been opened.

metricspaces · 13-09-2017 11:04am

How much would you be expecting to pay an electrician to fit?

Is it just Bord Gais electricians that install in Ireland for people who buy with installation included?

Anatom · 13-09-2017 2:08pm

metricspaces wrote: »

How much would you be expecting to pay an electrician to fit?

Is it just Bord Gais electricians that install in Ireland for people who buy with installation included?

Yep.

Hive is a sister brand of Bord Gais Energy's, so that's the tie-up. My experience with them has been excellent so far. Not sure I'd be able to install it myself...

metricspaces · 13-09-2017 4:39pm

Does anyone know if the electricians that install Hive for Bord Gais are employee's of Bord Gais or the work is subcontracted out?

Anatom · 13-09-2017 4:45pm

metricspaces wrote: »

Does anyone know if the electricians that install Hive for Bord Gais are employee's of Bord Gais or the work is subcontracted out?

They're a combination of direct employees and contractors.

pm1977x · 13-09-2017 5:07pm

Anatom wrote: »

They're a combination of direct employees and contractors.

And a combination of lazy and diligent - 1st guy I got couldn't have cared less, took one look at the wiring in my garage and said I couldn't have separate water/heat and lashed it up. I stewed over this for a few hours and after a bit more research rang them to complain as I had verified over the phone that I should be able to have both. The 2nd guy was fantastic and spent hours sorting it out, even when my internet suddenly died he offered to come back later that day when it was back up, top bloke!

metricspaces · 16-09-2017 1:38pm

When Bord Gais install what do they do with existing thermostats? Do they join the wires up or do they just turn them up to max? Do they give you a choice?

Anatom · 18-09-2017 11:17am

Not sure, I think the guy who installed ours left it behind him for us to throw away or whatever.

tandcapply · 18-09-2017 9:03pm

Anatom wrote: »

Not sure, I think the guy who installed ours left it behind him for us to throw away or whatever.

I think that he meant to ask if your man left the existing Thermostat on the wall, bypassing it or removed it from the wall or gave you a choice.

metricspaces · 18-09-2017 11:39pm

tandcapply wrote: »

I think that he meant to ask if your man left the existing Thermostat on the wall, bypassing it or removed it from the wall or gave you a choice.

Yes, this is what I am wondering. Does anyone know?

I thought the Hive thermostat was wireless, to allow you place it anywhere?

I was thinking it ran off batteries and that there was no need for the installer to place the Hive thermostat at the same location as the existing thermostat.

pm1977x · 19-09-2017 9:35am

metricspaces wrote: »

Yes, this is what I am wondering. Does anyone know?

I thought the Hive thermostat was wireless, to allow you place it anywhere?

I was thinking it ran off batteries and that there was no need for the installer to place the Hive thermostat at the same location as the existing thermostat.

It is wireless and can be placed anywhere (ideally not above a rad or in a draught)and it sits in a cradle so you can detach it and move it around the house if you want.

Installer took my old timer off the wall, taped up the electrics and stuck up a blanking plate - I had no thermostat.

Anatom · 19-09-2017 11:17am

metricspaces wrote: »

Yes, this is what I am wondering. Does anyone know?

I thought the Hive thermostat was wireless, to allow you place it anywhere?

I was thinking it ran off batteries and that there was no need for the installer to place the Hive thermostat at the same location as the existing thermostat.

Sorry, misunderstood. No, I didn't have a thermostat so it wasn't a factor. Yes, the Hive one is wireless (battery operated) and is on the wall in our hall, near the wifi router.

metricspaces · 19-09-2017 11:17am

So i could ask the installer to simply detach wires from existing thermostat and join up, and then leave existing thermostat on wall.

At least that way no need to go plastering the wall, plus if i decide to get rid of Hive I can easily move back to using old controller & thermostats.

oinkely · 19-09-2017 2:52pm

metricspaces wrote: »

So i could ask the installer to simply detach wires from existing thermostat and join up, and then leave existing thermostat on wall.

At least that way no need to go plastering the wall, plus if i decide to get rid of Hive I can easily move back to using old controller & thermostats.

if you are doing this you can just leave the old thermostat there turned all the way up to the max.

pegasus425 · 28-09-2017 6:37pm

oinkely wrote: »

I got the hive through amazon and self installed recently. Standard two channel for downstairs and hot water and single channel for upstairs. Cost £148 for both and well worth it.

Did you have any issue registering the Hive System Online (considering you purchased it from Amazon UK)?

savemejebus · 29-09-2017 11:13pm

Am I reading right that the HIVE receiver is supposed to take the place of the boiler's heating timeclock for each zone and that if you have two zones with two timeclocks then you will need two receivers?

If so, do you need to use the two receivers to replace a 3 channel timeclock like a horstmann h37xl? How would that work?

oinkely · 02-10-2017 5:57pm

pegasus425 wrote: »

Did you have any issue registering the Hive System Online (considering you purchased it from Amazon UK)?

no issues at all. Used my home address in the set up and rang the UK helpline when the receiver wouldn't pair for me. They sorted it in a few minutes.

oinkely · 02-10-2017 6:00pm

savemejebus wrote: »

Am I reading right that the HIVE receiver is supposed to take the place of the boiler's heating timeclock for each zone and that if you have two zones with two timeclocks then you will need two receivers?

If so, do you need to use the two receivers to replace a 3 channel timeclock like a horstmann h37xl? How would that work?

Yes, the receiver replaces the time clock from your current system. If you have 2 heating zones and one hot water zone then you need two receivers. one will do one heating zone plus the hot water and the second will do just the second heating zone.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hive-Active-Heating-Professional-Installation/dp/B011B3J6B8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506963532&sr=8-1&keywords=hive&th=1

The "heating & hot water" option is the first one you need, Then the "additional thermostat" is the second one.

SPG1985 · 03-10-2017 2:09pm

Hi All,
Looking at the HIVE 2. I currently have single zone gas heating system - ie. boiler heats both hot water and radiators at the same time. Simple 'On or Off' system.

How does the HIVE give me the ability to heat water on its own or Rads on their own or Both at same time? Does the system have to be zoned by a plumber? Or is there a power switch applied to immersion accessible by app. and thermostat?

I get the thermostat replaces exiting timer switch that enables you to power heating ON and Off but how does it facilitate heating water only in a one zone system?????

Anatom · 03-10-2017 2:24pm

SPG1985 wrote: »

Hi All,
Looking at the HIVE 2. I currently have single zone gas heating system - ie. boiler heats both hot water and radiators at the same time. Simple 'On or Off' system.

How does the HIVE give me the ability to heat water on its own or Rads on their own or Both at same time? Does the system have to be zoned by a plumber? Or is there a power switch applied to immersion accessible by app. and thermostat?

I get the thermostat replaces exiting timer switch that enables you to power heating ON and Off but how does it facilitate heating water only in a one zone system?????

This was my exact set-up. Hive controls exactly what your timing switch does now for your set-up. To change from it just doing the heating and hot water to just hot water you need to physically turn off the pipe (in my case in the hot press) which sends the hot water to the radiators. Then the Hive is just on/off as you wish for whichever one you want.

In order to do anything else, you need to get a separate zone installed in your home to separate the hot water and heating.

Apologies if I didn't explain that clearly. I'm not a plumber, but I'm a Hive fan. I'll be really interested to see what savings (if any) we see this winter. The way we can set the heating to come on / off for short periods, instead of setting the physical timer on the wall should mean that we're using a lot less gas than before.

SPG1985 · 03-10-2017 2:33pm

Thanks for the Reply. Sorry to tease this out. I've read the reply a few times - Just want to clarify!!!

So essentially I am replacing my existing old fashioned OnOff Timer switch with a Hive. - This means I can turn the system on and off remotely.

If I want to control Hot water separately I will need a plumber to zone the system to separate heating and water???

Anatom · 03-10-2017 2:39pm

Pretty much, yes.

I'm not sure about what's involved in installing a separate zone for either the heating or the hot water, but the Hive can control whichever one you're using remotely and you can run it for more accurate periods and temperatures. Its pretty handy to be fair.

Keedowah · 04-10-2017 2:51pm

oinkely wrote: »

no issues at all. Used my home address in the set up and rang the UK helpline when the receiver wouldn't pair for me. They sorted it in a few minutes.

What did you have to do to get it paired?

oinkely · 04-10-2017 5:25pm

Keedowah wrote: »

What did you have to do to get it paired?

Pretty much nothing, the guy on the phone was able to see the hub and the two receivers and the two thermostats. He did something and i told him which one was flashing, five minutes later they were both working after taking out the batteries in the thermostats and putting them in again.

Keedowah · 04-10-2017 8:43pm

My zones were not in receiving mode. Basically I had to:

Turn the power off to them (hit the trip switch), wait a second or two and then turn it back on.
Press in the heating button on both of my units until they started flashing orange, wait until they go to a single flash.
Then I did a reset on the thermostats (one at a time by pressing the bottom left and middle buttons for about 10 seconds).
They were then picked up by the hub.

timmythesheep · 19-10-2017 9:42pm

I have a 4 zoned system : ground, first, attic and water. Water tank is heated by the gas boiler.

With hive multi zone, would I get 3 thermostats and continue to use my existing timer for zone 4 which is the water?

timmythesheep · 19-10-2017 9:44pm

Can the individual zones in Hive multi zone turn the boiler on, or does it also require 'zone 1' to be on to actually start the boiler? I read somewhere that this was the case with Nest.

timmythesheep · 19-10-2017 9:45pm

With Hive can you set different schedules for different zones?

timmythesheep · 19-10-2017 9:56pm

Can you leave the old timer in situ? Mine is in the kitchen and I don't want a gaping hole on the tiles. Would rather a neat timing box that's just not used!

bk · 20-10-2017 11:38am

I don't have Hive myself, but as a general concpt I'll try and answer your questions, however Hive support probably would be the best to ask.

timmythesheep wrote: »

I have a 4 zoned system : ground, first, attic and water. Water tank is heated by the gas boiler.

With hive multi zone, would I get 3 thermostats and continue to use my existing timer for zone 4 which is the water?

You would buy the following:
- 1 x Hive with Hot Water control
- 2 x Hive Multizone controllers

That should give you full control over all your zones + the hot water.

However note Hive say their system is designed to work with only a maximum of 3 zones, I don't know if they count the hot water as a separate zone in this count, so you will want to check that with their support.

timmythesheep wrote: »

Can the individual zones in Hive multi zone turn the boiler on, or does it also require 'zone 1' to be on to actually start the boiler? I read somewhere that this was the case with Nest.

No, how multizone works, any zone can turn on the boiler, zone 1 doesn't have to be already on.

timmythesheep wrote: »

With Hive can you set different schedules for different zones?

I'd assume so.

timmythesheep wrote: »

Can you leave the old timer in situ? Mine is in the kitchen and I don't want a gaping hole on the tiles. Would rather a neat timing box that's just not used!

Usually with Hive you would replace your existing timer, with a Hive receiver. In fact in your case there will be 3 receivers next to the boiler (one for each zone).

Depending on how your home is wired, if you currently have a thermostat on each floor (controlling each zone), it might be possible to leave the timer in place, set it to run 24/7 and replace the thermostats on each floor with the Hive receiver unit.

Again no guarantee on this. You'd need to double check and also the receivers aren't the nicest looking devices. And then I don't think you could control the hotwater.

BTW Tado is another system that might be worth looking into, it might fit you slightly better.

Calibos · 29-11-2017 11:13am

We've a zoned heating system with a Baxi Gas Boiler, Hot Water, Upstairs, Downstairs Zones with TRV's on each Rad. ie. Boiler has 3 outputs with MYson Electric Valves. The Hotwater line feeds the Hot Water Cylinder and then the other 2 lines go off to the upstairs and downstairs rads .Don't have existing upstairs or downstairs thermostats, just a Sunvic 307 Multichannel Timer/Controller on the upstairs landing. The Sunvic Controller is now faulty. It can't keep time anymore so timer settings are now useless. Its a common problem apparently. I googled the cost of replacement and realised that to replace like with like would cover over half the cost or more of something like a Hive 2 setup so it makes more sense to use this as an opportunity to upgrade to Hive.

Would I be correct in thinking that for an existing Hot Water and 2 Zone Heating system, and if I were capable of a DIY install then I would need to order:
- 1 x Hive with Hot Water control
- 1 x Hive Multizone controllers

So the question would be is it a simple enough swap to go from a Sunvic 307 controller to a Hive. Is it just a case of figuring out which of the 5 or 6 wires to connect to which connection post on the Hive or indeed, is it even simpler, do Controllers use the same common Connection layouts?

Or is this more complicated than that and I should actually opt for the Bord Gais Boiler Service Deal which I think is just the Hive with Hot Water Control. In that case could I order the Hive Multizone controller myself for possibly less than Bord Gais would charge for it and get the Bord Gais Service Engineer/Hive fitter to fit it along with the Bord Gais supplied gear?

metricspaces · 29-11-2017 2:10pm

Calibos wrote: »

Would I be correct in thinking that for an existing Hot Water and 2 Zone Heating system, and if I were capable of a DIY install then I would need to order:
- 1 x Hive with Hot Water control
- 1 x Hive Multizone controllers

I have a Hive system, and yes this is correct.

Calibos wrote: »

So the question would be is it a simple enough swap to go from a Sunvic 307 controller to a Hive.

Yes, it is simply a case of switching wires. Once you know the correct place to put the wires in the two new controllers then that's all you need to know.

Bord Gais installer is not an electrician - he is just the guy who services boilers. It will take him less than 5min to do the job. Most of the time will be spent unscrewing the old controller and screwing the two new controllers on to the wall!

Calibos wrote: »

In that case could I order the Hive Multizone controller myself for possibly less than Bord Gais would charge for it and get the Bord Gais Service Engineer/Hive fitter to fit it along with the Bord Gais supplied gear?

Bord Gais will not install a controller that they have not provided.

Some people have received vouchers for a free Hive system through various sources. Sometimes you see these pop up on adverts sites, so keep an eye out and you'll save a lot! Also I've heard of Bord Gais customers who are at the point of leaving Bord Gais for another supplier are then being offered Hive for free to entice them to stay - so if you are a Bord Gais customer, tell them you are leaving and see what happens

bod71 · 29-11-2017 2:21pm

Also bord gais have 25% off hive heating till dec 1.

Cerco · 29-11-2017 2:27pm

Looking at the hive thermostat kit. I see there are two options:
Heating only and heating and hot water.
I only have one zone with trv’s on the rads. I may get it upgraded to separate hot water from heating. If I go for heating and hot water option will I have any issues with programming while using a single zone?
Both options coming in at same price.

Bussywussy · 29-11-2017 5:07pm

bod71 wrote: »

Also bord gais have 25% off hive heating till dec 1.

I bought the hive active heating which does say downstairs and hot water and added a multizone controller, 313 including installation....my only gripe is bord gais can't give me a date to send someone out to my area..told me call back in 2 weeks...they're either very busy or just don't have enough people working for them

Hive Active Heating etc

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