Hive Active Heating etc

tallpaul wrote: »

Thanks for this. OP: how many zones do you have in your home? I'm interested in the Hive (far more so than the Nest or Netatmo) but I'm holding on as the multizone doesn't seem to be available in Ireland yet, or at least the Bord gais website has no mention of it. In your opinion would it be easy to add an additional thermostat after the BG install?

I have just the one zone with Hive2 controlling both heat + water or water on it's own. Based on my experience so far I'd say it would be extremely easy to add another zone once your plumbing is multizonal.

Just to update, my door/window sensor arrived this week, finally got around to fitting it in the garage.

I have an alarm out there but wanted an extra layer of protection for the door (really just wanted a new smart toy, but whatever!)

Discovering it on the app was quick and painless. It feels a lot sturdier than the picture suggests and the larger bit is bigger than I expected. I tested it at various points around the door frame and even across the largest gap (approx 1 inch) it was detecting correctly. The nature of the double sided sticking strips provided means that if needed you could create an overhang to bridge a bit of a gap but wasn't necessary for me.

I chose to be notified by push notification via the app along with email, and both send within a second or two of the door opening. Within the app you can set up other recipes for the sensor, such as - if sensors open then turn heat on, or turn bulb on, none of which are much use to me at the moment - might be useful to trigger a Hive bulb in an attic or something?

You can schedule the sensor to alert you just as you schedule the heating, so if you're in and out at regular times you can schedule alerts off.

One big flaw - the notification noise wouldn't wake me if someone broke in during the night, so I started playing around with a way to make it sound an alarm of sorts. I downloaded the IFTT app and in it made this recipe:

IF THIS: Gmail - receives message from [hive address]

THEN THAT: Android - plays specific song

Had no songs on my phone so this bit was really annoying, eventually sorted it and obviously you could just download a siren or whatever you want to act as the alarm.

As a result I have a makeshift garage door alarm which will send me an email, a notification and play a song within seconds of the sensor being triggered (although the song bit takes longer while IFTT and Music apps play catch up).

Shred wrote: »

What's the deal with getting up an running with Hive if using an external oil burner? I'd be really interested in getting both my heating and water 'smartened' up and I'm due to get a new boiler fitted in a couple of weeks as part of a bathroom renovation. I really like the sound of the additional security capabilities pm1977x mentioned above also.

WHICH BOILERS WORK WITH THESE SYSTEMS?
Hive and Nest cannot really be 100% specific about every boiler they support – there are a whole lot of boilers out there – but there are decent guidelines to follow.

Hive says any working gas or LPG heating system is supported, as well as some electric boilers. It suggests calling them if you have an oil boiler to find out if your system is suitable. It can work with some underfloor systems, but not ones that rely on electricity.

Nest says its system works with the following:

Combi and condensing boilers
System and heat-only boilers
Hydronic underfloor systems
Air-source and ground-source heat pumps
Switched live systems
Low-voltage dry-contact systems
Generally, though, compatibility should be very similar between the two systems, as it all hinges on the one component that "talks to" the boiler. Hive calls it a Receiver, while Nest refers to it as a Heat Link. This is the one part that really needs a qualified engineer to install.


Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/nest-vs-hive#702Quv5TWyRXd0vC.99

Shred wrote: »

I've literally just been reading that article; it doesn't mater if the burner is external?

Best to call Hive with your specific setup before buying.

Shred wrote: »

Well I suppose what I'm getting at is the 'receiver' being installed external to the house doesn't cause any (communication) issues; I would assume it doesn't but I'm just making sure. I'm continuing to research the options as I get time; another question out of interest - why did you choose Hive over Nest?

Wifi range extenders should sort that, depending on distance.

I chose Hive as I specifically didn't want a 'learning' thermostat (Nest) as it doesn't suit my needs, but did want app functionality and additional smart options such as bulbs/sensors etc.