Hive Active Heating Kit + Hot Water Smart Thermostat (Self Installation) - Reviews

(3.9)

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12.9.2015

Upon recieveing my Hive thermostat in a neat little box I was really impressed at how slick and well finished it was, It’s a fair bit bigger than my old wall thermostat but that worked out quite well as it covered the slight mess removing the old one left behind. Inside the box with the thermostat came 4 x Duracell AA batteries, an 18 page user guide and a simple ‘Welcome to Hive’ guide which also had a scratch off panel for booking an installation engineer.-The user guide is small but covers everything thing you need to know, it’s ideal to keep as a reference guide should you have any issues with connectivity.-The Welcome to Hive guide gives two options for booking an installation engineer,either by free phone number or by visiting the website provided, I opted for the website option and after only a few simple steps and about 5 minutes I had a engineer visit booked for my preferred day. Text reminders followed but then the day before the appointment I got a couple of voice mails asking me to call British GAS about my installation, I forgot to call them back but they called me again that evening to to let me know that the engineer couldn’t make it and they booked me another date in. I was really impressed that British GAS recognised the importance of persistently calling me the day before, if I’d waited in all day for an engineer not to show I’d have been pretty angry.The day of the rearranged visit came and the engineer called to say he was about 30 minutes away then arrived at 9am. Upon arrival he had to conduct a number of safety checks before he could begin work, I live in a new build about 3 – 4 years old but even still he pointed out that my GAS and Electric meters hadn’t been earthed and advised I should get back in touch with the house builders. Safety checks over the installation of the three components commenced.-First came the Hub, this connected to my Virgin router with the Ethernet cable provided, it also plugged into the mains with a USB cable into a standard plug (like an IPhone cable and plug), I would guess that because its USB powered it will be a low drain on power. The Hub is the same size as an Apple TV box, quite small and discreet but the additional network of cables is something I really didn’t want or need – my first gripe. (picture attached)-Next came the Thermostat, this simply replaced the old wall one that is in our hall way, I like the choice of wall surrounds that you can get to match your décor, great idea, I’m also pleased the neutral surround it came with matched our colour scheme so no additional expense. The Thermostat clips on and off its mounting plate easily which offers access to put in the 4 AA batteries provided.-Last came the Receiver, this replaced the somewhat larger programmable timer next to my combi boiler.The installation start to finish was quick and a very tidy job, before the engineer left he talked me through the system, helped me to log into the app and also talked me through the use of the app and thermostat controls. An efficient and good service from British GAS so far.A few hours later I decided to take the time to setup the schedule of my heating, I did this quite quickly and easily using the app. I then had a look what else was available in the settings and came across notifications which would email me if my house went above or below designated temperatures, good idea so I set this up. I then came across a PIN lock for the app I set this up and then I ran into some problems, I could no longer access the app, I got a message saying ‘It’s not you is us, please try again (8)’ following instructions I fully logged out of the app tried to log back in with my email and password and then got the same error message. After trying a number of time I had to resort to calling British GAS for assistance, 15 minutes of being on hold I was cut off (second gripe) I called again held for 10 minutes then got put through to support. Phone support could access and work my hive from their system and he informed me that the thermostat had lost connection to the receiver, I was talked through a few steps before being back up and running, not really sure why connection was lost, not very good a few hours after installation!.Everything now running smoothly I’m particulary impressed by the thermostat display it looks stunning, great design, however it only stays active and illuminated a few seconds before going to sleep again, I guess the bright display will be a drain on the batteries. The app is easy to use despite the negative reviews it has on the app store. I look forward to next time we are out on a cold winter walk and I can turn the heating on ready for us to arrive home to a toasty house.One final thing that left me quite excited, before the engineer left he explained how the Hive hub would act as a complete solution for any other smart home devices, should I get smart lighting it could be run through the same hub, I’d already been looking into smart lighting so this is a big bonus for me.Not without small teething problem this Hive system looks fantastic and I hope as I expand my smart home it will be compatible with newly released tech.

21.1.2019

I bought a self-install Hive primarily to replace a central-heating timer switch. It was a toss-up between the Hive and the Nest and I went for the Hive for a number of reasons:-- It is a little cheaper than the Nest (especially as there was a special offer on the Hive at the time)- The thermostat is battery-powered and doesn't need to be (can't be) wired in to power or anything else, making thermostat placement much neater and more flexible- The "receiver" (the bit that actually controls the boiler) - first picture - fits over a standard UK/Irish wallbox, making it almost a drop-in replacement for the existing timer. This isn't true of the Nest - it wouldn't have been as neat to installI installed and set it up in about an hour and it works very well.I have the thermostat on a dedicated stand (an expensive extra but worthwhile if you want to move the thermostat about).Once you have the Hive set up, you have one foot in a whole ecosystem of Hive products (smart lightbulbs, sockets, motion sensors etc.) all of which can be connected through the Hive hub and managed via the Hive app (or Alexa or Google Home). I added a few lightbulbs. One (unpleasant) surprise I got was that it isn't possible to delete a device unless it is online. If a lightbulb dies, there is no way for the user to delete it from the system. In my case, a Philips Hue bridge (which can be integrated with the Hive system) was listed as off-line (because I messed up the pairing process). I couldn't delete it to try again but I couldn't use it either. In the course of searching for a solution, I came across a flood of complaints from users who - for one reason or another - couldn't delete things (lightbulbs, plugs, sensors) that were no longer online. That is a quite an oversight and is some of the reason for the "not quite finished" part of the review headline. There are several other things that one might reasonably expect to be able to do through the app or the portal that you can't. Updating contact details, for example. The web portal offers a nice history showing temperature in the house over time (quite useful), but this isn't available in the app, for some reason. Minor enough things, but things that create the impression of a product/service that isn't quite finished yet. Perhaps they will all come in time.That said, Hive technical support - who I have contacted twice - have been excellent. I opened a call about my Hue bridge problem and I had a response within 7 minutes: the agent deleted the problematic Hue bridge for me and pushed software updates to my lights. This somehow knocked my thermostat offline and I had some difficulty getting it back working (I did succeed after some experimentation without needing further assistance from Technical Support, but they did reply as soon as they were back online the following morning, so I'm confident that prompt and effective help would have been available if I had still been stuck). One of the stars I have awarded to this products is entirely because of the excellent technical support.As to the performance of the system itself, I have no complaints. The display on the thermostat is blank until you press a button - a necessary tradeoff for making it battery-powered. It would be nice to have the option to power the thermostat and have an always-on display (like the Nest), but there is no such option. I feel the thermostat might be a little slow to respond (overshoots a bit in both directions) but I don't have solid data to back up this belief. I find the process of setting the schedule to be unintuitive via the thermostat, but then you would be mad to use the thermostat for this task when it is so much easier via either the app or the web portal (both of which are very good). The thermostat has a very convenient "boost" button which allows for one-click (literally) run of the heating for a short period. It also integrates well (and easily) with both Google Home and Amazon Alexa.Remote-control via the app works well. It has a "geo-location" feature which reminds you to turn off the heat when (it thinks) you are heating out and to turn on the heat when (it thinks) you are coming home. I found it useless and turned it off within a few days. It doesn't actually seem to check to see whether the heat was already on or off before issuing the reminder, so it is really just an annoyance.Overall, I'm happy. It was easy to install and very neat-looking. It works well. It is at once very easy to use (you don't have to go faffing with apps or menus to do basic things like turning the heat on or off or making a quick adjustment to the temperature) and offers a powerful means to program and monitor it for when you want that. The lights are great and easy to integrate with the bridge. Hopefully, a little more spit-and-polish on the software will bring future improvements to what is a very solid foundation. Am I sorry I didn't go for the Nest? I don't think so. For me - the advantages the Hive offers over the Nest outweigh the advantages that flow the other way around.

7.9.2015

I am going to tell you about my journey with the Hive. It ends well and I am very happy with it but it was not without its stress.So, in the box with the thermostat unit is a small card with a scratch card panel with a code. I scratched off the card and phoned British Gas as instructed to have it installed. This was on the Wednesday. Surprisingly, I was offered a slot for installation 2 days later on the Friday between 8am and 1pm. I was told that a text message would be sent confirming the appointment.An hour later, when a text had not come, I phone back, kept in hold for 15 minutes and eventually I was told that the booking had not been made properly. This time, the scratch card code was taken and an email address.Whilst I was on the phone, an email came through confirming the appointment.Friday morning came and I had to arrange someone to be in. at 1pm, when no-one had come, I phoned British Gas who could find no trace of the booking. After (literally) 45 minutes on hold (an 0800 number), my mobile rang. It was the engineer to say he is on his way. It was 2pm. No explanation.He arrived at home. Did not know why he had come but had the correct parts. He installed the Hive and left. He gave my wife a brief explanation but as he was so late, she had to go and get the kids from school.On arrival home, the old timer, thermostat and tank controller had been removed. The thermostat was working to control the boiler but, installing the app, I could not get the thermostat to connect to the internet. I reset everything and it still did not work.Sunday morning, 45 minutes on hold to British Gas. The customer services engineer said it had not been installed correctly, did some tweaking and got it all working. So what should have been very straightforward, ended up wasting a morning of my wife’s time, and over an hour of my time on the phone.That said, this thing is great!! It looks great – not that that is so important. You never know what you are going to get with these things so I have included a couple of real photos of our Hive.It is very very easy to use both from the stat itself and also from the App. The programme can be set from either and is very intuitive. The App gives a status update which tells you the temperature inside the house and allows you to advance the programme remotely. It also allows you to get the hot water boosted remotely for an hour and also to amend the programme from the app.The text function is great. Just sent a text from the app with a single click and it will send you a text back with an update of the status of the system. You can turn the heating/hot water on and off via text and send a text to boost the hot water. It all works very easily and seems to be very stable.Batteries are easy to change on the thermostat and the power for the boiler hub takes its power from the boiler. An Ethernet point in the back of your broadband router is needed and needs to be near a power socket – very low electricity so can be on an adapter plug.I have not been on holiday yet so have not been able to test that but it seems to have to be set up from the Hive thermostat itself rather than the App. The App can obviously be used abroad to change the settings. To be able to turn on the heating and hot water on the way back from the airport will be a huge bonus and will mean we can switch off the hot water whilst we are on holiday which we have never been able to do before.The unit replaced our old thermostat so has made absolutely no additional mess. We have a Vaillant boiler and it seems to work seamlessly with it.This is a really interesting idea. The investment of £250 ish at the outset sounds like a lot of money but I look forward to our bills coming down significantly as we are going to be much more able to control our heating and hot water when we are out of the house – a new thing for us.There are a series of YouTube videos online which do give a very accurate picture of the functionality of the Hive. It really does do everything they claim. I have chosen not to activate the Geotracking options which will alert you what the temperature is in the house when you a certain number of miles away from home. I don't need to know how warm the house is every day on the way home from work!So 5* for function, 3* for installation but I am going to opt for 5* overall because, 4 days after making out initial phone call, the unit was installed and working fine, stable and really very impressive. Thoroughly recommended

1.3.2018

The Hive thermostat was a purchase that I had been putting off for a long time. I didn’t have a thermostat in my house, just a basic programmer on the wall in the kitchen controlling my combi boiler. This had been working fine, but more and more often I found myself thinking a smarter system would be better.Sometimes, on a lazy weekend, I would sleep through the morning blast of central heating for the house to have cooled again by the time I got out of bed – a waste. Other times, usually in the evening, the programmer would switch the heating on despite nobody being home – another waste. And, of course, on more than one occasion I had boosted the heating on a particularly cold morning and forgotten to switch it off before I left,leaving the heating on all day – a huge waste.On top of that, a lack of a thermostat in my case meant that as soon as the house reached an adequate temperature I would have to nip into the kitchen to switch it off again. So, when the Hive went on offer (20% off, £199), I decided to take the plunge.The Hive unit arrived on time as expected from Amazon. Inside the box for my version was the thermostat unit, and instruction leaflet, and a second leaflet with a scratch-off code explaining how to arrange an installation (there are batteries in this box too, which I only found much later – make sure you check underneath the cardboard inside).You use the scratch-off code to “purchase” the Hive on the Hive website which is slightly confusing, but a cost at the checkout of £0.00 reassured me I was doing the right thing. The lead time is obviously going to vary by demand and location, but thankfully I got exactly the day and time slot I wanted the following week.The engineer arrived bang in the middle of the time slot and was very professional and efficient. It didn’t take him long to install and I looked on thinking I could have done this myself, but I still think the cost of installation is well worth it.This was about 10 days ago, and since then I have been wondering why I didn’t upgrade sooner. It has been bitterly cold this week (“Beast from the East 2018” – currently stuck indoors hence writing this long review) so my new heating system has well and truly been put through its paces.I’m finding that I don’t really rely on the thermostat function – instead, I typically use the thermostat as a remote boost button. Most of the time, however, I use the iOS app on my phone. It’s impressively responsive. I was expecting lag, but it’s instant. You press the boost button on the app and the boiler clicks on – there is no delay. The app isn’t perfect but it is usable and has so far been reliable, which is all you can ask for really.When I was researching the Hive, one of the things I wanted to know was how robust the overall system is. Having now used it I am satisfied that it is as least as reliable as the system it replaced. If you cannot access your app or the internet goes down for whatever reason, your thermostat will still work. If your thermostat dies, there is a button on the receiver that you can press to manually turn on your heating (if you’re wondering, the wireless thermostat is point-to-point with the receiver – it doesn’t use your wireless network). This layered approach to heating control appears to have been designed well and I’m more than happy with it.So the Hive has proven, for me at least, to be convenient, but how much money will it save? The box suggests “up to £130 per year”. Obviously, this is going to vary WIDELY from house to house, but I can share with you my very rough estimate. Based on my usage pattern and with help from numbers off my smart meter, I reckon over the coldest 6 months of the year I could save approximately £1.00 per week, or £26 over the whole year. This might not sound like a lot, but over 5 years even my conservative estimate goes a long way towards offsetting the cost of what I paid for the system. It’s worth noting that my energy company define me as a “low usage” customer (in other words, I was reasonably energy efficient to begin with). If you know you’re slack with your energy usage you could easily save more.So to wrap up, I have a very good early impression of the Hive system. If any problems or issues come out of the woodwork over time I will update accordingly.Recommended.

1.12.2018

I wasn’t sure about the product and I thought a lot before purchasing it. And did a lot of research. Everything pointed me in the direction to get one.I live in a rented property and that was another issue. I’ve been here 5yrs and there’s no thermostat at all. It’s a case of constantly getting up and down to control the heating and it was either too hot or cold, extremely difficult to be comfortable.But, I approached my landlord and explained and they kindly agreed to pay half. As one half is fitted to the boiler and the other is connected to your own phone and register it to yourself.We got the option with installation and Amazon had an offer on which was £50 cheaper than purchasing it direct from hive.We only had to wait about 7-10days for installation.The British Gas Engineer was lovely and set everything up and gave me a demonstration on how to use it and helped connect it to my phone.We’ve had it about a month, just as the cold weather set in. What a phenomenal difference it’s made. My house has been a cosy temperature and no one has complained of being too hot or cold.I’ve been very unwell and my mobility has been greatly impacted. So, the feature to control it via my phone has been phenomenal.I’ve set it for 20 degrees in the morning until 8.30am whilst everyone gets up and ready. Even though I’m at home throughout the day, I’ve set it to 16 degrees; I’m doing more to keep warm during the day and of course the sun is helping too. I did have it increase to 19 degrees at 4.30pm as the sun goes down and the temperature drops, but I’ve changed it today to 3.30pm as it’s getting darker earlier. And then at 7.30-10pm it’s at 21 degrees, a time when we are all relaxing and moving less. During the night I’ve set it at 10 degrees so the house never gets too cold.Of course there’s a lot of times I need to rest during the day and therefore feel the cold more. But, it’s so easy to click on my hive phone app and click boost, which I set at 21 degrees.Setting up the app was easy as you set one day, then copy it for the rest of the week. Weekends it comes on in the morning later as no one needs to get up as early for work.We’ve all got the app and it connects to the same account. So Hive knows if you’ve all gone out and turns down the heating. Which is a phenomenal feature to save you money.It also knows when anyone is coming home and switches the heating back up, so the house is warm when you get home.The actual thermostat can be free standing or wall mounted. I’ve decided to use command 3m Velcro strips to attach it to my wall. The instructions tell you the best places to mount it. I wanted the ability to move the thermostat; if I’m out and my daughter is home alone, she can keep it in her bedroom and keep her room at a comfortable temperature for her. Or when I’m better, I work from home, everyone else is out in the day, so I will use it in my home office room to ensure it’s a comfortable temperature for me to work all day.The thermostat looks really nice too, it’s a lovely design and you can use the control manually on the unit too for controlling the heating. Unfortunately, the only drawback is the shiny front, it’s easy to leave fingerprints on it. But, it’s actually no big deal as we all use our phone app to control the heating.There’s also the feature to control the heating remotely if you’re away. Something we rarely do as I’m always at home. But, it’s another great addition.Overall, I’m delighted with it, it’s made a phenomenal difference to my home.Time will tell if it reduces my utility bills as it claims. I’m always happy to save money.So pleased we’ve got one. It delivers everything it promises!I believe you can add additional thermostats to other rooms, but in a 3bed house we’ve managed just fine with one.Definitely pleased it was fitted professionally, I wouldn’t have had a clue how to fit it to the boiler. And the whole set up and tutorial from the fitter was extremely helpful too. Saved me time, effort and frustration learning a new gadget. But, it’s great you can purchase it without installation, for those capable of doing it themselves.A very happy Hive customer and I honestly recommend it highly. Thank you Hive ??

13.3.2016

For those who don't want to read the whole review, this is a beautifully-presented system that has proved to be reliable and is saving me money, compared to my old system. That's it. Buy it and enjoy the benefits. .....But for a slightly longer review, read on.There are three components to this system; the thermostat, the receiver and the hub. This might sound like a complicated system, but the instructions are straightforward and aside from the installation of the receiver, which may require some tinkering with your home wiring (please don't tinker!), the rest is very simple.The biggest decision for me was whether I needed to pay extra for the receiver installation or not. In hindsight,I'm glad I didn't pay the extra, as it was a very simple install, but the safe and responsible answer is to pay for the installation by an expert. The last thing you want is to find things aren't working and you have to wait days without heating for someone to come and fix it. In my case, the receiver replaced an existing timer/programmer, with an identical backplate. This meant that the installation was as simple as turning off the power to the programmer, removing the old programmer, attaching the new one to the plate, and testing it. I did replace the backplate, which wasn't strictly necessary, but the old one was cracked, so it made sense to use the new one. If you do the same, just label the wires and make sure they go back in the same places.Each part of this system has a different purpose and set-up; The receiver is to be wall-mounted and wired to your home wiring; the hub plugs into a spare ethernet socket on your broadband router and is powered by a regular household socket; and the thermostat is battery powered (batteries included), making it perfectly mobile around the house. Just make sure all three components are within your wireless network, as the one thing that can let this system down is a weak signal at any end of the system. In my house, all three elements are within 8 feet of one another, so this isn't an issue. Long distances or solid walls separating the parts might just make life difficult.Some have suggested that the ability to turn your heating on and off remotely, via the app is just a novelty, but as someone who doesn't work a set pattern of working hours, I can tell you that it has been a real blessing to be able to turn the heating on before I leave work and know that the house will be warm when I get home. Also, if I'm working late, I can leave the heating off a little bit longer to save a few pennies. Certainly in comparison to my old timer-only system (with no thermostat), this WILL save me money in the long term, although it may take a year or two to pay off the initial investment of buying the system!The iPhone App, like the thermostat itself is simple and well presented. It didn't take long for me to figure out how to use it. You'll probably spend the first week tweaking the settings and changing the timings, so you'll be an expert by the end of the first week or two! Boosting the system (when you need an extra hour or two of heat) is very easy from either the App or the thermostat. One or two presses and you're soon warming up. The holiday mode is also a neat little feature. Just let it know when you're leaving and returning, then you can travel knowing that you won't be wasting money on heating you don't need AND that the frost protect will try to keep your house above the 'danger zone' where pipes can freeze and burst. Having suffered a burst pipe due to freezing many years ago, I know the chaos this can cause, so the automatic frost-protection is a genuine relief.As an Apple fan, I would love to see this integrated with Apple's Home Automation system and Siri (so I can tell my Apple Watch to "turn the heating on" without even picking up my phone or searching for the App!) but at the moment this isn't an option. However, there's no reason why it couldn't appear at a later date.

28.8.2018

Excellent product. Took a few hours to install due to the nature of our old gravity fed system & wired room thermostat. Ours only had live, neutral and terminal 3 & 4 with terminal 4 being connected through the room thermostat. Essentially it just meant disconnecting the earth and 3 wires from the old thermostat and connecting the brown from the heating that went to the red of the thermostat to terminal 4. All other wires stayed in the same position. Luckily the old room thermostat (satchwell) was easy to remove from the wall and the backbox in the wall used to attach the hive thermostat.The order of installation I was given on the phone from hive was slightly different from the installation instructions (also I did not need to use the code in the box to register the product)1. Create a hive account online: hivehome.com ( the phone number given in the instruction card had changed)2. Plug in the hub to network and mains. It took me about 7 mins to go from flashing green to flashing amber ( chap on the phone said it could take up to 45 mins)3. Cut off power to boiler and old controller ( I had a sunvic)4. Remove old controller ( I was unlucky that the old backplate, whilst almost the right type was too close to the wall to fit.5. Photo wire connections and label using sticky labels supplied.6. If like me you have an old wired thermostat work out which wires need disconnecting from the supply and any changes needed to terminal 4.Attach backplate from hive receiver and connect wires from boiler and power supply - for me they were the same as before except terminal 4 - since gravity fed mine do not use 1 & 2.7. Fit receiver on backplate and switch on power to boiler & reciever. After a few seconds it will start to flash. Check when you press the hot water that the boiler fires up and when you press heating pump to radiators works ( my gravity fed potterton system has to have hot water on for heating to work - more about setting the receiver up for this after installing thermostat)8. Remove old room thermostat ( only safe if you already disconnected the wires at the controller) and fit new hive backplate to the mount where your old thermostat was - of course you could mount it elsewhere. Put the 4 supplied batteries in the thermostat and push it onto the back plate.9 ensure your hub is still flashing amber - if not just push the button on the back of it. This will then start the searching process which is displayed on the thermostat. After less than two minutes all devices had gone solid green and were communicating.10 For my gravity fed system I then had to turn off the power to the reciever for 5 seconds, then turn it back on and hold down the hot water button for just over 10s until the status light flashed blue. When released it set itself on solid blue. I believe this means that when you switch heating on it also turns on the hot water - that’s the only way our system works.11 use the thermostat to set all your desired schedules for hot water and heating.12 log into the hive phone app and set up your hub - you just enter the 6 digits from the bottom of the hub. Everything can then be done from the phone( brilliant). Have also set up app on wife’s phone and son’s so that if they are coming home early in winter they can boost the heating before they get in.(13. If you have amazon echo or dot download the two hive skills and you end up with voice control)Both physical thermostat and hive app seem really good and give so much control over the heating and water. Looking forward to being able to boost heating from bed without having to go downstairs to the kitchen!Was lucky to buy the system as one of Amazon’s daily deals. Great that no subscription or plan needed. App just works.

25.5.2017

** Note – the Hive app is no longer supported on Windows Phone though you can work around this. More info later in the review **When you order Hive (with installation option) you are initially just sent the rather snazzy thermostat which comes nicely boxed with brief instructions and 4 x AA Duracell batteries. There is no need to install the batteries at this time though you can set up a Hive account to save time later. This is an easy process ditto arranging an installation appointment with British Gas using the scratchcard code in the box. Mine was within seven days which was impressive.Installation took about an hour. If like me you have a hot water tank then clear out your airing cupboard as the engineer will need access to the gubbins (i.e.the actuator switch I believe it is that toggles the boiler between hot water and heat) beneath it. The engineer will bring the additional hardware. This consists of the Hive hub and the receiver. The hub is a small white box which will need to be connected to a free ethernet port in your wi-fi router. A power socket will be needed for this also. The second is the receiver which will take the place of your existing timer (usually fitted by the boiler) as you won’t be needing that anymore. This is a smart and unfussy little box with just two buttons (and very bright LEDs) that shows what is on, if anything and will enable you to manually turn your water or heating on should you have wi-fi issues. It's nice to know there is a backup in case of internet Armageddon.The BG engineer should remove your old thermostat and place the new all singing and dancing device in its place on your wall. This piece of kit really is a smart piece of art and design. It's bit bigger than I thought it would be, resembling a shiny dimmer switch on steroids. Press the button and it lights up like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise with lots of information and options but is actually quite intuitive to use and can be removed from its mounting easily for you to fiddle with from the comfort of your sofa. You don’t need to touch this if you don’t want to though as “with Hive you can control your home from your phone” as they say. Or your tablet or your PC…First off, as mentioned it is no longer supported on Windows Phone which being a Nokia boy I was disappointed about however you can work it from the browser on your phone. Basic on/off and boost functions are easy enough however adjusting the schedule is a very fiddly on a small screen. If you have a PC this is far easier and like me you can spend hours at work getting all OCD about timings with up to 6 daily time zones to choose from. Copying and pasting a set schedule between days is nice and easy and a boon for shift workers. Easier still is the phone text support, something I can see myself using whilst bleary eyed on the last train home from Charing Cross. Even I can remember HEAT ON or HEAT OFF etc and your texts are acknowledged with a friendly “Things are heating up!” message which is a nice touch. I have listed the commands below for quick reference.Overall, this has so far worked perfectly for me and I can see it saving money down the line. Keep an eye on the price as it regularly fluctuates but if you time it right you should be able to get it for around £200 including installation which is fair enough. Loses a star because of the lack of Windows phone support and the scheduling difficulty mentioned whilst on the phone.Heating text commands :HEAT ON [ insert optional temperature ]HEAT OFFHEAT AUTOHEAT STATUSHot Water text commands :HW ONHW OFFHW AUTO

4.12.2016

I am now a big fan of the Hive 2 thermostat and the Hive ecosystem but if I am honest it was the Nest thermostat with its more appealing design and intelligent learning that I initially set out to buy. I opted for the Hive 2 because combined with installation it was significantly cheaper and I am convinced I made the right choice.- 2 x 'Hive 2' Thermostats- 1 x Dual Channel Receiver (downstairs heating zone & hot water)- 1 x Single Channel Receiver (upstairs heating zone)- 1 x Hive HubI paid £278 for the above during the sale (on hive's website) which also included installation by British Gas. I was offered an appointment within 6 days of ordering with a noon to 6pm slot; the engineer turned up at 5:30pm and finished 3 hours later!The engineer was excellent in making sure everything was installed professionally but had an issue with the two receivers showing offline. This was the main cause of the 3 hours it took for installation; normally it would be around 2 hours for a dual zone installation.The thermostats (1 downstairs and 1 upstairs because I have two heating zones) are each powered by 4 AA batteries (included). The screen only lights up when you press a button or move the dial and is quick to turn off to save its battery. As you can probably guess I do prefer the design of the Nest thermostat but the Hive 2 isn't far behind. The thermostat allows you to control the normal things including setting and resuming a heating schedule and has a heating and hot water boost button on top.Using the thermostat is likely something you wont do all that often because Hive have a great mobile app to control everything including it telling you what the current temperature of the heating zone is and not just the target temperature. The website has an interesting graph that displays the actual temperature of the heating zone over the course of the day which I was able to use to tweak the heating schedule.The most unexpected benefit of having the Hive 2 thermostat installed was the introduction to the Hive ecosystem. This includes a range of options but also (in my opinion) the best UK smart plug (Hive Active Plug) which has been available on amazon for £26. These devices require the Hive Hub (£80!) to work which is included when you have the Hive 2 thermostat installed.As a quick mention the Hive Hub that is included in the price needs to be plugged in to your router so you will need a spare ethernet port plus a power plug.Highlights- A true smart thermostat- Competitively priced with installation- Installation by British Gas (within 6 days) was done professionally- The design isn't that far behind Nest- Mobile App & Website control- Opens up the Hive ecosystem- Works with Alexa & IFTTT; the wider Hive ecosystem also works with Alexa & IFTTT (see note below on Alexa)Wish List for Hive- Control hot water schedule and boost hot water from any thermostat. Currently only one thermostat can control the hot water.- Intelligent learning like Nest including adjustment based on outside temperature- Lower the price of Hive Hub for those that want to use wider ecosystem but not the thermostat.- Alexa zone support for heatingA note on Alexa; Alexa does not understand heating zones. If you have a heating zone downstairs and one upstairs you can only control them together with Alexa... so boost heating in all zones or no zones. I hope this gets addressed by Hive soon.

12.12.2016

I like this, I don't love it but we are getting to know each other.....Firstly it was installed by British Gas, I live in an area where the wait was only two weeks, the install went well and it all works, so now I get to live with it. Our house is a traditional central heating system, hot water tank, radiators with valves etc and the thermostat was in the living room, now its in the hall (its not a big hall).The hot water controls are a bit obvious (on/off) so I will skip over that and concentrate on the heating and how we have had to set the timeslots. Unlike the Nest, Hive is not a learning thermostat, on the plus side this means Google do not know everything about you and target your internet searches toward woolly socks,on the negative side it means overshoot has to be considered.When the heating comes on, the boiler fires and the radiators get hot (lovely) and the system will run until the desired temperature is reached but since there is a lot of hot water still in the rads, it tends to overshoot by about 0.8 degrees, now the Nest will learn and adapt but the Hive doesn't. All is not lost as we have 6 timeslots to play with, we have set the thermostat to 20 for the first hour, knowing it overshoots to 20.8 and then the rest of the day is set to 20.5. Once the house is warm, Hive holds the temperature stable very well with about 0.2-0.3 degree variance.On to timeslots...they are great but require a bit of thought, when you manually adjust the temp it stays like that until the next timeslot and then reverts to the program. That sounds great but what we had set up (still learning) is to use only 4 timeslots and have the other ones 'spare', we did this by having a slot of the same temperature in the middle of the day (0800-1200 at 20C, 1200-1230 at 20C and 1230 to 1800 at 20C) but of course when we felt hot, turned the temperature down at 1130 to 19C, it went back to 20C again at 1200......maybe a way to blank a timeslot would be good.Next....we have Amazon Echo so we can control the heating via voice, except its not perfect though that could be us learning commands. I can turn the heating off but I can't turn it 'on' however when I think about it I suppose that is correct, I don't turn the heating 'on' when i get cold, I turn the thermostat up. I need to learn a different syntax and this is the fundamental thing with Hive, don't think of heating being on or off, simply set the temperature you need and it takes care of itself. When you think of it that way, a command "turn the heating on" makes no sense (what temperature do you want it?) but maybe BG need to add a few more natural language commands and simply boost for an hour??Finally, The App, that's great, love it, simple to use (Iphone) I can turn the heating off when we are out for the day and warm it up an hour before we get home (Geolocation isn't working well yet).So....would I buy it again....yes, its reliable (so far), quite simple and doesn't look slightly like HAL. We can hold the temperature in the house perfectly but I would love a way to avoid the overshoot in temperature, yes we can open a window but that's a waste. So if Hive learned the hysteresis in my heating system it would get 5 stars, the fact I have to warm the house up slowly to avoid overshooting the temperature means at the moment, while I have a workaround, its only getting four.

10.9.2015

This really is a step forward in heating control, but getting it installed is a nightmare. The box says 'professional' installation, when really it should perhaps be 'hilariously amateurish but we get there in the end' installation. Firstly, be aware if you buy this that British Gas will only send a fitter round either in the morning, between 8am and 1pm, or in the afternoon, between 1pm and 6pm, and not at all at weekends. So exactly the hours when everyone is at work. Not very helpful, and I expected more for such an expensive item.Booking an appointment is fairly straightforward, but you will need to answer a dozen or so questions before they will tell you if a fitter is available at the time to suit you.At the time of this review, the lead time is about ten days between ringing up and a fitter being available. So after some wrangling I managed to get a day off that both suited me, my employer, and British Gas.Tend days later, and at 9am a cheerful BG fitter takes one look at my boiler and says he can't fit the Hive, because he's not gas qualified. You're joking? A word of warning then if you have a Bosch Worcester boiler and the thermostat doesn't have a visible receiver anywhere. If you do, the receiver is inside the boiler, and it's a fifty-fifty chance that that fitter won't be qualified to fit your Hive, so it might be worth mentioning when you book the fitting.At this point I've waited two weeks to get this fitted, and taken a day off work, and I've still no Hive. The fitter was very apologetic and mentioned that he keeps having this problem, but BG won't cross train them. Anyway, he managed to get a callback for me, and another fitter was booked for 'sometime before 6'. Lucky I booked the whole day off and not just the morning then.The new fitter finally arrives at 5pm, but doesn't have any of the additional items he needs to install the Hive - apparently the previous fitter should have left them behind. At this point, I'm losing hope, but he says he has one at the depot and will return. An hour later he does, gets it installed and.....it doesn't work. I think I've painted a picture of my struggles here, but eventually and with much toing and froing, 40mins on the helpline, and finally we're off!Once we're up and running though, this thing is great. Incredibly easy to use, and infinitely simpler to use than your usual boiler thermostat with it's horrible user interface. Spin the knob, set the temperature, and your schedule is done. Going on holiday? Just tell it when you're leaving and when you're back,and everything is taken care of. Press a single button for a temperature boost of an hour or more.The internet interface is incredibly useful too - on a cold day when you know the heating isn't on yet, you can turn it on on your way home. Or start the hot water heating up. It basically gives you real time control over the heating in your house, so no more leaving the heating on by mistake when you're out for the day, or coming home to a freezing cold house.Installation is a chore, and if I would recomend the self-install kit and then hire someone to work around your schedule rather than British Gas, but apart from that glaring problem, this is highly recomend. Easy to use, looks great, and genuinely useful.

12.2.2017

I love the Hive system, I'm so glad I got it. I did quite a bit of research up front, also looking at Nest and decided the way that tried to be clever about location etc. was asking for trouble.The Hive smartphone app works really well and is really easy to use and very intuitive, though the way the web interface works for scheduling is a little confusing to start with. Even for the folks that aren't smartphone users, the way you can send a really simple text message is very useful. Also useful if you can't get a good data signal. I'm not mad about having a hub on all the time, but as a wired device (to access the internet, control is of course wireless)it does make it more secure than a normal wifi connection.The device itself looks great - kinda retro in its own way but again very clear about what's going on. I've not tried to program using only that though, I'm sure the online web page or phone apps are simpler for that, but at least yo can if you need to.The only reason I've given it four stars is really down to getting it installed and the information you can get up front, and the overall experience. I'm pretty handy with electrics and wiring, though I don't have a professional qualification. I looked on the Hive un-supported boiler page, and our Worcester Bosch boiler wasn't listed but a lot of models with really similar names/model numbers were (ALL incompatible boilers were Worcester Bosch when I looked). I found some Youtube videos of installation on similar boilers (by Worcester Bosch themselves), but nothing quite the same . In the end I decided to get the install done by British Gas by calling Hive. They were really helpful even though I'd bought a self install version, and arranged fitting for about £80; I told them the boiler model and they assured me that if it wasn't actually on the un-supported list I'd be fine. The lead time for fitting was nearly six weeks though, which I thought was quite a long time.On the day of fitting, I got the usual good service with a courtesy call just before British Gas arrived, but the guy that came took one look at the boiler and told me he couldn't install it due to the gas being needing to interfered with on my model, and he's was just an electrician, and not Gas Safe registered. So when I said the model at booking time, it was ignored. They managed another appointment a week later, but I was pretty annoyed as I'd moved things around to be at home for the fitting and had to do that a second time.So if you get the install yourself kit, be aware. If you can't be completely sure what's involved with your boiler up front (other than checking that one list of incompatible boilers) think twice and get the installation. For such an important (and dangerous) piece of kit in your home, it is worth the money IMHO. And just in case you're wondering, my boiler is a Worcester Bosch combi; a Greenstar 30Si MK IV.Installation apart, I'm really very happy with the operation and the way to works - that bit is five star. It's REALLY great to come back to a warm and toasty home!

7.3.2016

The second I heard of Hive as a gadget nut it was instantly on my never ending want list much to my missus’s dismay who quite sternly declared a normal thermostat is more than sufficient given that your never more than a minute away from it in the house and you can set timers for when you’re not. Given her resistance, the price and the fact our boiler was 20+ years old it fell way down my list.That was until our boiler packed in a week later and presented the opportunity to have a new one installed and Hive at the same time. With some persuasion and convincing that we would be able to turn off the heating should we forget to and go out and we could turn it on just in time for us getting in etc.it was given the go ahead!IMPORTANT: It is a bit easy to be misled by the two options “Heating” or “Heating & Hot Water” I presumed wrongly that one allowed you to operate hot water and one didn’t when actually both do but it depends on your boiler as to which one you need. Some boilers have one heating output that does both and some have two separate outputs. Fortunately I picked the right one as I ordered without installation so my plumber could install it at the same time as my boiler but just double check before ordering which you need. (I think the one with both can actually work with either but if you just get heating and need to dual one you’re stuffed).Anyhow, I can’t comment on installation as I didn’t do it but it is worth noting that it does actually have several components not just the fancy thermostat in the pictures. One needs to be wired to your boiler and fuse spur, another connects to your internet router and needs a power socket and then obviously the thermostat which runs on batteries. (I think it can be hardwired). None of these are particularly huge but just worth bearing in mind.OK, in terms of operation mine worked absolutely seamlessly from the start and no problems encountered thus far. Using my iPhone I can control my heating and hot water from anywhere. The thermostat on the wall looks great and is very easy to work (it’s quite big though). Being battery operated it also gives you the chance to easily relocate it. The app is simple to use and very straight forward absolutely no complaints from a design point of view.The whole point of it is brilliant my biggest problem is remembering to use it to its potential. I still walk out leaving the heating on and forgetting to check the app or I frequently leave work without turning it on for when I get home. Even when I’m in the house I still walk to the thermostat rather than use my phone, I sound lazy I know but it does kind of defeat the object. It could do with a setting to send you notification to your phone prompting you that your heating has been on so long or something of the like. It’s all too easy just to end up using it like an old thermostat.I do love it and when you use it to its potential it will save you money and provide no end of convenience but you have to use it.

10.4.2016

A fantastic device and simple enough to install so long as you're competent and careful.I've had mine for about two weeks now and am very happy with my purchase. The Hive 2 ticked all the right boxes - the thermostat looks good and is properly wireless (powered by 4 AA batteries) meaning I have the option to put it _anywhere_ in my house, even where there isn't a power socket nearby; the same cannot be said of Nest which was initially on my wish list. While the Nest can work wirelessly, it's for a few hours at most and needs to be positioned near to a socket. Imagining the location of most people's thermostats,I don't think they would want an extension cable and a USB adapter dangling off the wall - that isn't pretty anywhere.The installation was not without its troubles - I was replacing an existing wireless thermostat wired in to different terminals than a 240v thermostat in my boiler so I don't mind admitting I asked someone for guidance. If I'm honest (and to make myself feel better), the main reason I had to ask for assistance was because the boiler's wiring diagram wasn't crystal clear. Asking for assistance can be a mine field. My boiler front cover is lined with foam and held on by a single 10mm bolt and two steel clips at the bottom (Vaillant 2013 model) - it is not a complex undertaking to remove it and replace it properly but some gas safe engineers insist on telling you only they are capable of removing and replacing something like this safely. Legally they're correct but replacing a 10mm bolt and two steel clips does not require a degree in mechanical engineering - just know what you're doing and if in doubt, speak to a pro. That said, if you are capable but don't have an existing 240v thermostat or the ability to interpret a wiring diagram, get a pro to do it.When you first put batteries in the Thermostat you'll be asked whether you prefer comfort or energy saving, this determines the initial temperatures and schedule but these can be changed easily on the Hive website so don't agonise over the question too much. Once all the hardware is installed, you need to use the little booklet with a scratch off section at the back to get a code to use on the Hive website. This code is entered in to the Hive website at the URL provided in the bookley and then, once registered with your email address, you're on and customising. Get the app for your phone from your respective app store and use the username and password you created when registering on the Hive website to log in to that.Shameless plug - if you're a Windows user and know what PowerShell is, I've abstracted the Hive API to allow control of the Hive (and therefore your heating system) using scripting (which you can schedule on a Windows computer of course). I call the project PoSHive and it's on GitHub. You can set the temperature, boost, switch to manual/auto/off and get properties like current temp.

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