It’s predicted that more than half of UK homes will be ‘smart homes’ by 2027, with connected or automated devices for heating, security, lighting and more.
Reputedly one of the best smart thermostats brands, Hive has been a part of this technological revolution for well over a decade – unlike my boiler and heating habits that were firmly stuck in the past.
However, given rising energy prices, with another hike predicted in autumn, I decided it was time to for me to catch up and get a Hive Thermostat installed to see if it really would make a difference.
What is the Hive Thermostat?
The Hive Thermostat is the flagship device in Hive’s heating control range, offering in-depth, convenient system management via Hive’s app.
This smart-looking thermostat unit links up to your heating system via two essential system components:
- Hive Hub: This costs an extra £70, connects to your WiFi router and can also communicate with other Hive devices
- Receiver unit: This is included with the thermostat. It communicates with your central heating, provided the model is compatible
The Hive Thermostat has a range of functions that can be activated via the unit, or the app to give you more control over your home heating and energy spend
There are simple controls on the thermostat itself, including a boost button for chilly moments, but as I discovered, you’ll get the best out of the device by setting up a heating schedule and using other features in the connected smartphone app.
When I asked Hive’s director, Gav Murray, how the current Hive Smart Thermostat differs from previous generations, he told me that its most important updates were focused around control, flexibility and energy usage monitoring.
“It works with a wider smart home set-up, from Hive thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) for room-by-room control, to voice assistants like Alexa, Google Home and Siri.
“You can also invite family members to your Hive account," he adds, "so everyone in the household can control the thermostat remotely when they need to. And for compatible boilers, features like OpenTherm can help improve efficiency by giving the boiler more precise control, rather than simply switching heating on and off.”
Hive+ Membership is an extra option
Some of Hive’s more sophisticated features are available via a paid membership only. This premium service is called Hive+, and it costs £39.90/year or £3.99/month, depending on your chosen billing cycle. There’s an economic argument for getting Hive+, as the features it unlocks are said to save customers up to £18 per month on their energy costs.
Of course, what you save will depend on how much you can use these features. The Hive+ offering includes Saver Mode, which automatically adapts heating use to keep you on budget, Schedule Assist, which guides you in creating a cost-effective heating schedule, and a budget tracker that alerts you to overspend on heating.
Gav Murray is Director of Hive, and a former British Gas Head of Customer Contact Transformation. Proudly geeky about domestic heating, he recommends digging into your home's energy data via the Hive app.
Setting up schedules was easier than I imagined
Prior to getting the Hive thermostat installed, I'll admit that I never used to bother with setting a schedule for my central heating – my old, manual thermostat made the process so fiddly that it didn’t feel worth the hassle.
So, I was delighted to discover that Hive’s app makes it blissfully easy to set a heating schedule, meaning it was a smart heating set-up I could get on board with. You can create a separate schedule for each day of the week, with different thermostat temperatures at different periods of the day, to suit your routine.
The app is pre-populated with quite a lot of time slots for each day, but I found myself deleting or tweaking some of these to produce a straightforward schedule that would ensure the house was warm when I really needed it to be. Of course, if the schedule isn’t working out for you on a certain day, you can manually turn the heating on or off.
The physical Hive Thermostat is also a pleasure to use, with intuitive controls and an attractive display. I reached for it when I wanted to tweak the temperature or activate a boost via the dedicated button, but the app is better for fiddlier operations such as schedule control.
Another way to manually override the schedule is via Google Home, Siri or Alexa voice commands, if you have a compatible smart speaker or display linked up to Hive.
Using the Hive Thermostat to manage costs
There are some intriguing data and budgeting features in the Hive app, accessible to Hive+ users. I was particularly interested in the Budget Tracker feature, which allows you to set an energy budget or savings goal versus the previous year’s energy spend.
I used this with Hive’s Saver Mode to target a 5% reduction in my annual heating spend – which means the app will automatically tweak my heating schedule through the year to reduce heating use accordingly. On a more simple note, you can also view graphics showing your heating use (over days, weeks, months or years) in the app.
“I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to this, but one of my favourite features is being able to see my energy usage in the Hive app,” says Gav Murray. “Because it connects directly to my smart meter, I can get a much better understanding of how and when I’m using energy at home.”
Some setup within the Hive app is required before you can access Hive+ insights. For example, you’re asked to tell the app what type of home you have (e.g. semi-detached or bungalow), when the property was built, and how it is heated. I can imagine some users finding this invasive.
Another nifty Hive+ feature is an alert system that sends you a notification, email or text when your heating system is not working as efficiently as usual. Thankfully, I’ve yet to receive one of these alerts, but it’s good to know that I’m likely to hear from Hive if my boiler’s performance starts to dip.
How the thermostat functions when you're away
One of the key benefits to Hive (as well as some other smart heating technology providers) is that you can turn your heating on and off using the smartphone app, even when you’re away from home.
When you’ll be out for multiple days, the best way to tap into this is by using Away Mode, which can override your heating schedule with presets tailored for when you’re not at home.
“It’s a feature that some users overlook, but Away Mode is a really simple way to automate your home around your routine, particularly when it comes to managing your heating,” says Gav Murray.
“If you leave the house and forget to switch something off, or you’re heading away on holiday and don’t want your heating coming on unnecessarily, Away Mode can take care of that for you.”
During my testing, I also found it handy that I could manually activate heating while out and about, before I arrived home. This allowed me to warm the house up on unexpectedly chilly evenings, boost the temperature to keep my pet cat cosy, or warm up towels that I’d left on a radiator rack.
FAQs
Is Hive the best smart thermostat brand?
Hive is one of the most popular smart thermostat brands, and I was impressed with my hands-on experience. However, there are other well-regarded brands that are also worth considering.
“Alongside Hive, the Google Nest thermostat is another of the most popular smart thermostat providers, and the two tend to suit different types of users,” says Sam Carter, heating expert at Appliances Direct.
“Nest is generally “smarter”, offering AI features that learn from your schedule (it knows when you’re at home as it knows the location of your phone) and adjusts settings automatically over time. This sounds complicated but in practice you simply install it, it learns, and you don’t have to think about it again,” he says.
“Hive is better if you like having fine control over scheduling your heating yourself, and it’s the most flexible choice if you use Alexa or Apple Homekit. It’s less about automation and more about giving you easy, app based control without the AI learning curve.”
Appliances Direct stocks a wide range of radiators, from traditional styles to smart models. As the retailer's radiator and heating expert, Sam Carter delves into customer and product data to glean insights on domestic heating.
Which types of radiators are best to use with a Hive thermostat?
“Aluminium radiators are the perfect type of radiator for integrating into smart systems, because their quick heat-up makes them well suited to geofencing and scheduling,” says Sam Carter.
“That matters because smart heating relies on rapid response: geofencing and scheduling work best if the system warms your home when you need it to, so there’s no lag or wasted energy.”
Will a smart thermostat work in every home?
Popular smart thermostats are usually compatible with a wide range of combi boilers and other heating systems. Hive thermostats work with most systems, but there are exceptions including solid fuel boilers and certain Worcester Bosch boilers. You will need a WiFi connection.
The potential benefits of a smart thermostat are limited by the condition and efficiency of your heating system. “A smart thermostat can only control the heat your system produces, so if your boiler is old and clunky, your pipes are poorly insulated, or your home leaks warmth faster than you can generate it, then all of the thermostat’s clever features won’t address the root cause of inefficiency,” says Anton Neike, Energy Expert and CEO of Taupia.
“Before you invest in smart controls, check your boiler’s efficiency rating. If it is over 15 years old and non-condensing, it should be replaced. You should also insulate your pipes and hot water cylinder, as this will deliver savings on every heating cycle.”
Anton Neike is an energy expert and the founder of Taupia, an app designed to help users save on their energy, broadband and mobile bills.
All things considered, getting a Hive smart thermostat has made a big improvement to how I heat my home, adding flexibility, accessibility and some smart features that seem likely to save energy and money in the long run. For more ideas to smarten up your home, see our guides: What is a smart plug? and What is smart lighting?
