Hi

combi boiler is in garage and works perfectly (with a built in timer), currently on all time, we just switch house radiator thermostat on off as required.

Control via garage is pita, so just after something like a thermostat that does on/off from x-y (7 day clock) with an override on push that gets auto offed at next off time.Presumably the options are a battery powered ‘programmable’ thermostat.

Is it as simple as fitting it and getting the wires on the right connections – as presumably the existing connection turns/on/off combi heating by making mechanically driven connection.

It looks like they do remotes where you replace the boiler timer (worcester combi) with a bit and have a house based control – is that a superior idea.

Most people these days just fit a wireless thermostat. The thermostat in the living room then talks back to the box by the boiler to control the heat. There are quite a few available for the WB boilers, have a search around for a honeywell one as they are generally of good quality.

im going with the tried and tested salus RT500…got one in my gaff – its been there years and its simple + works for 35 quid. its got the stoner seal of approval where honeywell didnt…. quite a few on here have em actually. little box with an on off goes into where your thermostat was and the controler box goes where ever you want to as its wireless.

surely if you have the boiler on all the time and are just turning the rads on and off as required that must be costing you a fortune?

Got a Honeywell wireless programmer that works well in my rented flat.

If buying again for me I would go for something that I can network and control from my phone.

and presumably one of the ones that actually had some security andyl?

thats been holding me back – that and that i really dont such a gimmick being a luddite – cant control the stove from the phone and thats my main heating – it would just result in mrs T-R turning the heating on from bed because its not as warm out side the covers as it is in…..

i’ve got the above mentioned Salus RT500, simple and does the job, only needed battery replacing once in 18 months.

But bagged a Netatmo Smart Thermostat earlier today in an amazon flash sale to satisfy my inner geek.

Honeywell CM927
http://www.honeywelluk.com/products/Programmable-Thermostats/TPI/CM927/
No wires to thermostat
Wire receiver into boiler in garage.

Also comes with a stand so you can move it from room to room if your so inclined.

Cheaper units are available.

The Salus RT500 works, but it is very basic, ie no manual override, and only 2 programmes per day.

Honeywell here, had them for years and no issues.

Wifi controlled ones are not much more expensive.

I have just installed a Salus RT500 which gives me 5 timed temperature settings per day on weekdays and 5 per day at weekends. With overrides as required. About £35 and easy to fit.

You just need to make sure your boiler is wired to use a simple 2-wire 230v controller. Mine was set to use a fancier 24v job so I had to Google for an installation guide, remove a jumper wire and change the connections to the boiler. 5 minute job.

and presumably one of the ones that actually had some security andyl?

heh! nah, I’ll sit there next to my unsecure baby camera so someone can control the heating while watching me strip off/put clothes on according to the temperature.

I think it is the CM927 that I have in the flat.

The Salus RT500 works, but it is very basic, ie no manual override, and only 2 programmes per day

or there is a manual over ride and 5 programs per day – not sure what you had but it doesnt sound like an rt500.

my inner geek fancies one of the grant “weather” sensing ones…. but at that cost they can bugger off.

my inner geek fancies one of the grant “weather” sensing ones…. but at that cost they can bugger off.

thats what the netatmo does and at £90 I couldn’t resist.

yeah that would keep my inner geek satisfied but it would probably cost me money over my current usage pattern 🙁

I should say, I have a Salus RT500 as above and it does all the timings and overrides I’ve ever needed.

Those with the Salus, how do you find programming it? Can you “advance” or boost the heating?

I’m pretty sure I’d work it out, but no point getting something crap if there’s a better option.

Thinking of replacing my simple timer with an RF thermostat & timer. Might just go the whole hog to a Nest or similar though.

From memory we had a Salus RT500 in our last place. The only thing I wish it had was a +1hr or some sort if manual override that expired so that you could set the override but not have to remeber to cancel it when you went out/to bed.

The only thing I wish it had was a +1hr or some sort if manual override that expired so that you could set the override but not have to remeber to cancel it when you went out/to bed.

This is pretty much the only redeeming feature of our current controller. You can “boost” it for a set number of bonus hours, after which it turns off.

you press the up button to the temperature you require and it will boost and then maintain that by turning off/ using the heating as necessary to keep it at that till the next program period kicks in – at which point if the room temp is higher it will switch off – if its higher the heating will kick back in.

if your going away on holiday you just hold the frost button in till the snow flake comes up and it will kick in when it gets to 5degrees instead of the normal programs.

Ah ok, that’s better than nothing (or the “advance” I have just now which is just “on” till next program).

Not perfect though, e.g. if up late and want a bit of extra heat, but not all night. Still, beggars/choosers etc, and sub £40 for a wireless stat seems good.

thats true IA – could do better on that front.

rarely an issue with us being on oil … its cheaper to burn 5ers in the stove at night than use the oil CH

Not perfect though, e.g. if up late and want a bit of extra heat, but not all night. Still, beggars/choosers etc, and sub £40 for a wireless stat seems good.

That’s my only gripe with it

You can program it in a way that gets you close to this at one preset time. Use the last program step to reset back to the “off” temperature. i.e.

1. 06:00 – 18c
2. 09:00 – 10c
3. 17:00 – 18c
4. 22:00 – 10c
5. 23:59 – 10c

That way if after 10 you manually override the temp up it only goes to midnight before going back to the off temperature. Not as good as a proper “boost” function but that would need a more complex UI than the Salus as you would need to set the temp and the time. Older timer only controllers with a separate thermostat were easier as you just needed a single “extra hour” button.

Another neat programmable thermostat trick is to set the clock/day to 12 hours later than it really is (and the programs accordingly). That way you can have the Friday evening to Sunday morning fall in the weekend program and the Sunday evening to Friday morning be the weekday program.

Yep for £35 its fine, but the Honeywell is infintely more programmable (and easier to use)

The Salus lacks a simple manual overide on/off. 5 programmes to 7 makes a big difference too.

Plus can the Salus do a holiday setting? ie the Honeywell you can say you are going away, set a temp you want for the time away, and then revert back to normal operation the day you return, nothing like a toasty warm house to come back to.

I think I would still now go for a wifi/app system now though and get full control.

Worcester bosch owner here (10ish year old greenstar), previously had a TR2 fitted in the hall to control the boiler but all that did was temp and switch boilded modes (comfort/frost/etc), WB insist this is the only thermostat that is compatible with the boiler.

of course this is rubbish as I fitted a nest a few weeks back and its amazaballs.

towzer if you want to go this route let me know and I’ll point you at an install guide – it’s easy enough if you are happy doing a little bit of electrics.

We had a Heatmiser wireless thermostat fitted when the new boiler went in. It’s wired to some control unit in the airing cupboard, which is in turn wired back to the boiler, but you can access it over the wireless network from iWhatever with a nice looking app. It’s the touchscreen one here:

http://www.heatmiser.com/index.php/thermostats/wireless-thermostat-series

IIRC it cost us about £250 fitted so not exactly cheap. British Gas were offering their Hive thingummy cheap at the time but we preferred this one.

Edit: WB Greenstar boiler

Just installed my Netatmo thermostat. Took about 20mins, app is all paired up and seems to be working a treat.

Have gone hive – £150 offer

seems to do more or less what I want and gf is ‘gadget orientated’ (stop it) and we might actually use the remote facility occasionally …. (or I can sneakly turn the heating off when she is at home ….)

Just got a Nest on a WB boiler here as well…lovely bit of kit, after a week it seems to have worked out when we are in and out and what we tend to set the temperature to, but also lets you customise the program as well, either via phone/web or via the very intuitive controller that simply rotates and clicks to control everything.

I was impressed to find the stat itself is a nice heavyweight bit of kit with a nice metal bezel, no shiny silver plastic here! It also knows when you are in and I’ve found it quite useful as if I walk to the bog at night it senses me in the hall and lights up so I don’t walk in to anything 🙂

The only feature missing is a ‘I’ve just got in and lit the stove so don’t bother trying to heat the house up as I’m already on it‘ setting.

We’ve got the Honeywell one that does hot water as well – Sundial RF2, perhaps?

It’s pretty good. You can obviously set hot water/heating separately, it’s got a +1hr boost on hot water and heating, which you can press multiple times to get more than 1hr as required.
It does a holiday mode so you can set off for X days and then it will come back on for your return.
It’s also got a min temp setting whereby if the system is off, it will turn it back on to stop the pipes freezing.

Quite expensive though.

Reincarnated as now have Hive fitted, so FYI. (Purchased as combi boiler was in garage and we had a temp only thermostat, so wanted more control from house)

3 bits (one on combi boiler, one at internet hub, new thermostat)
Install by BG was painless

PC Internet control/scheduling is fine, heating has an ‘advance ‘ button (*we have a combi – so don’t use hot water facility)
Phone Smart App – (which I don’t use) is fine according to gf
Text Message control – (*basic – on/off/stataus/settoauto options) – will do what I want
Thermostat – personally I’d like this to have a few more buttons, but it’s designed to be app used………but you can *apparently do it all from here
Frost Control – when ‘set to off’ it cuts in at 1′

in a nutshell seems to do what we want (*in house control and ability to turn heating on/off when randomly away/returning with frost control) and at £150 seems fair enough