Continuing our attempts to make Test Pit Towers the most
modern and connected home this side of anything that Richard Branson owns, we
turned to our boiler. Bless that thing; heating our water every day to keep us
nice and toasty as we crash test remote controlled helicopters and sport the
latest jumper from Norway... if only there was something we could get it, to
show our appreciation. Fortunately the 'connected tech' AND 'present for your
boiler' bases are aptly covered by British Gas with their new Hive Home Heating
system.
Although the process is expertly handled by a British Gas
engineer and you never even have to touch the tech being installed, the Hive
system comprises three physical parts; a receiver (which is installed into the
boiler itself), a hub (which plugs directly into a spare Ethernet port on your
wireless router), and a thermostat (which lives on your wall). Then there is
the software which is a very pretty free app, available for both Android and
iOS.
Once set up (and everything has been explained by the very
nice engineer) everything to do with your heating system can be remotely
controlled via the app, and by that we don't just mean when connected to the
WiFi network. We discovered that there is no greater joy on earth during the winter
than being able to put your heating up to full just before you arrive home on a
cold night. And the app makes doing so a real pleasure.
Laid out with two main screens (current view and schedule)
the Hive app allows you to physically spin up or down the main dial to select
the temperature you would like your house to be. As you do this there is a
great level of haptic feedback so it actually feels like spinning down or
cranking up a physical thermostat.
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| Our Thermostat working away... |
You can set the Hive on a flexible timetable, selecting at
what temperature you would like it, and at what time. There is also the option
to copy the selected day's timetable, allowing you to quickly set a schedule
for the foreseeable future. Then you just sit back and let it all happen autonomously.
Of course, should you actually be at home and passing the thermostat itself, or
indeed if you phone is dead or missing down the back of the sofa, changing the
temperature is a simple case of flicking the + or - buttons by hand and the
system will immediately respond.
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| ...and the hub hidden behind the WiFi router. |
Having the Hive installed for just a week now has really
made a difference. We've set a pretty accurate schedule for what we think we'll
want for each day, and it seems to be working very well. But the main advantage
to a system like this is that the schedule (which any old boiler with a timer
could manage) can be altered effortlessly and from anywhere. Being able to do
this is what home automation is all about, and the Hive is a very welcome
addition to our increasingly high tech home.
£199 including installation
Visit www.hivehome.com