Hive Smart TRV's

BACKGROUND OF PURCHASE OF HIVE PRODUCTS:
I'm in the process of fitting new Hive TRV's. I'm disabled so I'm sure this is worth the money in my particular case. I bought 5 for £159.20 - so £31.84 each. I probably would have chosen a different product but I had already fitted the Hive Heating 2 kit.

There are many terrible reviews about these TRV's but I'm guessing that people are generally not too clued up and therefore have a bad experience. I'm hoping I will not regret saying that - mine couldn't have been easier to fit and set up. I'm just waiting for the house to be cold enough so that I can run the calibration procedure. This is where others have mainly had problems but I don't see why and I am hoping I don't also have a bad experience as I've ordered another pack of 5! This will give me control of almost all my radiators direct from my bed.

NOTE:
I found them extremely difficult to remove! If you decide they are not suitable watch a YouTube video to show you how to remove them. If you are weak it will probably be near on impossible so make sure you have access to someone who can help if you need to return any. I did manage to remove one once but I couldn't do it a second time. I didn't hear the click that I heard when I fitted the second one so I thought I hadn't fitted the first one correctly.

SYSTEM DETAILS:
I have a dual heating system meaning a condensing oil boiler and a large woodstove which also heats the hot water cylinder and radiators. I know I have to make sure that I have enough radiators on so that I don't cause a major disaster. I think having these will enable me to turn lots of radiators down or completely off when I'm just using the oil. When I'm using the woodstove as long as I make sure that I have enough radiators calling for heat I don't see that it would be unsafe at all. Once the frequently used areas are heated up I should be able to then direct the heat to some of the rooms which are rarely used to keep them aired. I think Hive wouldn't agree with me fitting these TRV's with a dual heating system but I don't think it will be any different than having the Danfoss TRV's.

I already have Danfoss TRV's on most rads. I know that I have to NOT fit any type of Thermostat onto two of my radiators - "heat leak" for safety purposes.

PERSONAL HEATING METHOD:
I generally just use the boost button for controlling my heating and turn the temperature up or down as required. So I don't think I will bother to set the Hive TRV's with heat schedules, or use the heat on demand setting.

Hive state in the instructions that I shouldn't put Hive valves onto radiators which are situated in the same area as my Hive Heating Thermostat.
Mine is in the hallway and I have two radiators in the hallway.

I don't want to be continuously heating the Hallway - it's a complete waste of oil. I know I could leave the hall radiators turned down with Danfoss TRV's on them. However, I would have far better control if I could adjust every area of the house from my phone.

If I'm not using "heat on demand" which really just means I am needing two steps instead of one as I need to press the boost button and then make sure the radiator of the room I'm in is set to call for heat and areas I don't want to heat are set below the temperature of each individual room. Also, currently, the "heat on demand" sets the heating to 22 degrees so this would be way too hot for me. So if I set the hall wall thermostat on 7 degrees and set the hall radiators on say 14 degrees surely the radiators would still be calling for heat and still heat up.

Also I've forgotten what happens when there is a power cut. I know the woodstove side of things had been set up safely for a power outage and should just work on gravity. I'm not sure what would happen if I'm using the oil boiler and the new Hive TRV's.

Sorry to be so long winded but I'm Dyspraxic and I find it difficult to be concise and it also causes memory issues so I have probably repeated things too.

SUMMARY OF QUESTIONS:
1. Will the system still work if I fit the 2 hall radiators with Hive TRV's as wall room thermostat is also in the hall?
2. How will a power outage affect the system when running the oil boiler?
3. If the hall thermostat is set on 7 degrees and the hall TRV's are set on 14 degrees would they still heat up? Would the heating then turn off when the hall temperature reaches 14 as set on the radiator TRV's?
4. Any other advice or comments please.

Thanks.

 

My installation of 10 valves is going very well! I have already got on valve calibrated. No problems whatsoever! Fitting them and installing with the app couldn't have been made any easier!

The only thing so far which is bad is the fact that once I put one in it seems almost impossible for me to get it off! Saying that, I am disabled and quite weak.

I have only installed three so far but everything seems excellent so far.

If you are buying more the sale runs out in around 24 hours so grab them quickly. It made a big difference in the price: I paid £31.84 each and they are usually £54! Good luck with yours. I think they are going to be great for me! I will save a lot of oil AND be able to make better use of the heat treated by the woodstove!

 

I'm still using the original old type energy saver bulbs which I think these days may be quite expensive to run compared to the LED ones.

If you already have Radiator Thermostats it may not be worth buying the Hive Smart TRV's. However, it depends because I find that when I need the heating on I may not always have the energy, or be well enough, or if I'm busy - the inclination to stop, to go to turn other radiators down that are not needed at that particular time.

So I think you need to assess how strict you are about getting up and going round the house to adjust the radiators of the rooms you are not using at a particular time. If you are strict about doing this you probably won't save very much on your heating expenses. However, as you get older you may be less mobile and then you will wish you had fitted them.

I am going to save s lot of money on my heating expenses. For instance, my Carer sits in the kitchen a lot. I am usually sitting on my bed so that my legs don't swell up. My Carer goes up to bed early but I am usually awake all night. Last week it was minus 9.7 C here. I think I ended up pressing the boost button several times. If I hadn't been able to get up to turn the kitchen radiator down I would have been heating a very large radiator for about 2 or 3 hours in a room which currently holds very little heat. I had tiles put down and without the carpet the room doesn't stay as warm as it used to. Fitting carpet asap. So 2 or 3 hours even for 1 or 2 nights a week would soon add up. Also I don't really need the hall radiators heating up when I am the in my room overnight. So that's another two radiators.

My Carer moans about any changes (he can't help it - he's just a very negative person who is not keen on technology). I am very keen to save money and I like things which help to stop me feeling frustrated when I am not well enough to get up to do things. Also it will encourage me to put the heating on as currently I often don't put it on if I can't get up to turn other rooms off. I'm looking forward to saving a lot of oil.

I like doors to be closed most of the time. I'm not sure how you can encourage your wife to shut the doors. If you don't manage to make a decision in time to buy them during this sale they will probably be back on sale for Easter time. Mine didn't need updating at all. I bought mine direct from Hive. I'm wondering if some places are selling off old stock because many of the people who bought from Amazon needed theirs updated. The latest firmware for the radiator valves is lots of zeros with 21b on the end of the number.

I've fitted 5 TRV's now. I ordered the second box of five yesterday so they will be here soon.' I'm pretty sure that most of the bad reviews on Amazon are because people are not very clued up. I have an Android Smartphone and found that the app works well. Good luck.