Nest thermostat

[moneymakeover]

I have basic gas heating system heats radiators and water.

There's a EPH timeswitch and thermostat

I see there are 3 different nest thermostats

• Nest learning
• Nest thermostat e
• Nest thermostat

I saw online the timeswitch is replaced by a heatlink but is this for the basic model?

My thermostat from multimeter seems to switch from off:0 to on:1.5 volts a/c
Another wire is permanently 1.5v a/c

Will this be compatible with nest learning or e?
Without having to touch my timeswitch controller.


Also , is the nest any good?

 

[DannyBoyD]

Not quite what you're asking, but I recently ditched the Nest in favour of smart thermostats on each radiator. So each room can be heated separately depending on usage.

Nest was fine, but I found the entire house was being heated when I didnt need it.

 

[Cervelo]

I have a run of the mill dual control boiler that has had a Nest thermostat as well
My understanding is the Nest will work with most boilers and on my system I still have dual control active as well
This is just in case the Nest stops working I can still control the boiler for water and heating although without a thermostat control

Is the Nest any good or worth it, yes I think it is for a couple reasons
One, I was able to place the Nest in my open plan sitting/dinning room kitchen area where we spend most of our time rather then in the hall
also as our house is nearly on the go 24/7 I can set the Nest to keep that area at a constant 18 degrees
Two, I like the ability when away from the house to control the heating and hot water should I need to

One thing I would suggest and this is from my own experience with my Nest
My boiler is my garage with is attached to the side of the house but I found that I was running into problems with the Nest connecting with the heatlink and therefore lost control of the boiler but since I've moved the heatlink into the house and closer to the Nest thermostat the Nest has performed flawlessly

 

[moneymakeover]

That's good information thanks @Cervelo

Does the newer nest still require a heatlink?

And does the heatlink replace the timeswitch controller?

 

[nest egg]

I have basic gas heating system heats radiators and water.

There's a EPH timeswitch and thermostat

I see there are 3 different nest thermostats

• Nest learning
• Nest thermostat e
• Nest thermostat

I saw online the timeswitch is replaced by a heatlink but is this for the basic model?

My thermostat from multimeter seems to switch from off:0 to on:1.5 volts a/c
Another wire is permanently 1.5v a/c

Will this be compatible with nest learning or e?
Without having to touch my timeswitch controller.


Also , is the nest any good?

There are only two Nest thermostat models available in Ireland (at least on the Google store)

Compare Google Nest smart thermostats

Nest thermostats work with your smartphone and learn your habits for energy-saving comfort.

store.google.com

I can only talk from experience with the Learning version. The thermostat and/or app replaces your timeswitch, you can use either of those to set a schedule, or Nest will automatically define one for you once it learns details about your home and habits. The heatlink fires up the boiler based on this schedule (or when you manually adjust the temperature).

We've had a Nest for 5 or 6 years and its worked well. I wouldn't however buy one on the basis that it's going to save you money. We like it for its convenience. You don't need to remember to switch off your heating when you go out, it'll do it for you. You don't have to get off your backside to change the temperature, you pull out your phone, or even better, bark out a command to your smart speaker! Are these things going to change your life? Probably not, but they are handy.

Full write on on the difference between both here

Nest Learning Thermostat vs Nest Thermostat E

Nest Learning Thermostat vs Nest Thermostat E: We pit Nest's two smart thermostats against each other to help you make the right buying decision.

www.trustedreviews.com

 

[Zenith63]

I’ve had a few Nests now and really like them, they are simple to use, very reliable and Google support is very good if you have an issue.

One thing to watch out for when comparing them is that the Europe models are named the same as the US models but are totally different in how they work, so make sure you’re looking at the right instructions!

As said above there are only two types available in Ireland, both have a Heatlink and both should be replacing your current time switch and thermostat. The E can only control your heating, not hot water and its Heatlink has batteries which may make it easier to install but you’ll have to swap batteries periodically, and the thermostat needs to be plugged into a socket. The Learning can control one heating zone and one hot water zone and by the sounds of your wiring you should be able to power the Heatlink from the mains (no messing with batteries) and the thermostat from the Heatlink (so no plugging it into a socket) over the existing cables.

Note the Nest Learning Thermostat is reduced from €250 to €160 on the Google store at the moment which seems like a great deal.

 

[moneymakeover]

Couple more questions,
With the "Learning", i need to employ electrician to replace the timeswitch with the heat link?


And in the Google home app four people in the household have that app:
Does everyone in the app have control over the thermostat, Or i can have exclusive access? I don't want everyone changing the temperature and the timings.

 

[Cervelo]

That's good information thanks @Cervelo

Does the newer nest still require a heatlink?

And does the heatlink replace the timeswitch controller?

Yes to both, the nest replaces the "timeswitch controller" but you can if you want have both connected at the same time which is the way I have it
The reason for this is if the nest fails to connect to the heatlink you then have to manually turn the boiler on and off with the heat link
Which is fine if the nest reconnects itself to the heatlink but I'm on my third nest due to connection issues before I moved the heatlink
By having the timeswitch still connected you can revert to this control should the nest start acting up

One thing I'm not sure about is if you have a dual control for heat and water and only have a nest controlling the system if you can manually switch on just water with the heatlink

Couple more questions,
With the "Learning", i need to employ electrician to replace the timeswitch with the heat link?


And in the Google home app four people in the household have that app:
Does everyone in the app have control over the thermostat, Or i can have exclusive access? I don't want everyone changing the temperature and the timings.

If you're handy enough with electrics yes you can install it yourself but I got my electrician to do it for me for peace of mind and I think he charged me about €100 for the install

There's a lock feature in the app that I think would allow you to prevent other users from changing the settings but as there's only two of us here it's not a feature we use

 

[Zenith63]

One thing I'm not sure about is if you have a dual control for heat and water and only have a nest controlling the system if you can manually switch on just water with the heatlink

The button on the Learning Heatlink turns on both the heating and hot water.

Which is fine if the nest reconnects itself to the heatlink but I'm on my third nest due to connection issues before I moved the heatlink

Do you have the Nest Thermostat wired to the Heatlink or are you using an external power supply for it? When you wire them together (using the 12V outputs on the Heatlink), the Heatlink will power the Thermostat but the cable is also used to let the two devices talk to each other. It’s only 12V so you can use most existing cables, if there was an old thermostat in-place for example. I’ve never had connection issues once they’re wired together, it’s extremely reliable and I would 100% remove the time switch in this setup to simplify things.

With the "Learning", i need to employ electrician to replace the timeswitch with the heat link?

For both the E and Learning you are likely to be working with 220V, so if you’re not comfortable with that an electrician would be better. Having said that, if you are comfortable with a bit of DIY there is really no rocket science to this, they’re just switches, and I’ve always installed them myself (not an electrician). It is important to draw out what cables you have and make a clear plan for what to connect to what etc, don’t rush into it late some night . Happy to comment on a drawing/plan if you do one up and post it here.

 

[Cervelo]

The button on the Learning Heatlink turns on both the heating and hot water.Do you have the Nest Thermostat wired to the Heatlink or are you using an external power supply for it? When you wire them together (using the 12V outputs on the Heatlink), the Heatlink will power the Thermostat but the cable is also used to let the two devices talk to each other. It’s only 12V so you can use most existing cables, if there was an old thermostat in-place for example. I’ve never had connection issues once they’re wired together, it’s extremely reliable and I would 100% remove the time switch in this setup to simplify things.

No mine is a wireless connection between the nest and the heatlink as the boiler is in the garage but that is a good point that I'd forgotten about, that you can connect the nest to the heatlink using a usb cable and regain full control

 

[Zenith63]

No mine is a wireless connection between the nest and the heatlink as the boiler is in the garage but that is a good point that I'd forgotten about, that you can connect the nest to the heatlink using a usb cable and regain full control

It’s not USB actually, any cable will do. There are two screw terminals on the Heatlink and two in the thermostat, you just need some cable between these two. It’s only 12V low current, so if there is any cable 0.5sq multi core, 1.5sq three core etc from the garage to the thermostat you can wire it up. Makes a huge difference to the reliability over longer distances like that and you can get rid of the USB power to the thermostat so it’s a neater install.

 

[Cervelo]

It’s not USB actually, any cable will do. There are two screw terminals on the Heatlink and two in the thermostat, you just need some cable between these two. It’s only 12V low current, so if there is any cable 0.5sq multi core, 1.5sq three core etc from the garage to the thermostat you can wire it up. Makes a huge difference to the reliability over longer distances like that and you can get rid of the USB power to the thermostat so it’s a neater install.

Forgive me Zenith63 I'm a bit slow this morning, You're talking about hard wiring the Nest thermostat to the heat link while I've been talking about using it wirelessly

Yes, hard wiring gives a permanent connecting between the units and in an ideal world that is the way it should be installed
In my case it was moving the original thermostat from the hall into the sitting room was what I was after and the wireless nest for me was the way to go, it sits on a book shelve so hard wiring it was not an option

When I had the heatlink in the garage it all worked fine for about a year, then the nest thermostat would not connect to the heatlink for some reason. if I moved the nest closer to the heatlink then it would work but again after some time it needed to be moved closer again
Nest replaced the thermostat but again the new one started to fail again about a year later and nest once again replaced it

Amazingly after about another year the second one started to loose connection again so rather than getting nest to replace it for a third time
I moved the heatlink from the garage to the kitchen and has worked flawlessly for the last four years

I take your point that if you're hard wiring there would be no need to keep the original controls but if you've a wireless setup like mine and the nest won't connect to the heatlink then you can either use a USB cable to connect at the heatlink or keep your original control as an active backup

 

[DannyBoyD]

If you are looking at this, do consider the smart thermostats for each radiator.

Drayton Wiser is the system I have, there are others.

Not sure if I'm allowed put in youtube links here, but if you google CharlieDIYte he has good info.

 

[irbx]

If you are looking at this, do consider the smart thermostats for each radiator.

Drayton Wiser is the system I have, there are others.

Not sure if I'm allowed put in youtube links here, but if you google CharlieDIYte he has good info.

I have nest in main living room and I have Manuel trv values in each room. I set the bedrooms to lower temperature when heating is on and works fine as bedrooms are up stairs. But great that it turns off heating when out of the house. Also if away on holiday same. But never come back to a cold house again

 

[DannyBoyD]

The smart radiator thermostats are set via an app on your phone to an actual temperature, as opposed to the guesswork of a manual trv.

Like the Nest, you can access it from anywhere, schedule heating times etc.

I have seen a significant drop in gas usage since installing it. Someone is going to ask for figures now!

Don't have 'em to hand, sorry.

 

[Zenith63]

If you are looking at this, do consider the smart thermostats for each radiator.

Drayton Wiser is the system I have, there are others.

Not sure if I'm allowed put in youtube links here, but if you google CharlieDIYte he has good info.

I love the idea of being able to control each room independently, but the thought of having to replace that number of batteries regularly (how long are you getting from them?) and the upfront cost of buying them (€600 for a small-ish house, maybe €1200 for a bigger house) would put me off.

Do they fit to an existing TRV push-button type valve, or can they turn a non-TRV type valve? Guess I’m wondering if you’re always replacing TRVs which already work OK, if a little basic?

 

[Horatio]

Not quite what you're asking, but I recently ditched the Nest in favour of smart thermostats on each radiator. So each room can be heated separately depending on usage.

Nest was fine, but I found the entire house was being heated when I didnt need it.

Which brand & are they working out?
I have a box of four smart TRV's sitting in the shed for yeats because I couldn't get them to work. I think I got unlucky with a returned set.

 

[DannyBoyD]

Which brand & are they working out?

Drayton Wiser, you need to get the heating control as well. I'm very happy with it; no chasing around turning on and off trvs & I only need to heat rooms as they are in use.

Yes there's an up front investment, but worth it in my view. You could also do the heating control & two smart trvs (comes in a bundle) and swap out rest of your trvs as you go.

Smart trvs are easily fitted, where you already have one on the rad. If theres no trv at all, then its a bigger job to drain the system, but still doable.

Check out youtube channel previously recommended, he goes into much more detail.

Edit to add, have mine in nearly a year & haven't had to replace any batteries yet.

 

[moneymakeover]

Not quite what you're asking, but I recently ditched the Nest in favour of smart thermostats on each radiator. So each room can be heated separately depending on usage.

Nest was fine, but I found the entire house was being heated when I didnt need it.

How

The button on the Learning Heatlink turns on both the heating and hot water.


Do you have the Nest Thermostat wired to the Heatlink or are you using an external power supply for it? When you wire them together (using the 12V outputs on the Heatlink), the Heatlink will power the Thermostat but the cable is also used to let the two devices talk to each other. It’s only 12V so you can use most existing cables, if there was an old thermostat in-place for example. I’ve never had connection issues once they’re wired together, it’s extremely reliable and I would 100% remove the time switch in this setup to simplify things.


For both the E and Learning you are likely to be working with 220V, so if you’re not comfortable with that an electrician would be better. Having said that, if you are comfortable with a bit of DIY there is really no rocket science to this, they’re just switches, and I’ve always installed them myself (not an electrician). It is important to draw out what cables you have and make a clear plan for what to connect to what etc, don’t rush into it late some night . Happy to comment on a drawing/plan if you do one up and post it here.

Thanks @Zenith63
I have wires from controller to thermostat so i can use them for that 12volts?

The heatlink replaces the controller? And lives in the cupboard so to speak?
The thermostat lives eg on hallway wall?

Does the existing controller go in bin?

 

[Zenith63]

How

Thanks @Zenith63
I have wires from controller to thermostat sorry so i can use them for that 12volts?

The heatlink replaces the controller? And lives in the cupboard so to speak?
The thermostat lives eg on hallway wall?

Does the existing controller go in bin?

Yes to all of those