Heatmiser Neo Smart Thermostat

Review: Heatmiser Neo Smart Thermostat

by Parm Mann on 17 August 2015, 17:30

Conclusion

Being able to control, configure and monitor your home's heating from afar makes perfect sense, and though these are early days, smart thermostats are surely the way forward.

Building on 30 years of experience in manufacturing heating controls and thermostats, UK-based Heatmiser has ventured into the world of smartphone-controlled heating with Neo, its most advanced solution to date.

Comprised of stylish thermostats and a compact, web-connected hub, the Neo system is designed from the ground-up to support multi-zone configurations and, as a retrofit or new installation, is simple to configure and equipped with far more potential than the basic programmers of old.

Heatmiser's hardware is sleek and versatile enough to support everything from a single room with radiators to multiple properties with wet or electric underfloor heating, and by using its own mesh network connectivity is reliable in any manner of property.

There's plenty of promise, yet while other smart thermostats are being created by companies with experience in web-connected devices - Nest, most famously, was created by former Apple engineers and is now owned by Google - it's clear that Heatmiser is a relative novice when it comes to software and user interface.

With a customer experience banking almost exclusively on mobile apps, Heatmiser is relying on iOS, Android and Windows apps to provide the Neo system with cutting-edge presentation and functionality, but in practise hasn't been able to deliver on either front. As it stands, the software companions are sluggish in terms of performance and limited with regards to feature set.

There's work to be done, yet despite the system's shortcomings, we remain enthused by the prospect of smart heating controls. Heatmiser's Neo hasn't quite cracked it, yet it would take only an app revamp to elevate the system from tedious to genuinely engaging. Being able to control, configure and monitor your home's heating from afar makes perfect sense, and though these are early days, smart thermostats are surely the way forward.

The Good		The Bad
Stylish thermostats Supports multi-zone heating Web connectivity adds potential Reliable mesh network		Unintuitive on-device controls App ecosystem needs work Only two on/off periods per day

Heatmiser Neo

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The Heatmiser neoKit 2 is available to purchase from Amazon and The Underfloor Heating Store.

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The above is how to waste gas and lose control of the system in my opinion.
1, Just fit low temperature radiators to all zones other that the area heated by the underfloor heating. these run on the same water temperature as the underfloor heating ( golden rule, boiler never works outside condensing mode)
2, Fit a New Glowworm Energy system boiler with a systempro3 controller plus outside weather compensation module, then control the three floors with a climbapro2 programmable thermostat. ( golden rule, never leave a room without heat, it will suck the heat from the rooms next to it)
3, Turn the heating on in October and off in May, set the thermostats to lower the room temperatures by 3 or 4 degrees at night.
4, Fit a hot water storage vessel that will accept a tubular file type thermistor so that the boiler can heat the stored hot water to 60 degrees.
Benefits, heatings on all the time ; only the heat required is put into the system from 20 degrees up to say 48 degrees ; you don't get overheated floors/rooms above as stratification will not happen ; you will be very comfortable ; your gas bill will be less that the system above ; you only need a boiler KW rated to the maximum load either the hot water tank or the heating load. Hot water is priority with this system.
Tip, use liquid floor screed maximum 45mm deep, (fast heat up)
No i don't work for Glowworm, YES i have been in this heating/gas game a long time, Yes i have this system ( earlier boiler but the new one is better). In my opinion nobody can compete with Glowworms complete weather compensated package systems. i have fitted them for seven years.

bert7
The above is how to waste gas and lose control of the system in my opinion.
1, Just fit low temperature radiators to all zones other that the area heated by the underfloor heating. these run on the same water temperature as the underfloor heating ( golden rule, boiler never works outside condensing mode)
2, Fit a New Glowworm Energy system boiler with a systempro3 controller plus outside weather compensation module, then control the three floors with a climbapro2 programmable thermostat. ( golden rule, never leave a room without heat, it will suck the heat from the rooms next to it)
3, Turn the heating on in October and off in May, set the thermostats to lower the room temperatures by 3 or 4 degrees at night.
4, Fit a hot water storage vessel that will accept a tubular file type thermistor so that the boiler can heat the stored hot water to 60 degrees.
Benefits, heatings on all the time ; only the heat required is put into the system from 20 degrees up to say 48 degrees ; you don't get overheated floors/rooms above as stratification will not happen ; you will be very comfortable ; your gas bill will be less that the system above ; you only need a boiler KW rated to the maximum load either the hot water tank or the heating load. Hot water is priority with this system.
Tip, use liquid floor screed maximum 45mm deep, (fast heat up)
No i don't work for Glowworm, YES i have been in this heating/gas game a long time, Yes i have this system ( earlier boiler but the new one is better). In my opinion nobody can compete with Glowworms complete weather compensated package systems. i have fitted them for seven years.

Got an old style, thick walled 3 bedroom terrace - door to hallway, living room off to left, backroom next, kitchen at end of hall. Upstairs got big front bedroom (above front room) smaller room above back room, small room 2 above kitchen, what sort of price would I be looking at to get a smart system with what you say fitted ? Radiators in hallway (2, 1 big 1 small), front room, back room, kitchen, all 3 bedrooms. We have a loft but it's for storage, also no proper insulation. Don't wanna put in under floor heating, just the boiler and the other bits you said

so your looking at £800 just to install thermostats … lol that's nearly the cost of a complete central heating system in a small house ??? what a waste of money it would take what 8 yrs or so to recoup the cost .. why not just fit thermo's to each rad at £8 a piece …
or even put a jumper on way to much for way to little ..

HEXUS; 3518045
Is a smart thermostat a must-have upgrade for the digital home?

For a digital home, maybe. That begs the question, do we want a digital home?

HEXUS; 3518045
…

Being able to control, configure and monitor your home's heating from afar makes perfect sense, and though these are early days, smart thermostats are surely the way forward.

If that's what rocks your boat. Why on earth do I want to control my home's heating from afar? I simply put it into ‘away’ mode, and it sets a guard temperature. While I'm home, decent thermostatic valves and an overall programmable thermostat does the job perfectly well. And £800 for thermostats? No. Just …. no. Absolutely not.

I'm interested in a digital home only in so far as it works for me. And that …. doesn't.

Well I use the Honeywell Total Connect Comfort. Zone control over the whole house from anywhere in the world. My bills have plummeted. :D

Review: Heatmiser Neo Smart Thermostat

Conclusion

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