Like many homes in Church Farm, mine relies on underfloor heating with a heat pump system. So far I have managed the temperature using traditional Maincor thermostats installed by Pye Homes, manually adjusting each one room by room. That changed recently when I upgraded to smart thermostats.
Why Make the Switch?
The convenience of smart thermostats extends well beyond simply controlling your heating from your phone. Here are the real benefits I’ve discovered:
- Remote control from anywhere – Coming back from holiday? You can warm up the house remotely before you arrive, rather than returning to a freezing home.
- Control multiple zones at once – Instead of traipsing around the house adjusting each thermostat individually, you can control everything from a single app.
With the Heatmiser app, I can see all zones in my home on one screen – the Hallway,Living room, and Family room, each showing current and set temperatures. A quick tap lets me adjust any room without leaving the sofa.
- Automatic clock changes – They adjust themselves automatically for British Summer Time, eliminating those twice-yearly walks around the house updating each thermostat manually.
- Efficiency improvements – The combination of reduced energy waste and better control of your heat pump system means you’re likely to see savings on your energy bills that add up over time.
Insights and Control
One unexpected benefit has been the temperature history feature. The app tracks how each room performs throughout the day, helping you understand your home’s heating patterns and optimise your schedules accordingly.
Choosing the Right System
The UK market offers three main brands:
- Hive – Popular and widely supported
- Heatmiser – Excellent for underfloor heating systems
- Honeywell – Well-established with various options
For homes with existing Heatmiser infrastructure, the choice becomes straightforward. Since my underfloor heating already used a Heatmiser UH8 controller, staying within the same ecosystem made perfect sense for compatibility and unified control.
Whilst some smart home upgrades are DIY-friendly. I worked with The Connected Living, who handled the installation smoothly and ensured everything integrated properly with my existing heat pump and underfloor heating setup. For any Radley residents considering the switch, particularly those with underfloor heating systems, it’s well worth exploring.