From:  David Wade <g4ugm@dave.invalid>
Date:  27 Oct 2024 05:37:13 Hong Kong Time
Newsgroup:  news.alt119.net/uk.d-i-y
Subject:  

Re: Dumb TRVs with call for heat

NNTP-Posting-Host:  null

On 26/10/2024 16:11, Tricky Dicky wrote:
> Theo  wrote:
>> Tricky  Dicky  wrote:
>>> Theo  wrote:
>>>> Robert  wrote:
>>>>> +1 Evohome,important points are no need for App or internet. The App
>>>>> based ones which require an internet connection put you at the mercy of
>>>>> a 3rd party.
>>>>
>>>> Is there a way to activate a one-time boost at the TRV?  I looked up the
>>>> HR92UK TRV and it says there's a 'Function button, for binding and
>>>> configuring', but doesn't mention a boost. Is that button just for setup?
>>>>
>>>> Reason I ask is it's more convenient to have a local boost than going off to
>>>> find the central controller in another room.  You can twiddle the TRV but
>>>> have to remember to untwiddle it later.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Having contributed at the start of this thread and read through the many
>>> replies regards making a non-smart system to act like a smart system it
>>> seems to me that you would be better off investing in an off the shelf
>>> system. I do not understand the aversion to using apps and yes there is
>>> always risks that manufacturers can withdraw support but most will not as
>>> doing so will only push customers towards their rivals.
>>
>> The user of this system (who is not me) does not have a smartphone or
>> tablet and isn't interested in learning how to use one.
> 
> My mother in her latter years would have snapped my hand off to have such a
> system. When she was unable to walk or even stand and needed lifting and
> hoisting from one place to another she relied on visiting carers or me to
> switch ON/OFF the heating outside of scheduled times. It took her no time
> to use my iPad whenever I set up a WiFi hotspot. Unfortunately living
> housing association rented accommodation we were not allowed to tamper with
> the heating system
> 
>> That rules out any
>> app-based solutions.  Apps are also brittle - will they still be there in
>> 5-10 years time, will they still work the same, or will you wake up one day
>> and find they've updated it to something that's moved everything around and
>> you are now cold until you've figured out how it all works?
>>
>> An app may have a place for add-on features like controlling it when away
>> from home (if that's a thing you care about), but life support functions
>> (which is what heating is at the end of the day) should not depend on a
>> fragile tech stack.


The Honeywell system has its own dedicated controller, not an app. 
Frankly I find the App for wiser much easier to use than the fiddly 
mechanical controller it replaced, which was hidden it a cupboard behind 
the ironing board.



>>
>> Theo
>>
> 
> 
> As for getting away from apps, lift the lid off the vast majority of modern
> programmers and you will find the inevitable microprocessor running - a
> programme. Using the programmer in my mother’s flat was a mare as many of
> the buttons had multiple functions so easily confused an elderly user
> compared to the simple user interface on the tablet and what is easier then
> simply saying “Alexa set heating to 21”
> 
> Richard

Dave