From the home screen, you can also view the weather for your location and sunrise and sunset times, too. The cog icon at the top of the home screen provides access to the main Settings menu, from where you can activate smart modes such as Eco and Comfort, and set a temperature for the Away mode. The final component, the smart radiator thermostat, is a white plastic cylinder, which fit to the radiator once the existing valve has been unscrewed. To manually override any schedules you may have set, simply swivel the top of the radiator thermostat right to start the radiator heating, or left to stop heating. An LED on the radiator thermostat glows red temporarily when the radiator is heating, and blue if it's been turned off. Turning and holding the radiator thermostat will also reset or put it into set-up mode, depending upon how long you hold it in that position. In addition, each room can have Open Window Detection turned on. This uses an algorithm to detect when a draft is detected, suggesting an open window or door. The heating is then turned off to conserve energy. To control your heating, the Drayton Wiser system has a wireless heating relay that connects to your boiler to turn it on and off. There are two versions of the kit available. The first has a single-channel control that’s designed for combi boilers, turning the heating on and off only.

Hot water flow depends on the cold water mains pressure, so if this is supply is lost, you will soon lose the hot water supply. Requires a two-channel Wiser kit ( Wiser Thermostat Kit 2 or Wiser Multi-zone Kit 2), to control the central heating via one channel and hot water via the other. Older systems upgraded with pumps provide better thermostatic control of the central heating and the ability to control it independently of the hot water. Comfort Mode is there to make sure that your home hits the target temperature at the set point rather than turning the heating on at that point. In other words, if you get up at 7:30am and set a schedule to have your heating at 18°C at this time, your house will be warm when you wake up. I slightly prefer the Tado and Honeywell Evohome TRVs, which show the current temperature on their display and let you set a new target temperature.HubR: Fixed wiring only, to comply with current IET regulations (BS7671); Room and radiator thermostat: No wiring required

A combination or ‘combi’ boiler system combines a water heater and central heating boiler into one compact unit. These space-saving systems are increasingly popular amongst homeowners upgrading their older central heating systems and, according to the Energy Saving Trust, may be more efficient for smaller households with a low hot water demand – when hot water is heated and stored in a separate tank, heat can be lost when it’s not used. CHARACTERISTICS OF COMBI BOILERS (one heating zone)

HubR: User: Push Button/LED; I/O: Mains Relays (1-3), Digital Boiler Interface; Room thermostat: User: TFT display, touch buttons; I/O: None; Radiator thermostat: User: Twist Cap, LED; I/O: None That’s neat, as you can start with the cheap kit and then upgrade as you see fit to add TRVs to every radiator in the house. Once you’ve done that, the room thermostat can be used to control a room and all TRVs in it, as Wiser supports rooms with multiple radiators. This is set up in the same way as regular conventional systems, but in this case the system has two heating zones being controlled by the boiler, with separate programming for each usually with two thermostats. This may be the case in larger or extended homes. CHARACTERISTICS OF CONVENTIONAL BOILERS (with unvented cylinder and two heating zones)

Honeywell Evohome gives more flexibility, with its custom actions and IFTTT channel. Its radiator thermostats are also more fully featured, letting you set the temperature you want from the room. If you want the most powerful and flexible multiroom heating system, then, we’d recommend Evohome. A room thermostat controls the heating in your home. If the room's temperature drops below your chosen temperature, the thermostat will switch on. Once the room has reached the chosen temperature, the thermostat will turn the heating off, preventing overheating and reducing energy consumption. This can help reduce your home's energy consumption. Consists of a central heating boiler and a separate, pressurised hot water tank fed directly by the cold water mains feed, so the tank heats and stores hot water at mains pressure. With its intuitive user interface, the Wiser Home app makes it easy to adjust your heating and hot water. Set up your app in seconds using simple step-by-step instructions. Hot water can be stored within the cylinder, beneficial for larger households where a lot of hot water is used.On the 2-channel programmer where you set your schedules, try setting the hot water side to off and the central heating side to on. If only the central heating side comes on and only your radiators get hot, you have independent control and thereby, a fully pumped system. The Wiser 3 channel thermostat kit is ideal for properties with two heating zones. Control your heating and hot water more easily with smart technology.

Gravity-fed systems are no longer fitted new and do not comply to current building regulations, therefore homeowners are increasingly opting to replace older gravity-fed systems to either combi or fully-pumped conventional boiler systems. CHARACTERISTICS OF GRAVITY-FED SYSTEMS (non-pumped) Hot water is available on demand independently of the central heating, without having to wait for a water cylinder to heat up. Insights tab provides stats about the number of hours the heating has been switched on and energy saving made through Eco modeThe Insights tab includes information on how much energy you’ve saved with Eco mode enabled, while also presenting a ‘Heat Report’ that details how long and to what temperature over the past day, week, and month your rooms have been heated.