Worcester-Bosch Wave [Updated]

Worcester Wave

Worcester-Bosch have announced a new controller called the Wave that can be programmed and adjusted via a smartphone. Few details are available yet, but there’s a bit more here than is given on WB’s own site. The launch date* for the Wave will be 15th September.

The good news is it works with WB’s proprietary boiler control system, Heatronic 3, and so can control the boiler parameters more accurately. Most other smart controllers simply replace the on/off thermostat control function. It promises weather compensation but using the internet weather reports rather than an external sensor.

It fails my criteria for a true smart controller, however, as it doesn’t talk to individual TRVs, you have to set those yourself. There is a project to reverse engineer the Heatronic 3 interface and so there’s hope that some of the open source projects can extend the functionality to make it truly smart.

*Update: Well, it has missed September and the latest I’ve heard is that it will be “out in the near future.”

Up-Update: News release dated 9th October! There’s also a FAQ and some videos.

Cosy

Cosy is another start-up that I heard about recently. Doesn’t yet do heating zones but does do boiler control and smart sockets. They’ve reached their Kickstarter goal and seem to be pressing on with new features.

Pegler i-Temp

Have just discovered Pegler Terrier i-Temp products, don’t know much about them and unfortunately there’s not a lot of information on the site. The intriguing thing is they mention a PC Programming dongle with some software to control the individual TRVs, but that’s about all they do say.

Update: I asked the manufacturer about the PC dongle and they pointed me to a different website. Even though the page is entitled ‘New Accessories’ the PC dongle is only “Compatible with Windows XP or Windows Vista operating systems.” It would appear that you can program multiple TRVs using the PC application, but there doesn’t appear to be any live control or facility for using a smartphone.

Welcome!

This site is intended to be a resource for the gathering of information about Smart Controllers for domestic central heating. I found when I started researching these devices there was nothing similar so I hope this fills a useful gap. I’m sure there are quite a few installers who have a lot of valuable information and I hope they will be willing to share some of that.

I have so far only installed a Worcestershire Bosch FW100, which I’ve discovered isn’t as smart as I hoped. Others I’ve heard about include the Heatmiser PRT-TS, Climote, Tado°, evohome. I should also mention the eTRV, which while it isn’t a controller as such claims to be a smart(ish) control for individual radiators.

I hope to include much more information as time goes on. Enjoy!