Hmmm....allegedly free (not clear if that includes installation) with Co- op Green and Cosy July 2020.
Reviews on Amazon aren't promising.
Potentially compromises network security on the home LAN; I'm assuming this from general IoT principles.
All in all it isn't an incentive to go with the tariff and not taking the thermostat implies subsidising others that do.
Anyone got one of these?
Cheers
Dave R
[quote] How do I claim my free Cosy thermostat? Once your domestic property address is on supply for this tariff, a unique transaction code will be issued to you via post or email to enable you to get your free GEO Cosy thermostat worth an RRP of £249.95 (Inclusive of installation). (Price correct at time of publication).
How do I install my Cosy thermostat? Cosy works in parallel with your current heating system, and installation is free as part of this tariff offer, provided by Cosy. Your Cosy thermostat delivery should not be opened prior to delivery. [/quote]
How do you open something that hasn't been delivered yet?
If they can afford to give you something worth £250 for free ask coop energy if they will give you a discount on their tariff of £250 as an alternative.
Based on their charge of £1179 and a charge of £994 from my current supplier for the same OFGEN average comparison consumption figures it appears that the free thermostat may actually be costing customers £185 :)
That £994 figure falls to £941 for a fixed 12 month contract from my current supplier so the free thermostat is potentially costing coop energy customers £238 !
ebay?
This is interesting:
Suggests it's a 'connected thermostat', ie one you can control from a phone/web, rather than a 'smart thermostat' that learns your patterns.
Potentially makes it easier to set up versus the usual box with little rubber buttons, but you still need to set up programmes, or remember to turn it on yourself.
What looks neat is that it works via your existing thermostat, and it can only turn your heating off. You set the existing thermostat to 'max' and 'always on' and the Cosy controls it by interrupting the thermostat wire (to tell it when to turn off). While it has its own override, you could fit your own switch to short out the Cosy and revert back to the original thermostat, in case it fails in the cold state. You could also set your original thermostat to 'warm but not boiling' in case the Cosy goes berserk and decides to roast you.
The company is based in Cambridge (Hardwick) and on the original Kickstarter claimed they manufacture in the UK, so possibly less susceptible to we-send-it-all-to-China IoT vulnerabilities than most stuff. This is the list of locations where data goes:
- looks like all the home data is on AWS in the EEA. I'd probably want to run it on a separate firewalled VLAN though.
It all looks surprisingly sane to me...
Theo
What sets this thing apart from a normal programable thermostat?
Being "connected"? How many people really have such an irregular work/life style than being able to turn the heating on/off remotely could, maybe, save a tiny bit. An hour late in the office once a week. on random days (if it's always the same day it's regular and can be programmed...), in a reasonably insulated place isn't going to "save" very much at all.
Now if you lived alone and left home expecting to return that day but found yourself sent off for a day or two being able to switch the heating off and then back on again might be useful assuming a modern insulated place that heats up quickly.
But what about the HW? A long time ago (pre programable stats...) The time switch died but as the HW only took 20 mins to reheat from stone cold, so I didn't replace it. The summer gas bill was substantially reduced, simply by not having a tank of hot water sitting there losing heat...
Thanks for that.
One of the complaints on the Amazon review that it was dumb, not smart, just provided remote control over the network.
Interesting approach, just interrupting the 'On' wire. Is this to avoid having to provide the control circuitry? AFAICR a dumb thermostat is pretty cheap. Yeah, £11.49 at Screwfix. Perhaps the installers can't be trusted to do a full install with electrickery and stuff but can be trusted to add one additional wire? Or are they worried about having to rip out (and possibly reinstate) a previous install?
As others have noted, a lot of people have no need of a remote control for the heating.
Cheers
Dave R
I think the value is over those who don't program their heating at all. The cheap programmers with their calculator LCDs and little rubber buttons tend to have the most awful UIs, such that programming them is a painful experience. There are certain classes of user that just can't handle them and just use whatever default is baked in.
Or the programmer is in such an awkward place that it's annoying to program. Plus thermostats often get put in places that are convenient for the builder, not for the users - if I'm asleep in the loft conversion, why are we maintaining the temperature of the hall by the front door?
Moving all that to a widget with a nice UI and a remote app might make actually using the controls more common.
There are times someone might go out for the evening/the weekend. But I'd want something a bit smarter than making them remember to hit the button. (There are Alexa skills if you're into that). The closed-ness of the platform is the problem here, because you can't hook it into anything else (if it supported IFTTT for instance)
Going DIY for a minute, I wonder how hackable the hardware is... if you could drive it from something other than their cloud backend it could be quite interesting...
That's another thing where having the hot water button in a convenient place (like your bedside table) might make it easier to run it manually, rather than rely on a timer or on a button in the airing cupboard. Less useful if you know you always catch the 07.42 in the morning.
Theo
Or has anyone used an ESP8266 EVB to make a smart thermostat? Not as pretty, but probably costs about a tenner, or a fiver for a headless version.
Hum, valid I guess. But unless all members of the household have unpredictable peripatetic life styles the programming of a programable stat is pretty much a one time operation.
I guess but it depends where the btton is. See below.
Oh yikes it has a cloud based backend. Run away, the chances are the thing becomes useless when (not if) the cloud bursts.
I had a set of switches in the hall with indicator neons that I'd pass going out or coming in. Simples to switch the CH and/or HW as required.
I keep forgetting that most people havn't the knowledge and/or skills to make things do want they want them to do. They just have accept what they are given even if it means that the tail is wagging the dog.
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