"Recurring comments …"

There are recurring comments that mostly come down to network connections – sometimes wifi, but mostly about the radio link and its inadequacies which require extender 'smart' plugs. (Which can be 'smart', but end up being located where needed to serve the network reinforcement rather than some other gadget). There is, for example, an issue of 'star' to genuinely 'mesh' networking. Some Google sites with comments lament that the radio network is restricted to a star arrangement (useless in a multi-storey house). (Tado is meant to be genuinely 'mesh', but I am uncertain about that. If it is true, then it is worth any extra money.) But in attempting to solve the problems I have had, tech assistance said, no, one extender links (ping-backs) to another. He spent about 1.5 hours on the phone with me trying to solve networking issues looking to two zones and two 'smart plugs' (a pretty simple system). It took that long and would have been impossible with his guidance. On a secondary note I agree with comments apropos the app. It could be better. At the moment my system is 80% working, but with a crucial two-way valve issue the electrician can't get right. I now wish I had ordered a better programmable remote thermostat and kept the system very simple.

"A great system that’s easy too use but not perfect"

For those who don’t want a long read I’ll cut to the chase. I gave 4* because the system is very good and pretty easy to use (with some niggles) but I spent some effort and time including with their customer service to get it set up and working reliably.

Firstly let me give my review a health warning in that this is the only smart heating system I’ve ever experienced so I’m not comparing it with any others.

Wiser was recommended by my new boiler installer SSE. They installed the system with one thermostat only. Over the next three months I bought more and more Wiser radiator thermostats and now have a system which comprises 16 radiator thermostats in 12 rooms, one room thermostat and two smart plugs which are primarily used as range extenders.

I chose Wiser instead of the other system that was recommended by SSE (Tado) simply because it was cheaper - both as a system and the cost of each radiator valve - and had very similar features.

The Wiser app is pretty good and I find it reasonably intuitive to use. My main issue is that you can’t reorder the rooms on the screen. So you end up with bedrooms scattered amongst the living room and kitchen etc. I’d also like a few more diagnostics such as signal strength (it only tells you if it’s out of range).

Installing the rad valves was easy enough and at first everything seemed to be fine. However over the next couple of weeks I had a couple of problems.

1. The main unit occasionally lost connection to the internet. This is possibly because these units are typically located on the edge of the property and hence on the edge of the wifi range. I got it sorted by moving one of my mesh Wi-Fi nodes closer to the boiler!
2. Some of the rad valves kept losing connection to the system. They are not Wi-Fi but connect directly to the main unit using some other radio system. This is where I had to use Drayton customer service. This was pretty good and responsive. They can log in and see much more data about how the system is connecting and the signal strength although they will only do so if they are not busy!! Shame they could not provide that info - if not on the app then in my account on their web site. Got it sorted by buying a couple of smart plugs as range extenders and it’s now fine.

I also set it up with IFTTT as well so I can have the system go into “away mode” when me and my wife leave the house. It works well although you’ll need to use the Life360 app.

In summary it’s a great system and now seems very reliable. I feel I’ve got really good control of the heating system and it seems to be saving me money already compared with last year.

"All good so far, and good support."

Replaced the wireless (not internet enabled) thermostat that came with my boiler with this system. I was lucky enough that that my switch over from old to new was straightforward, requiring only 4 wires at the side of the boiler to be wired into the Drayton Wiser Hub. Once this was done, connecting to the new system and setting up the phone app took a matter of minutes. I was also able to get it to work with Alexa very quickly and easily. Now that it's set up I can turn on, or adjust my heating from anywhere with an internet connection/mobile phone signal - not just in the house. Alexa can tell you how warm it is, and you can raise or lower the temperature with Alexa too. There are some smart features on the app, you have a weekly planner for how you want the heating to react, but you can also set it to eco mode where it adjusts itself automatically - I haven't tried this yet. So far, I only have one thermostat and the hub. I plan to get the Wiser smart thermostatic radiator valves so that I can control all radiators in the house from my phone too, as this will obviously incur savings on my heating bill if radiators not needed can be scheduled to be off and automatically come on at certain times of the day. Overall very pleased. I also had to contact support as I couldn't work out how to change the wifi (I have more than one wifi signal in my house and wanted to change the hub to a different one) - they responded within the day and were spot-on with their reply, and I was able to resolve my problem. Many thanks to Wiser Support! ;-)

"Woeful product, support well intentioned but lacking"

I purchased a Multi-zone 2 kit along with an additional 9 Rad thermostats. Installing the Heat Hub was the simplest bit, undo 2 screws, remove my existing timer and replace with the new one.
App installed and we're good to go.
That's where the pain free experience ended. I got through the first few stages and connected successfully to the heat hub and it with my wifi connection. I then tried to connect the Room Thermostat, nothing I tried would work, I lost count of the number of times I reset the Room Stat - and while the message on its screen suggested it had paired, the app and heat hub refused to see it. A call to support suggested logging out of the app, at which point I couldn't log back in as I'd skipped the account creation bit - it was an option I intended to come back to. As a result I was advised to reset everything, register and try again, calling back support if I had no joy. Sure enough, after a reset/registration etc, nothing changed, I called support. The agent sounded confused, gave me conflicting advice each step of the way and I was left with a hub which refused to connect to wifi.
I gave up for the night, swapped back my existing controller and tried again this morning.
Success! Heat Hub installed, 2 of the Rad stats connected and working, all looks good. Room Thermostat still refuses to connect. Additional Rad stats refuse to connect, even when standing right next to the heat hub.... nothing.
Support (by email this time) suggest 2 min power cycle and try again.... Rad stats still refuse to connect, and one of those that previously had done, now has lost its connection.
After some 5-6 hours trying to get this to work, I'm giving up and it's going back.... £600 not well spent!

"Very disappointed in the Wiser HeatHub…"

Very disappointed in the Wiser HeatHub product from Drayton Controls.
Initial installation was very straight forward and took a minimal amount of time. Unfortunately that is where the positive experience ran out. The Wiser Heat App which is required to setup the hub is not at all user friendly and I needed to call the support line to get the product correctly registered. Once registered it was then found that only the mobile that did the initial setup could access the controller and only inside the house. It was not possible to access the controller using mobile data outside the house. After several more calls to support and many system resets and re-initialisation was left with a system that did not meet expectations or many of the product claims.
The final straw came when the advice from the customer support left the system in a state where it could no longer control the boiler, leaving the house with no heating! The customer support representative was unable to fix the problem over the phone and ended the call.
I will be looking to a better solution very rapidly!

"From the initial installation through…"

From the initial installation through to the follow up emails to inform me of the updates to the system I cannot fault them!
Great service and great product.

"Excellent customer service"

Have been using this system for over a year and found it to be excellent and easy to use.My real reason for leaving this review is to give praise to the customer service team as that is the real excellence of this product.Two of the radiator thermostats stopped working altogether and after contacting customer service who replied quickly and offered lots of advice the problem could not be resolved.I was advised that I should return them to where I purchased them for replacement but could not as I had not retained the receipt customer service then proceeded to try to find another way to resolve the problem and after a short wait e mailed to say they would send replacements.In this day and age it’s refreshing to find a company willing to back up its products in this and with a customer service that is willing to go above and beyond in helping customers.

"A Quality Product until it fails!"

6 Months on:-
My original Wiser Heat Hub failed for some unknown reason 6 months after installation. No power and completely dead. No heating or hot water on a Saturday morning.

Even though Wiser support indicate 7 day presence, response to web enquiry was slow.

Decided to purchase a replacement (at my cost) just to get my heating back up.

After I indicated that I had purchased a replacement unit, that the original was probably more that 1 year old (I had delayed installation) and that I did not know the cause of the failure (external or internal), support became reticent to help.

I was left by Wiser Support to determine the cause of the fauilure myself. If the problem was external to the Heat Hub then this could only be a short on the heating system wiring but as this is now fully operational on the replacement Heat Hub this seem unlikely.

Support did confirm to me that the Heat Hub provides no protection against external failures (not that I have one since my heating system is now working perfectly and has done for many years).

I have subsequently dismantled the old Heat Hub to discover multiple component failures on the Heat Hub board.

All in all, I have now spent more on this poorly engineered heating controller than competitive systems.
More fool me!

Ian

"Excellent, economic Smart Heating system."

Purchased and installed a 2 channel kit this week. Installation straightforward, although I had to call tech support who suggested a restart of the app and system and then stayed on whilst I went through all the steps, which solved the problem. Customer support absolutely excellent.
System seems very capable and controls are completely intuitive. Having said that I would recommend downloading the on-line User Manual (which is well written, in English, not Chinglish) as this provides further insight on how to get the best out of the system long term.

"First class customer service and issue…"

First class customer service and issue resolution from the team. Thank you!!!