Using a smart thermostat is a good way for you to access your heating
controls. There is a number of these thermostats available and the one you
choose can depend on some different factors including the type of heating
system you have.
Many of these smart thermostats can be made accessible through the use of a
smart phone app or desktop app. The one we are going to focus on is the Hive
active heating smart thermostat with the Hive hub. This thermostat is
suitable for people that have oil or gas boilers. It can also be set up to
control the different zones in your house such as upstairs, downstairs and
hot water.
It will need to be installed by a professional installer. Some retailers
offer installation as a free incentive when purchasing the product. You get
2 wireless thermostat sensors with the device so you can put one upstairs
and one downstairs to monitor the temperature in the house. These attach to
a little holder that you need to screw to the wall. The thermostat has frost
protect built in, so your house temperature never falls under 7 degrees. You
can also set up Geo location in the Hive app so you can get alerts when you
have left the heating on when you are away from home.
Works with TalkBack and Voiceover
There are a few ways the Hive smart thermostat is accessible. One way is
through the app.
After the hive thermostat is installed you will need to set up a hive
account and download the Hive app to your smart phone and connect your phone
to the Hive hub. TalkBack and VoiceOver will read all areas as you go
through each step of the setup. There is also an area in the Hive app where
you can adjust text size.
Once setup is complete you can go to the home screen of the Hive app and you
will be presented with options like zone1, zone2, and hot water. As you
swipe through these it will announce if your boiler is currently on or off
and it will tell you the temperature in that zone.
If you are a TalkBack or VoiceOver user, you can go into any of these zones
by double tapping and then you can boost your heating or change the
temperature or even set a schedule.
You can also access the Hive Thermostat via a PC or Laptop through the
online dashboard, and for those that don't use a smart phone you can send
text commands to the thermostat. Note the text command service does not work
if your heating system is split into zones.
Access your Hive Thermostat using your Smart Speaker
Another great feature of the Hive smart thermostat is that it can be linked
with your smart speaker such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home. This makes
controlling your heating a fully accessible and hands-free experience and
may be the best option for some people.
Go to the Google Home app or the Alexa app on your smart phone and put in
your Hive username and password and follow the on-screen instructions. Note
with Alexa you need to enable the Hive skill. Then ask your smart speaker to
discover devices.
To show an example of the commands you can use we will use Alexa.
"Alexa, ask Hive to Boost the heating Upstairs"
"Alexa, ask Hive to boost the hot water"
"Alexa, ask hive to Set downstairs temperature to 22 degrees"
"Alexa, what is the temperature in the house"
If you have a gas or oil boiler the Hive active thermostat is a good option
and can be accessed and controlled in a number of ways. We are not
recommending it over any other thermostat, and it is a good idea to get
advice from your plumber to check if it will suit your system.
Website:
http://www.ncbi.ie/controlling-your-home-heating-with-the-accessible-hive-th
ermostat/
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