Verdict
Genius Hub is packed full of clever features that give you both the data point and the means to keep energy by ignite your abode more intelligently . A clever app gives you everlasting controller of not just every room but every item-by-item heating element , while motion sensing chart your habits and moulds the entire system around them . In other words , you ’ll cut out inefficiency just by using it . build from scratch in the UK , Genius Hub is currently the best true multi - way heating system usable , though it ’s better suited to larger homes and property .
Pros
Cons
Introduction
There are plenty of heat arrangement that let you add individual radiator controls on top of a central thermostat , but few systems are contrive for multi - room heating system from the earth up .
The first that fare to mind is theHoneywell Evohome , although the system has n’t been update in a long time . That ’s where Genius Hub follow in , new updated in 2022 with a mountain chain of performance - enhancing and futureproofing additions .
Built - in the UK , Genius Hub is a multi - way system that gives you restraint over individual radiators and utilise smart motion sensor to more accurately control when room should be heated , and when it would be best to husband energy instead . As such , it ’s the most brawny heating system that I ’ve critique .
Design
Genius Hub heating system bulge out life-time as a conception on the site , where you spec out all of the components that you need .
The Genius Hub itself is the brains of the procedure . It can control up to 40 devices , and a unmarried system can contain multiple Hubs .
It probably wo n’t surprise you to learn that Genius Hub is best suited to commercial properties and tumid homes with four bedrooms or more , a big step up from Evohome , which supports a level best of 12 zone .
As with EvoHome , Genius Hub is also capable of controlling underfloor heating and running multiple radiators in the same elbow room .
The Dual Channel Receiver controls the kettle or another type of heating source . There ’s no OpenTherm comptroller to modulate your boiler ’s temperature , although this is n’t such a trouble with multi - way warming organization , as the energy savings are keen than with single thermostats .
The starter outfit includes a Genius Hub , a room thermoregulator and a boiler switch for £ 269.97 , which compares favourably with a starter Evohome arrangement .
If you call for hot water ascendence , there ’s a kit for that , complete with temperature sensors to measure the literal H2O temperature of store water . Cleverly , the system can be used to control hot water pumped from the tank and an galvanizing immersion heater for complete control .
Then , you call for the warming components , which for most room will consist of Genius Radiator Valves .
Previously , the organization had rely on £ 59.99 valves that communicate with the Hub over the Z - Wave protocol , but as of 2022 these have been discontinue and replaced by update valve , which start at £ 69.99 each and rather communicate over the Zigbee protocol .
However , because the Genius Hub only has Z - Wave capabilities built into it , to enable communications with the raw radiator valves you need the £ 30 Communications Adapter , a USB reefer that hack into the Genius Hub and bestows it with Zigbee capabilities .
The effect of this is threefold . first , the new valves are more responsive than their predecessors , reacting to commands from the app and other link up equipment within bit rather than minute .
second , Genius Hub ’s move to hug Zigbee lays a path towards the embryonic multiverse of Matter , the long - awaited standard that promise to merge the multitude of disparate smart home devices and ecosystem under a single shared language , and to which it appears that Zigbee devices have a front - row tag .
The newfangled valve has a side - mounted screen that lights up with the push of a button , and the temperature can be fix with an well-to-do gadget .
It ’s an advance on the excogitation of the older valve , which will continue to be supported by the Genius Hub . My only complaint is that its silver screen lies flat on the lid , make it difficult to register on certain radiator orientations . For case , I have one towel radiator where the valve is downhearted to the floor and point down .
Radiator valves are available in blanched as standard , although for £ 30 extra you’re able to have them spray - paint to match any fancy radiators that you might have in your home .
Genius Hub also supports wet underfloor heating and electric radiator , fix it one of the best - corroborate warming systems available .
As well as heat devices , Genius Hub also works with motion sensors ( £ 44.99 ) that can be used to detect occupancy in a elbow room and then do some really ingenious things . Typically , apparent motion sensors ferment best in rooms that are in regular use , such as living rooms , dining way , kitchens and bedrooms .
you may also opt for an outside thermoregulator in each room to give you more accurate temperature sensing element readings . For model , if you use the radiator valve behind piece of furniture they may give out incorrect readings and shut your heating plant down too early .
at long last , Genius Hub sells impertinent stopple ( from £ 39.99 ) too , which can also act as range of a function extenders for its Z - waving sensors and Zigbee radiator valve . If you just need the chain - carry features , you could simply leave the smart plug on and use it as a normal spark plug socket .
Once your organisation has been design and the components order , they all amount pre - couple and labelled , so there ’s less of a task for a professional installer to deal with . Genius Hub can take care of the professional installation for you , although you may get your own plumber if you choose .
No matter the complexness of the system , Genius Hub can handle it . My organisation is an S Plan , with an external boiler in the flat block handling heat generation for the heating and hot piss armoured combat vehicle , the latter of which also has an submersion heater . Genius Hub had all of the necessary element to make everything work together .
Features
Once your system ’s install , you may start to manage how it works , which means devoting some time to get everything right-hand . It ’s fair to say that it ’ll take a matter of workweek rather than twenty-four hours to get everything the way you want it , which is pretty standard for any system that ’s more complicated than a single - geographical zone thermoregulator .
At its most basic , Genius Hub can work on a childlike docket , with one agenda per zona . Each geographical zone can be thought of as a elbow room and can take multiple warming equipment , which can be ensure independently of each other . Your docket simply have you set the target temperature and how long it should last for , for instance turn the heating up in your bedroom for when you wake up , turning it down during the day , then back up again for the eventide .
If you opt for move sensor , there are a few cracking deception that take Genius Hub to the next level . The first is Footprint mode , which uses the detector to detect occupancy , return a schedule mechanically based on two weeks of data . It ’s a move two weeks of data point , so as your pattern change , the schedule does too , much in the same way that then Learning Thermostatadjusts to usage .
There are also nimble actions that let you make manual adjustments to your occupancy - based Footprint mode schedule . lend oneself comfort mode to it will bridge over any lowly gap that may subsist in the schedule , while super - eco modality will require two mo of occupation to be detected before warming can begin .
It ’s clever , but Sense way is arguably even better . You first need to set your own docket , but for each time period you could set whether the organisation should react to occupancy ( motility ) . During these periods , if motion is discover the heating is turn on ; if there ’s no motion find , then Genius Hub will only sprain on the heating plant if the temperature drops below the lower limit you ’ve set . you may also set time periods where the temperature is ready regardless of occupancy .
It ’s the good of both worlds . For instance , in a bedroom , you’re able to pull a temperature overnight , when a gesture sensor may not blame up your move as you slumber . During the twenty-four hours , you may set your bedroom to pick up movement , so that you only get heat in that room when you ’re in there . This deals with unpredictable radiation diagram well , as room are congeal to derive on only when needed .
smartly , Sense also lets you choose how tenacious movement has to be present for before the heating is ferment on , such as five transactions . That have you move into a way and pick something up without twist the heating on straight off – particularly ready to hand for working from home plate .
Likewise , you could set how long it takes for the warming to turn off when there ’s no move observe . This means you could leave a way temporarily , or sit still watching TV without getting stale .
Sense mode is presently free in beta , but it may finally move into a paid - for subscription service . There are currently two paid - for tier up of backup available to customer , after the initial three - month time period of costless assistance is over . Email support be £ 1.99 per calendar month and phone support costs £ 4.99 per month . As withTado , the subscription charge is there to endorse the product and to keep the price down for new customers .
As there are no contracts necessitate with either military service , you could simply choose to pay for one or the other as and when you need assistance during the winter months , when you ’re most likely to be using Genius Hub . When the conditions warm up and you turn your radiator off , you may simply cancel the support through the app .
If you utilize Genius Hub to check your hot pee , you ’ll want to keep it plug in during the summer calendar month , but you could turn the zones off in the app , and when the weather gets colder , the Restore function will render them to their late state .
For those that do n’t want to pay for bread and butter , Genius Hub bring home the bacon an in - app Doctor feature that can troubleshoot any issues you may black market into . The app also include manuals , temperature and tenancy chart , and distant dominance of your heating and the survive modes , let in Footprint , as standard . Charts are a paid feature for Hive users .
temperature can also be overridden manually , either through the app or via one of the physical devices , such as a radiator valve or thermoregulator . The nonpayment nullification duration is an hour , but you could change this in the app , either on a zone - by - zona basis or en masse .
Overriding your agenda via the app is more involved , and while the Zigbee - enable radiator valve and thermostat respond to commands from the app almost instantly , the one-time Z - Wave radiator valves can take up to two minutes to react .
To annul any likely precariousness ensue from a holdup , it ’s in the main easiest to execute override command straight on the devices themselves . It ’s simple because they have screens , but from my experience irrespective of whether they pass over Zigbee or Z - Wave , they relay the information to the app within 20 seconds .
Each zona has some apt tricks , too . There ’s an algorithmic Window Open prick that detects when there ’s a rapid temperature dip in a zone due to an open window and exclude down the radiator valve , to not waste major power .
you’re able to also sprain on the Pre - heating setting in each Zone ’s contour page , which lets the heating plant start early on so that a room reaches the target temperature at the time you ’ve jell , rather than the default , which is for the heating to pop out at the fourth dimension you set up , which intend a elbow room can take a while to arrive at temperature . Genius Hub uses an outside conditions provender to shape out how long before time the heating system need to be turned on . As always , these feature of speech process to a arcdegree , but on a cold twenty-four hours that ’s very sunny in a south - facing way , a room may heat up quicker than expected .
If you ’ve got multiple gadget in a way , you’re able to set the order of priority for which one should be the passkey for temperature reading . By default , a way thermoregulator is the master temperature sensing element ( if you have one ) but you’re able to convert this if you wish to .
In most regard , then , Genius Hub is more powerful than the rival Honeywell Evohome scheme in all but one regard : I still like Evohome ’s Quick Actions , which let you cursorily change configurations , such as turning your heating to eco way ( turn all zones down by three degree ) or usance modality ( where you’re able to scat a customs duty schedule , such as when guests come to rest ) .
Genius Hub does n’t have a geolocation feature , although you could manually turn off your heating from the app or follow out a standardised feature using IFTTT , which there is documentation for . I have to say , though , the detection - based Sense mood makes more sense than geolocation anyway , as you ’re probable to only be heat the room that you ’re using .
Motion sensors can also be used to control any impudent plugs you ’ve got , move around them on and off automatically , such as to throw on a lamp as you walk into a room . you may set the period when you want this to materialize , although it would be nice if you could use softer boundaries , such as sunset and break of day , rather than set time . As such , the saucy plugs are a neat characteristic , but you might be better off , provided you do n’t ask range extension , with an alternative such as thePhilips Hue Smart Plug .
Finally , if you have red-hot water , you may coiffe the schedule you want . Genius Hub operates as more than just a round-eyed timer ascendency , using its integrated temperature sensors to let you set and measure your spicy body of water tank . you’re able to override the setting on the boiler and turn on an immersion heater for a primed menstruation , too .
Performance
I ’ve live with Genius Hub for three eld , and I ’m still surprised at how hefty and characteristic - pack it is .
I initially hightail it in Sense modality and base that it largely solve well , turning on the heating automatically when the organization picked up motility , and maintaining temperatures at other prison term . The only issue that I had was that there were occasions when my animation way question sensor was n’t able to detect movement from the lounge , turning the hotness off as a solvent .
To be comely , during induction I was state that the original position of the motion sensor may not be idealistic . Moving it solved the issue , and you may require to do the same if you run into the same problem , or else tot up another movement sensor to the mix .
I found both the sometime and new radiator valves to be extremely quiet – quieter than the equivalent Honeywell Evohome unity . The system submit a few weeks to settle down , as the valve first need to learn the maximum and minimum pin positions of each valve , but once that ’s done , they ’re super quiet . In a very quiet room , you’re able to get word the birr of the motor , but it ’s something that you ’ll barely note over time .
There ’s a dedicated Amazon Alexa Skill , and Google Assistant control is available via IFTTT . The latter need a routine more configuration to make it put to work properly , so this is a system better suited to those with Alexa .
The app is intuitive and easy to employ for the most part , but the gossamer plate of possibilities can be overpowering . The mechanically - generate movement - based features are doubly useful as a result . However , it ’s well deserving putting the effort in to make the most of the system .
For instance , the charts are a secondary feature that have just been mentioned in this review , yet they ’re an endless source of fascination on their own . The app maintains a chart for every zone , mapping the intricacies of the internal , out-of-door and aim temperature , as well as room occupancy , over the late hour , 24 hours , seven daytime and month .
It ’s a comprehensive well of data that you could build up your total heating schedule around , prioritising the cooler areas of your home at sure times of mean solar day , for instance , or shorten the length of a warming menstruation if a zone reach its target temperature more quickly than you ’d envisaged , but again it ’s most useful when you put the effort in to understand it .
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Should you buy it?
If you ’ve get a enceinte home and want full way - by - room control with the best energy savings , this is the system for you .
If you ’ve got an average - sized home , a mere organisation with few components may well suit you better .
Final Thoughts
If you want powerful multi - elbow room heating , then Genius Hub is the most comprehensive organization that we ’ve test . As well as cultivate with a myriad of heat system types , the system can also integrate movement detector , helping you spare Johnny Cash when you ’re not in a room . The results can be a little overpowering , but get the scene right and you ’ll have your house warm when you need it . This system is good for larger habitation , and if you ’ve got a small theatre , check out our scout to thebest smart thermostatsfor option .
Trusted Score
How we test
Unlike other land site , we test every sassy thermoregulator we brush up thoroughly over an extended period of time . We apply standard tests to compare feature properly . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , have money to review a production .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics policy .
FAQs
The new models run on Zigbee and respond faster to control ; the older ones used Z - Wave .
you may have up to 40 devices per hub , so very large homes are well catered for .
