Hive Thermostat Review: The Heating and Hot Water Kit, Hub and All
The full-size Hive Thermostat, the one with the dial, is still on Hive’s own UK shop in October 2026 at £119, and the heating and hot water kit with a hub is in stock at Screwfix and Toolstation. A 2026 editorial test, a MoneySavingExpert owners’ thread and 46 Screwfix buyers all like it. The things that catch people out are the hub, which kit to buy for a hot-water cylinder, and what the subscription really adds.
Where the reviews line up
Our three sources are an editorial test by Emily Peck at T3 (April 2026), the owners posting in a MoneySavingExpert Forum thread, and the buyer ratings at Screwfix, where the heating and hot water kit scores 4.8/5 from 46 reviews. TechRadar’s 2025 test of the same generation fills in some gaps.
All three agree on the basics. It is simple, it is reliable, and the app is the main way you use it. T3 calls it “a good value buy” with “a well-designed app that makes it easy to create heating schedules”. One MoneySavingExpert owner says it has been “100% reliable over the four or so years we have had it”. All three also agree it is not clever. It does not learn your routine. T3 lists that as a con, and the forum owners use it as a schedule-and-boost controller, nothing more.
The complaints are about the app and the subscription, not the hardware. Several forum owners say the app has been “flaky”, and one says it misbehaves when the clocks change. T3 lists “subscription needed for full features” as a con. You do not need Hive+ to run your heating. Schedules, boost and hot water control all work without it. It costs £3.99 a month or £39.90 a year and adds spending tools, Saver Mode and a longer warranty.
Buy the right kit for your boiler. If you have a hot-water cylinder, you need the heating and hot water version, which uses a two-channel receiver and switches the boiler on and off (relay). Hive says OpenTherm, and its claimed “up to 12%” extra saving, is “for compatible combi boilers only”. So the cylinder kit does not get it.
The three reviews this summary is built from
- T3Editorial test by Emily Peck, published 26 April 2026. “A good value buy”, no score given.
- MoneySavingExpert Forum“Hive - opinions please?” — 8 owners sharing experience on the first page: 4 positive, 3 mixed, 1 negative.
- Screwfix4.8/5 from 46 reviews on the V4 heating and hot water kit with hub (275YU), 11 October 2026.
Before the review: is the hub included?
The sources do not agree, and this is the £70 question.
- Hive’s own page (£119) lists the box as the thermostat, a receiver, 4 × AA batteries and a user guide. There is no hub in that list. But the same page’s FAQ says “Just buy your first thermostat (this comes with Hive Hub)”.
- TechRadar (February 2025) says “You need a compatible Hive Hub for the Hive Thermostat to work” and that a hub costs £70 extra. T3 (April 2026) also prices the hub at £70.
- Retail kits say “with hub” in the name. Screwfix’s 275YU kit (£165) lists “thermostat, receiver, hub, ethernet cable, plug, USB power lead, wall plugs and batteries (4)”. Toolstation’s AB155 (£199) says “Hive Hub included – connects to a spare ethernet port on your router”.
Our reading is that the £119 price on Hive’s site may or may not include a hub, and the retail kits that say “with hub” definitely do. Before you pay, check the basket or the box list. The hub plugs into your router with a cable.
Specification at a glance
| Spec | Figure | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £119 at Hive (£107.10 for Hive+ members). £165 at Screwfix (kit with hub, 275YU). £199 at Toolstation (kit with hub, AB155). £189 at EE (out of stock) | All checked 11 October 2026 |
| In the box (Hive) | Thermostat, receiver, 4 × AA batteries, user guide | Hive’s product page. Toolstation says 4 × AAA. Screwfix says 4 batteries and adds a hub, cable, plug and USB lead |
| Hub | Disputed. Hive’s FAQ says the first thermostat “comes with Hive Hub”. TechRadar and T3 say the hub is £70 extra | See the box above |
| Hot water | On/off, schedules and boost (5 minutes to 6 hours) for a stored-water cylinder. You cannot set the water temperature from the thermostat | Hive’s product page FAQ |
| Boiler types | Screwfix 275YU: “System & Heat Only Boilers”. Separate OpenTherm kits are sold for combis | Screwfix and Toolstation |
| OpenTherm | “For compatible combi boilers only”. Claimed “up to 12%” extra saving against a standard room thermostat | Hive’s claim. Nobody has tested it independently |
| Compatibility | Most gas and LPG boilers. Oil boilers with an existing thermostat or programmer. Electric boilers with a standard room thermostat. Not storage heaters or electric underfloor heating. Heat pumps and solid fuel not guaranteed | Hive’s product page |
| Thermostat size | 95.9 × 95.9 × 46.2 mm (31.4 mm deep without the dial). 265 g with batteries, 172 g without | Hive |
| Receiver | 90 × 90 × 36.8 mm, 230 V mains. Dual-channel (heating and hot water) 166 g with back plate | Hive |
| Temperature range | 5–32°C | Screwfix spec table |
| Connections | Zigbee between the devices, 2.4 GHz. Works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit | Hive and Screwfix |
| Fitting | Hive offers a British Gas-backed engineer and a free year of Hive+ with pro-install, but its page shows no price. TechRadar quoted £109 in February 2025 | Price not confirmed on Hive’s page |
| Hive+ | £3.99 a month or £39.90 a year | Hive’s product page and shop listing |
| Guarantee | 1 year. Ongoing warranty while you subscribe to Hive+ | Hive. Screwfix also says 1 year |
T3
Who they are: Emily Peck is a freelance lifestyle journalist who writes about smart home, interior design, gardens and wellbeing for T3, TechRadar, Livingetc, Wired, Ideal Home and GQ, and says she has tested everything from mattresses to paddleboards; her T3 profile does not say how long she has covered heating controls, so read this as a careful owner’s test rather than a specialist’s.
Peck had the thermostat fitted professionally and lived with it for about two months on a combi boiler. Her pros are “quick, professional installation”, “useful added extras, including geolocation reminders”, energy insights and good value. She says it was “set up in under an hour by a British-gas registered engineer”, and points out that wiring to the boiler is a job for a professional. Her cons are that a subscription is needed for the full features (though a trial was included) and that it is “unable to learn your behaviour and build a heating schedule”.
Two limits on her test. She has a combi, so she did not test the hot-water side. She says Hive has “limited functionality for a cylinder hot water system”: on, off and schedules. And she did not measure savings. She quotes Hive’s “up to £158 per year” claim (Hive’s page now says £182) and says “it’s hard to say how effective it will be in the long run”. TechRadar’s Vic Hood, testing the same generation in February 2025, came to the same view, saying it “won’t necessarily reduce your heating bill”.
Watch: My Honest Review of Hive Thermostat
An owner’s review of the full-size Hive Thermostat, the closest video match to an editorial verdict. We confirmed it from search listings only, and we cannot say which generation it shows.
Watch on YouTube ↗ Independent YouTube video — not made by or for Shopbam.MoneySavingExpert Forum
Who they are: The MoneySavingExpert Forum is the reader discussion board attached to the MoneySavingExpert consumer-finance site, where members swap buying experiences and complaints; posts are unverified personal accounts, so we weigh recurring patterns across threads rather than any one post.
This is the long-term view the editorial tests cannot give. The thread mixes owners of the full-size thermostat and the Mini, and the page does not show the year the thread started, so treat it as background. The strongest positive comes from lohr500, who runs a thermostat and hub: “100% reliable over the four or so years we have had it”. They use the schedules without a subscription and say that is enough. They also programme their hot water, which they count as an improvement on their old controller. Others call it “reliable and easy to use”, and one has “never” had an app problem in three years.
The complaints are about the app. Two owners say it has been “flaky” recently, and one says it often has problems “when the clocks change”. That same owner dislikes the heating coming back on “as soon as it drops by 0.1 degree”. Two owners put Hive+ at about £50 a year. Hive now charges £39.90, so those posts may be older or include other extras. lohr500 tried Hive’s radiator valves, was disappointed and went back to manual valves. That is worth knowing if you are planning room-by-room control.
Watch: Hive Thermostat and Radiator Valves Review
An owner’s look at the thermostat used with Hive radiator valves, the add-on one forum owner gave up on. We confirmed it from search listings only, and we cannot say which generation it shows.
Watch on YouTube ↗ Independent YouTube video — not made by or for Shopbam.Screwfix
Who they are: Screwfix’s star ratings come from customers reviewing their registered purchases, authenticated by Bazaarvoice, and a Trade Rated badge needs at least one trade customer’s review; reviewers can win vouchers, so read them as buyer experience rather than testing.
This is the kit most cylinder households will actually buy. Screwfix sells it itself, it can be collected the same day, and the spec table is the clearest we found. It says “Smart Hub Supplied”, gives the boiler type as “System & Heat Only Boilers”, the temperature range as 5–32°C and the guarantee as one year. The box list includes the hub, an ethernet cable, a plug and a USB power lead, so you do need a spare port on your router.
A 4.8 average from 46 buyers is high, and Screwfix’s buyers include tradespeople who fit these for a living. But the review text did not load for us, so we can give you the score and the count, not the reasons behind them. The same kit is £199 at Toolstation and was £189 and out of stock at EE on the same day. That makes Screwfix’s £165 the best price we found for the hub kit.
Watch: Hive Thermostat vs Hive Mini Comparison - Which one should you get?
A side-by-side of the full-size thermostat and the cheaper Mini, which is the choice most Screwfix shoppers face. We confirmed it from search listings only.
Watch on YouTube ↗ Independent YouTube video — not made by or for Shopbam.Strengths and weak points
What holds up
- Reliable hardware. One owner reports four years without a fault.
- Proper hot-water control for cylinder systems: schedules, on/off and a boost of up to six hours.
- A physical dial and boost on the wall, as well as the app.
- Schedules, boost and holiday mode work without a subscription.
- Works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit.
- Hive offers a refund within 14 days if it cannot be fitted in your home.
What people complain about
- The app is reported as “flaky” by some owners, especially around clock changes.
- It does not learn your routine. You set the schedule yourself.
- The best tools (Saver Mode, Budget Tracker, Schedule Assist) need Hive+, and TechRadar says they do not work with radiator valves.
- No OpenTherm on the heating and hot water kit. It is a combi-only feature.
- The hub needs a wired connection to your router, and the sources disagree on whether £119 includes it.
- One-year guarantee unless you keep paying for Hive+.
The savings claim, checked
Hive’s page says you could “save up to £182 a year”. Its footnote says this is £181.62, based on Ofgem’s medium gas use of 9,500 kWh a year at 7.966p per kWh (the October 2026 average, including VAT). Our sum: 9,500 kWh at 7.966p comes to about £757 of gas a year, so Hive’s figure means cutting nearly a quarter of that. That is a best case for a household moving from no controls or poor ones. It is not what you will save if you already have a working programmer and room thermostat. T3 quoted an older claim of “up to £158”. The Hive+ line that the top 30% of monthly savings were “£17.99 or more” is, by Hive’s own wording, the top 30% of customers. Neither T3 nor TechRadar measured any saving. Any saving comes from setting schedules and turning the heating down when you are out.
Who it actually suits
Buy it if you have a system or heat-only boiler with a hot-water cylinder, want app control of both heating and hot water, and like a proper dial on the wall. The Screwfix hub kit is the simplest way to get everything in one box. It also suits households already using Alexa or HomeKit; an Echo Dot Max will run boost and hot water by voice.
Look elsewhere if you have a combi and only need heating. The cheaper Hive Thermostat Mini, or an OpenTherm kit, will do that job. Also look elsewhere if you want a thermostat that learns your habits, if you have a heat pump, or if you want a longer guarantee without a subscription. In that case, compare it with tado X and the Nest Learning Thermostat before you buy.
What we could not check
- Whether £119 at Hive includes the hub. Hive’s FAQ says the first thermostat “comes with Hive Hub”, but its box list shows no hub. TechRadar and T3 say the hub costs £70 extra. Check your basket.
- Hive’s own fitting price. Hive’s product page offers pro-install with a free year of Hive+ but shows no price. The £109 figure is TechRadar’s, from February 2025.
- Battery type. Hive says 4 × AA, Toolstation says 4 × AAA, and Screwfix just says 4.
- Hub generation. Toolstation’s product name says “Nano 3 Hub”, but its spec table says “Hive Hub v3”.
- The 12% OpenTherm saving and the £182 saving are Hive’s claims. No independent source has measured either.
- Hive’s “recommended by Which? experts” badge. We found no published Which? test result to check it against.
- Screwfix review text. Only the score and count were visible to us, so we cannot say what is behind them.
- The MoneySavingExpert thread’s date. The page does not show the year, and the thread covers the Mini as well as this thermostat.
- Hot water in an editorial test. T3’s tester has a combi, and TechRadar says the hot-water button is redundant on a combi. Neither tested a cylinder.
- The videos. We confirmed all three from YouTube search listings (each title and link appeared in two differently worded searches), not by opening them. The listings did not name the channels, and we cannot say which hardware generation each one shows.
- Long-term reliability. Beyond one forum owner’s four years, none of our sources covers more than a review period.
Sources last checked 11 October 2026. Kit contents, hub bundling and Hive+ terms change often, so check the part number and the box list in front of you before ordering.