Worcester Bosch Wave – Review

The Wave thermostat is Worcester’s entry into the competitive smart thermostat market. Much like other smart thermostats, the Wave makes it easier to control your heating and hot water from your smartphone or tablet. Worcester is one of the UK’s most renowned boiler manufacturers and has produced some of the easiest-to-use programmers and thermostats. In this review, we will look at the main features of the Wave and why it is the perfect addition to your home heating system.

Features

Installation & Compatibility
The Worcester Wave comprises of a receiver unit and the thermostat. The receiver unit uses a simple 2-wire connection, which can be connected directly to any Worcester Greenstar boiler. If you do not have a Greenstar boiler, you can still retrofit the receiver unit to other Worcester boiler models (visit the Worcester Wave website and select “Is The Wave Suitable For Me” to find out whether your boiler is compatible).

Unlike other thermostats on the market, you need to run a small cable from the boiler to the thermostat’s location, which is a downside to the Wave. Once the connection between the thermostat and receiver unit is in place, you can then set up your heating schedules while the thermostat automatically downloads online weather data.

Design
The Wave comes with a stylish touchscreen interface and modern design. The thermostat displays the actual room temperature in the centre of the dial and the currently required temperature above it. There are also two touch buttons for clock mode to set time programmes and manual mode to set your preferred temperature.

Zoning
Unfortunately, the Wave can only control one central heating system at a time. However, you can still setup up to eight mobile or tablet devices to control a Wave thermostat via the app, which is great if you have a large family at home. If you do prefer a thermostat which offers the option to control multiple zones, you will be better off with a device such as the Nest.

The Wave App
The app is available to download for free on both the Apple and Google app store. Much like the thermostat, the app is incredibly easy to use due to its layout. The app mimics the thermostat’s display and offers the same functionality along with some extra features. You can set multiple time programmes with ease and monitor both your heating and hot water use. As mentioned before, you can install the app on various smartphones and devices to control the thermostat.

Weather Compensation
Upon installation, the Wave will download the latest local weather data to adjust heating settings for your home, which eliminates the need for an outdoor sensor. This feature will guarantee that your home will always stay at a comfortable temperature and that you’re not over- or underheating your home. The thermostat will be continuously updated with the latest weather reports to ensure that the outdoor temperature is used accurately to alter your indoor heating settings.

Summary

While the Wave is an excellent entry into the smart thermostat market from Worcester, it’s missing some of the critical features other thermostats benefit from.

Like most smart thermostats, you can certainly benefit from the remote access to your thermostats schedules and settings, along with an extensive list of options to optimise your heating. The problems begin with the lack of zoning, which may not be a problem for some homes, but in comparison with other smart thermostats, you will be unable to control multiple areas of your home. The other issue lies with the installation. You will have to install the device with a wire from the boiler to the thermostat, which is quite invasive when other similar devices will communicate wirelessly between the receiver and the thermostat.

Negatives aside, the Wave thermostat does come with a 1-year manufacturer’s warranty which will give you peace of mind in the long-run. Worcester is renowned for being a reliable brand that offers excellent customer support. The weather compensation feature is a great addition to the thermostat to reduce those rising energy bills and the simplistic design makes the thermostat incredibly easy to use. If you prefer an easy-to-use smart thermostat and you’re not too bothered by the installation process, the Wave thermostat could be your best choice.