British Gas has announced that its Hive Active Heating 2 is now available, adding “plumbed” multi-zone support, heating boost and a new holiday mode.
Hive Active Heating 2, which replaces the first-generation Hive Active Heating system, features a completely re-designed thermostat that’s been created in partnership with designer Yves Behar.
British Gas claims the new version is easier to use, and can be more easily matched to your home’s decor thanks to the availability of a range of Dulux paint-matched casings.
Kassir Hussain, Director of British Gas Connected Homes, said “
the only UK provider to deliver the complete connected home end-to-end
experience
installation and on-going support.”
New features include the addition of heating boost for up to six hours, improved schedule flexibility, a holiday mode and support for multi-zone control in homes that already have multiple zones plumbed for their home.
Related: Nest vs Hive: Which is the best smart thermostat?
Hive Active Heating 2 will cost new customers £249 (with installation); existing Hive owners can get the new thermostat for £99 for a limited time only.
It’s on sale today and installations will begin in August.
New range of connected home products coming soon
British Gas has also announced a new range of complementary Hive products to expand its connected-home system.
Autumn will see the launch of Hive Active Plugs, Hive Motion Sensors, Hive Window and Door Sensors and Hive Active Lights.
Management of all these products will be via the same app used for the Active Heating system, which is based on the Honeycomb platform that the company acquired when it bought AlertMe earlier this year.
“We’re already working to give our customers even more ways to customise how they control their homes with Hive, so they can create personalised ‘recipes’ to fit with their lifestyles,” said Hussain.
He also mentioned the possibility of British Gas opening up its platform to third parties, saying to “expect further announcements on this over the coming months.”
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.