Boilers & Heating
Hive installation
TL;DR
Hive is the easiest smart heating system to live with. A typical fit is 45-75 minutes and costs £190-£260 supplied and fitted. It doesn't support OpenTherm modulation (so no boiler-modulation gains), but for households that just want reliable scheduling, geofencing and Alexa control without a subscription, it's still the safest pick.
Hive was designed by British Gas engineers to be foolproof to fit and foolproof to use. That's exactly why we still recommend it for a lot of households — parents, renters, less-technical customers, holiday lets, older homes with quirky wiring. It'll wire onto essentially any UK heating system, the receiver is generously spec'd, and the app is the friendliest of the big three.
This page covers the current Hive line-up, what it costs supplied and fitted, and honestly where Hive is the right choice — and where Tado, Wiser or Nest suit better.
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Which Hive kit do you need?
The Hive Heating (v3) with a wall thermostat and a boiler receiver is the standard combi install. Hive Mini is the same brains without the wall unit — you control everything from your phone or an Alexa Show. Hive Heating & Hot Water is the version to buy if you have a hot water cylinder (Y-Plan / S-Plan / regular boiler) — it adds a second channel for HW scheduling.
- Hive Heating (v3): combi homes wanting a wall stat
- Hive Mini: combi homes that live in the app
- Hive Heating & Hot Water (v3): system/regular boilers with a cylinder
- Hive Multizone (up to 3 zones): larger homes or a granny annexe
- Hive Radiator Valves: room-by-room top-up over the base kit
How long does a Hive install take?
A straight combi swap is 45-60 minutes — receiver at the boiler, thermostat on the wall, hub plugged into the router. Y-Plan or S-Plan with hot water is 75-100 minutes because we're often re-terminating an old programmer at the wiring centre. Multizone or adding smart TRVs adds 20-30 minutes per zone.
Does Hive support OpenTherm?
No. Hive is a simple on/off system — the receiver either calls for heat or it doesn't. That means you don't get the boiler-modulation efficiency gain that Nest 3rd gen, Tado, Wiser and Vaillant vSMART give you on a modern combi. If your boiler is under about 8 years old and supports OpenTherm, and you're chasing every kWh of saving, we'll usually steer you at one of those instead. If it's older or Hive's simplicity matters more than 5-8% extra saving, Hive is the right call.
Will Hive work with my boiler and system?
Effectively yes. Hive Heating & Hot Water v3 is compatible with any combi, system or regular boiler in the UK — including older Potterton, Glow-worm, back-boilers behind gas fires and gravity-fed hot water. The receiver has enough wiring options to cover S-Plan, Y-Plan, Combi and Heat-Only setups. If we can find a heating cable at the wiring centre, we can wire in a Hive receiver.
Which voice assistants does Hive work with?
All three: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit (via the Hive Hub). This is one of Hive's genuine advantages — Nest is Google-only, Tado is best on Apple, but Hive works with whatever you already own. IFTTT and SmartThings routines are also supported.
Typical prices
Real-world ranges from recent Northwest jobs. Your final price is confirmed in writing before any work starts.
| Item | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hive Heating v3 — supplied & fitted (combi) | 190 – 240 | Receiver, stat, hub |
| Hive Mini — supplied & fitted (combi) | 165 – 210 | App-only, no wall stat |
| Hive Heating & Hot Water v3 — supplied & fitted | 220 – 280 | S-Plan / Y-Plan / regular |
| Straight swap (Hive customer-supplied) | 95 – 145 | Labour, wiring, pairing, test |
| Additional Hive smart TRV — supplied & fitted | 55 – 75 | Per radiator |
| Hive Multizone (2nd or 3rd zone) | 160 – 210 | Per additional zone |
| Hive Hub only replacement | 45 – 75 | Labour, pairing, re-linking devices |
| 12-month labour guarantee | included | Manufacturer 12-month on the kit |
Which brand should you fit?
We fit the full current Hive range including Hive Heating v3, Hive Mini, Hive Heating & Hot Water and Hive smart TRVs. We can also service and re-commission older Hive Active Heating kits — the wall units age well. We install and service Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, Ideal, Baxi, Viessmann and Alpha — none of them pay us commission and we don't push a "boiler of the month".
Our promise on this job
Flat £50 diagnostic — deducted in full from any work booked. Fair, transparent quote before we start. If we can't fix the fault we diagnosed, we refund the diagnostic. All gas work is signed off by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Talk to KJ about hive installation
Real triage in seconds. £50 diagnostic visit — refunded if we don't fix it.