How long does it take to heat water, and does it heat water if the heating
is on already?
If time is short or answer yes then single channel if water heat long or
separate to heating always, then 2

grin. The more I read about ch complexity, the more I'm glad I don't have
it!

Brian

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This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"NY" wrote in message
...
We're thinking of getting a Hive remote-controlled central heating
controller/thermostat so we can set our heating to come on several hours
before we get home from holiday etc.

I'm trying to work out whether we need a single- or dual-channel
controller. Hive's customer support was di they wouldn't offer any
advice and just said "speak to a qualified central heating installer".
Imagine not being able to offer any pre-sales advice!

We have a combi boiler which currently has a dual-timer: one for the
central heating and one for the hot water. The hot water is pre-heated in
a reservoir in the boiler, hence the reason for being able to time when
that pre-heat comes on and off, so it's not wasting fuel keeping the
reservoir hot overnight.

Hive say "single-channel for combi; dual channel for conventional boiler
with hot water cylinder". Our system sounds as if it has some features of
both: it's mostly heat-on-demand but with timed pre-heat of a small
reservoir in the boiler.

So, single or dual?