Review: the Anna smart thermostat

01Conclusion of the Anna smart thermostat review

Once you get started with Anna, you can switch on the temperature remotely or use a time schedule, just like with the old-fashioned energy clock. One option is geofencing. This function knows when you are almost home and preheats the house. If you have a fixed work pattern, Anna is a godsend. But if you work irregular hours, you get less out of this smart thermostat. Because Anna then learns the wrong pattern, so that you come home to a cold house or leave a warm house. The design, on the other hand, is very attractive. One advantage of Anna is that it can heat up in a self-learning way, but can also heat up in a modulating way if desired. You can buy this thermostat yourself or you can get it through a subscription with the energy supplier. Such a subscription costs around 60 euros per year.

02Full review of Anna

Anna's self-learning algorithm is comparable to that of the Nest Google Nest Learning Thermostat. This means that Anna learns how you deal with the temperature, when you come home, when you leave and so on. Based on this, Anna adjusts the schedule. It is a function we are fans of, but here it only works well when the occupant has a certain regularity in their life. Otherwise Anna can even waste energy because it needlessly switches on the heating while the occupant is nowhere to be seen.

Anna also has another tool we are fans of: geofencing. With geofencing the heating only switches on when you are near your home. This counters the drawback of the self-learning algorithm. You do, however, have to switch on the GPS functions on your smartphone and have constant access to the internet, which, especially with cheaper smartphones, quickly results in a drained battery. Moreover, the geofencing functionality turns out not to always work equally well.

Anna also has a learning programme, as many other smart thermostats do. This learning programme gets to know the temperature characteristics of your home. So it knows how long it takes to heat up your home and how quickly your home cools down again. This allows it to switch the heating on and off at the perfect moment and you always have the desired temperature when you get up and when you go to bed. A plus point is that you can also tinker with this a bit, so you are not obliged to choose the energy-guzzling comfort mode. With the eco mode the heating kicks in just a little later without you having to shiver from the cold, and at the same time you still save some energy.

As far as installation is concerned, you may be busy for a while. You have to connect the gateway to the Anna thermostat, a cable also has to run to the central heating boiler, you need a socket and you also need an internet connection. For the latter you can replace the ethernet cable with a stable wifi connection, but do remember that 5 GHz is not supported. In other words, it can be quite a puzzle to place everything. If you already had a smart thermostat and have already run the necessary cables, it can of course be easier.

Design and styling

On the positive side is the design of the heating schedules and the programming environment. Programming is very intuitive, certainly compared with some other smart thermostats, and the display is also sufficiently clear. You certainly do not need a maths degree to decipher the graphs. We are equally pleased with both the app and the digital browser environment.

The design of Anna is distinctive and modern. We personally like the metal side, but from other people we heard just the opposite. What many people do respond positively to is the backlighting with which Anna shows that she is indeed doing what you ask. Completely useless, but quite fun.

Support and assistance

We also took a close look at the support, which is always useful for anyone who runs into minor problems. The telephone number is simply in the manual and a quick call is all it takes. You then have to deal with a recording and dial tones, but after a few minutes you already have someone on the line. Our experience is positive and we were helped both kindly and clearly, but of course a lot also depends on who you get on the line. The human factor simply plays an important role here.

The Anna app supports a number of integrations for a smart home. For example, you can connect Anna to Homey to set up a number of flows. Even so, there are quite a few limitations in this respect. Anna does not support Google Home, for example. So you cannot do anything with that. One solution could be to have Google Home control your Homey, which then controls your Anna, but that is very cumbersome. You can also use the Anna app on Android and iOS, but not on devices with other operating systems. This too is a minor drawback.

Please note: the Anna app is no longer being developed further. This may have consequences for later helpdesk support.

Price and privacy

All in all, the price of Anna is somewhat on the high side for what it can do. One plus point, though, is that you do not have to deal with subscription costs. If you have a hybrid Elga heat pump, you do have to pay an extra fifty euros to have the advanced Elga support switched on. For this you contact the helpdesk. A bit cumbersome, but fine.

One plus point, though, is that all data is stored locally. So no data is shared with third parties, or at least not without being asked. Moreover, you are not dependent on your energy supplier. So you can still switch and keep using Anna without any problems.

03Connecting to the network

First of all you set up the connection to the network. For this you use the Smile T230, the supplied adapter, the supplied adapter cable and your smartphone or tablet. Connect the adapter cable to the adapter and to your Smile T230. Put the plug in the socket, wait until the Smile T230 has started up and the lights are flashing slowly. Now connect the Smile T230 to the network and go through the steps. For this you need your Smile ID and the password of your wifi network. The exact procedure depends on the network connection chosen. The simplest is a LAN connection or wifi via WPS, where you press the WPS button on your router and the black button on the Smile T230.

04Connecting the Smile T230

After connecting to the network, it is time to connect your Smile T230. For this you use the mounting cable and the installation cable for the central heating boiler. The exact connection method depends on the type of boiler, but in any case only connect the Smile T230 to the on/off connection (max. 230V, 5A) and never connect it directly to the boiler. Of course, do not forget to disconnect both your Smile T230 and the central heating boiler from the power beforehand. Then mount the mounting plate on the wall and mount the Smile T230. Consult the installation manual for specific instructions.

05Connecting Anna

To connect Anna you of course need Anna, but also the Anna mounting plate. You hang the mounting plate on an interior wall at a height of 160 centimetres. Do this in a place where the temperature can be measured well, not in the sun, not in a draught, not in a damp environment and not near a source of cold or heat. Ideally you can simply take the old thermostat off the wall and replace it with Anna. Then you also immediately have the central heating wires that you can connect to the connector. If this is not the case, you have to run these central heating wires through. After placing the mounting part you can click Anna onto it.

06Installing the Anna app

Finally, you install the Anna app on your smartphone or tablet. You can find it in Apple's App Store or in Google Play. Make sure your smartphone or tablet is connected to the same internet network as Anna and then you only have to follow the instructions on the app's start screen. All sorts of details are requested, but these details are needed for the configuration and for Anna to work properly. To finish, check whether the installation has succeeded by turning the temperature down with the app and checking whether the flame of the central heating boiler does indeed go out.

07How do you install Anna?

While Anna has to be mounted on the wall, the system also comes with a gateway called Smile. This Smile handles the communication and has to be connected to the central heating boiler, but also to the network. The exact connection method depends on whether you use Anna together with the Smile T or with the Smile T230. In the step-by-step plan below we start from the second situation. Consult the supplied installation manual for installation in combination with the Smile T.

08Frequently asked questions about Anna

We notice that quite a few people have questions about the Anna thermostat and how to use it. That is why we are taking the time to answer a number of these questions. Below we have put the frequently asked questions into a handy overview.

Not really, but it is important that updates are downloaded and installed. You do this via “Mijn Anna”. You can simply clean it with a soft cloth. Above all, keep the ventilation holes open and free of dust. Otherwise there is little you need to do and Anna will simply keep functioning after, for example, a power cut.