Review: the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 smart thermostat

01The smart Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 thermostat in brief

Unlike some other smart thermostats, the EasyControl Set CT200 is not self-learning. It is, however, possible to determine presence in the home using geofencing. The temperature is adjusted accordingly. The only part that is self-learning is pre-heating optimisation. With this you set the desired temperature at the desired time. In the first weeks after using it, the system learns exactly when the home is warmest at what time. You can operate the set using a supplied app. With a recommended price of almost 400 euros for the set, you get a thermostat and three smart radiator valves.

02Full review of the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200

The Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 is a smart thermostat that also offers hot water and zone control as options. For the latter, you do have to combine the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 with the Smart Radiator Thermostat from Bosch, which means we automatically have to include the latter in this review. Incidentally, you are not obliged to buy it and the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 can also work without it, but then you do not have the zone control options.

This smart thermostat is designed for use in combination with the EMS appliances from Bosch and Nefit. Other protocols are supported, but then you are obliged to buy an adapter and incur extra costs. Whereas the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 is available for around 250 euros, you quickly spend quite a lot extra on additional radiator valves (+/- 60 euros each) and the required adapter (+/- 45 euros). For a complete home with some six radiators, the costs therefore quickly add up and the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 has to measure up to the better and more expensive smart thermostats. It is also in this light that this review was written.

This brings us straight to an important drawback: it is not a self-learning thermostat. Indeed, for this price you get a smart thermostat that is not able to recognise your rhythm. Nor is the thermostat dead stupid, because it does have, for example, geofencing functionalities and other functions such as the fireplace function and pre-heating optimisation. Even so, the lack of the self-learning functionality is, as far as we are concerned, a big omission that is hard to make up for. If, on the other hand, you do not exactly have a constant lifestyle and live very irregularly, this does not make all that much difference.

Finally, you operate the whole system via the EasyControl app, which is available for Android and iOS devices. Among other things, this app gives insight into your energy consumption and in this way helps you save further. We consider this an important functionality and it is good that the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 has this function. The installation, which is simpler than with other smart thermostats, is also something we are enthusiastic about, but we will come back to that later.

Design of the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200

The design of the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 is, how shall we put it, distinctive. Modern and white (also available in black) like many other smart thermostats, but still remarkably different. You get a hefty 7 inch box that you have to hang on your wall, and not a round Nest or square Tado. It is completely covered in glass and this makes it look rather luxurious, but we actually do not know why it had to be so big. In the end, everything simply revolves around the circle in the middle of the display.

There are a number of things we are quite enthusiastic about. For example, the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 has Ambient Light and is equipped with a motion sensor. This way the display switches on automatically when you are nearby, but it does not needlessly use energy.

However luxurious the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 may be, the radiator valves look less attractive. Just ordinary plastic and a cheap appearance. If you tap on them briefly, you also notice straight away that they did not even use the best plastic. The question is of course also whether we should expect much from the design of a smart radiator valve, given that the ordinary radiator valve is not really attractive either. We may expect more from the app, though, because it is very soberly designed.

App and integration

As said before, you have to deal with a sober app. If you take a look at the graphs, they mainly remind you of the Excel graphs we made in primary school. Here you really notice the difference between a software specialist such as Google and a hardware expert such as Bosch. The app is handy, though. On the home screen, for example, you can change the temperature straight away and find a number of data. If you have a bit of experience reading graphs, this is really child's play with the EasyControl app. Programming the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 via the app is not very complicated either. The start screen of the EasyControl app is, incidentally, virtually a copy of that of the smart thermostat, which makes it all even more accessible.

We also need to talk about the smart home integration options. For example, you can connect the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 to Amazon Alexa. This lets you ask Alexa about the temperature in the kitchen or ask her to raise the temperature in a particular room. No need to get off your sofa, and that is always nice. The best thing, however, is the IFTTT support, because it really makes a lot possible. For example, you can set it up to receive an email when the temperature drops below a certain value, or you can have the temperature in your home recorded in a Google spreadsheet.

Reliability and price

When we tried out the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200, it had only just come onto the market and the system was still struggling with all sorts of teething problems. For example, the wifi sometimes dropped out for a few minutes and the geofencing functionality turned out to be fairly unreliable. These are things they eventually solved with a few updates, but for this price they should have got it right straight away.

That last point is therefore our main point of criticism: the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 does lack a number of functionalities that we may expect for this price. The lack of self-learning functionalities is a sore point, but having weather-dependent control rammed down your throat is also something we may call a drawback. Automatic weather-dependent control and self-learning functionalities do, after all, provide extra comfort.

03Fitting the adapter

If you have a central heating boiler with EMS 1.0 or EMS 2.0, in practice usually a modern Nefit appliance, you may skip this step and go straight to the next step. Otherwise, for example if your central heating boiler works via the OpenTherm protocol, you first have to fit an adapter. This adapter sits between the thermostat and the central heating boiler. In practice it is enough to cut the cable and place the adapter in between. With a new installation you can of course fit a bell cable yourself, with the adapter in between. Even handier is to buy the right central heating boiler straight away so that you do not have to do this.

04Installing the smart thermostat

First of all, the smart thermostat has to be installed. If you already had a thermostat hanging, this saves a lot of work. All you then have to do is take the old thermostat off the wall, unscrew the two connection wires, mount the new mounting plate and of course also reattach the wires and fit the smart thermostat. However, this procedure only applies if you do not need an adapter.

05Fitting the radiator valves

In the next step you fit the smart radiator valves from Bosch. If the central heating system can be fully or partly closed, you also have to fit a differential pressure regulator. The exact fitting method depends on the type of radiator, but all the required nuts and sleeve nuts are supplied in any case. The installation manual contains instructions per type of radiator.

06Installing the EasyControl app

Now download the EasyControl app from the App Store or from Google Home. Install the application and follow the registration procedure. In this situation you then choose the control algorithm 'weather-dependent control'. You enter this by successively going to 'settings', 'heating' and 'weather-dependent control'. You add the radiator valves by scanning the QR code. Go through all the steps in the app and do not forget to calibrate the radiator valves using the app. Adding Amazon Alexa and the like is also all done via this EasyControl app.

07How do you install the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200?

One of the things Bosch boasts about is the fairly simple installation of the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200. Simplicity is of course always subjective, but if you already have a thermostat hanging in your home it is certainly not rocket science. Using the step-by-step plan below you can install the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 yourself. In principle, installing the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 should not take longer than an hour or so. The exact installation method depends on the heating system. Below we start from a system with multiple radiators and zone control.

08Frequently asked questions about the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200

On Black Friday the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 is often sold at big discounts and people sometimes buy it without much know-how. We never recommend this, however. It is better to inform yourself properly beforehand and choose a smart thermostat deliberately. So be sure to read through the FAQ below.

Always. The settings are stored locally and by hanging the thermostat back up, everything will work again. Even when taking it to another home or during a power cut, the settings are in principle retained. When moving house, the new location does have to be recorded in the app. When selling second-hand, it is advisable to restore the Bosch EasyControl Set CT200 to its factory settings.