Eve, known from their Smart Home products which integrate well with Apple HomeKit, announced the Eve Thermo Control last month. Eve already offers the Eve Thermo radiator valve for years with support for HomeKit, but with support for Matter also works with Samsung SmartThings, Google Home and Amazon Alexa. The Eve Thermo Control is a small device with a display including a thermometer and humidity sensor. But more interesting, it allows you to control your Eve Thermo based on the temperature of the Thermo Control. This has several advantages, which we will discuss later. We’ve tested both the Eve Thermo and Thermo Control in the last weeks and share our experiences in this article.
Features
The Eve Thermo Control is a small device, 54 * 54 * 19 mm, which measures the current temperature and humidity and shows these details on the build-in screen. It has three captive buttons, which you can use to switch to the control menu and set the temperature of a connected Eve Thermo. It connects with up to 5 different Eve Thermo set as a group. Using the Eve Thermo Control allows you to use the temperature of the Thermo Control as a reference point. By placing the Thermo Control in the middle of the room, the Eve Thermo will heat the room as long as need to reach the set temperature in that spot of the room, instead of close to you radiators, where the heat directly impacts the temperature measured. While you were already able to correct the measured temperature in the app, this method is of course more reliable and more flexible to the actual conditions in the room.
The Eve Thermo Control works with Matter over Thread and can be added using a Apple hub with support for these protocols, either the Apple HomePod mini, HomePod (2nd generation) or Apple TV with Matter and Thread. Without an Eve Thermo, it will just add a thermometer and humidity sensor to your Smart Home Platform. When you combine the Thermo Control with one or more Eve Thermo, it unlocks remote control of your Radiator Valves. You can connect the Thermo Control to your Eve Thermo in the Eve app.
A few other specifications of the Eve Thermo Control:
- E-ink display with 320 * 320 pixels
- Measures temperatures between 0 and 50 degree Celsius and 5-95% humidity
- Accuracy of +/- 0.3 degrees celsius and +/- 3% humidity
- Rechargeable battery, charged with a USB-C cable (included)
- Compatible with Eve Thermo (4th generation) with Matter update
Installation
You can place the Eve Thermo Control at the spot where you want to measure the temperature. This can e.g. be in the middle of the room, to make sure the thermostat will heat the room until the set temperature is reached in the middle of the room. You can either set-up the device directly in the Apple Home app or the Eve app. Either way, to connect it to an Eve Thermo Radiator Valve, you will need the Eve app. Within the Eve, you go to settings -> Accessoires -> + button (top right) -> scan Matter QR code on the back of the Thermo Control -> Add to Home. After a few moments, it will aks you to choose the location of the Thermo Control, such as your living room. You can adjust the name of the device and the name of the humidity sensor and the temperature sensor. The Eve Thermo Control is now added to Apple HomeKit and you will be able to monitor the humidity and temperature in the room live in the Apple Home app, just like a regular sensor. The Eve app automatically shows a follow-up screen to assign the Eve Thermo Control to one or more Eve Thermo radiator valves. After a few seconds, the Eve Thermo Control is assigned to the selected Thermo devices and you’re done.
There are a few settings you can change within the Eve app. With the Display Layout setting, you can choose to either show the current temperature or the target temperature as the primary value on the display. The other value will also be shown, but as a small field below the primary temperature set. You can also toggle the Allow direct adjustment setting. If this is enabled, you can directly change the target temperature using the arrows on the Thermo Control, while you need to first press the settings button on top of the device is this setting is turned off. The only other setting is the Transmit Power option, which you can change based on how for the device is from your hub.
After these steps, the Eve Thermo Control is fully functional and can be used for monitoring the temperature and humidity, controlling your Eve Thermo devices and as a basis for your radiator valves to determine if the set temperature is reached.
Daily use
I’ve started using the Eve Thermo Control together with an Eve Thermo, so I also had to install the Eve Thermo. The Eve Thermo is delivered with 2 AA batteries, Adapter set and a mounting screw. After you place the batteries, you can remove your old radiator valve and install the Eve Thermo. While it works with most radiator valves, you might need either an adapter of the adapter set or buy your own adapter. In my case none of the adapters fitted my radiator, so I had to purchase one myself. With this adapter, the Eve Thermo could be installed and after a short calibration, I could add it to the Apple Home app and control the valve within Apple HomeKit and create automations.
After everything was connected, I could start using the Thermo Control. I’ve placed the device on my coffee table in the living room to make sure the room was heated until it reached the desired temperature at that spot in the room. Although I could already control the Eve Thermo with my smartphone, I found it very convenient to have another option at hand, without the need to grap my phone. The Thermo Control shows you the current temperature and you can directly adjust the temperature by just pressing the arrows on the device. This is also convenient for guests or anyone who wishes to not use a phone. It also makes sure the Eve Thermo doesn’t stop too soon as the temperature near the radiator can be different from the temperature in the rest of the room.
The Eve Thermo Control is a simple and intuitive device. It has basically everything you want it to have. Maybe it could’ve been nice if the arrows or another button the Eve Thermo Control was exposed to Matter. This could e.g. allow you to use this button to active a specific favourite setting of your thermostats or trigger a specific scenes to control other Smart Home devices.
Besides using automations to control the Eve Thermo, I found myself using the Eve Thermo Control more often than my smartphone when I was home, as it was usually in reach and easy to quickly change the temperature.
Conclusion
The Eve Thermo Control solves the issue where the temperature measurement near a radiator can be different from other parts of the room, adds insights in the current temperature and humidity and adds physical control of up to 5 Eve Thermo devices. This makes the Eve Thermo Control a nice addition if you already own several Eve Thermo devices. It’s easy to set up and supports Matter over Thread. A button exposed to Matter would’ve been nice, but definitely not a must. The Eve Thermo Control is an interesting option for anyone who likes to control their Eve Thermo devices without the need to grap a phone or use a voice assistant. It’s available for £69.99/€79.99 on Amazon (United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands).
