Best Smart Thermostats for Heat Pumps UK 2026

The Short Answer

If you just want a recommendation: get the tado° V3+. It's the only mainstream thermostat that talks to your heat pump properly via OpenTherm, and that alone will knock 10–15% off your running costs compared to a basic on/off thermostat. If you're on a tight budget and your heat pump already has weather compensation built in (most modern ones do — ask your installer), the Hive Mini does the job for half the price.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

Here's the thing most people don't realise: a heat pump isn't like a gas boiler. Your old boiler fired up, blasted hot water around the radiators, then switched off. A heat pump works best when it runs gently for hours at a lower temperature. The way you control it makes a huge difference to how much electricity it uses — and a basic timer or old-fashioned thermostat is genuinely the wrong tool for the job.

The key feature to look for is OpenTherm. This is a communication protocol that lets the thermostat tell the heat pump exactly how hard to work, rather than just switching it on and off. Think of it like the difference between a dimmer switch and a light switch — OpenTherm lets you dial in the right amount of heat, wasting far less energy in the process.

The other big win is weather compensation: the thermostat automatically adjusts based on the outdoor temperature. On a mild 12°C day, your heat pump barely needs to work. On a -3°C night, it ramps up. A standard thermostat can't do this — it just reacts to the indoor temperature, which means it's always playing catch-up.

Our Picks

Best Overall: tado° V3+

The tado° is our top pick because it's one of very few thermostats that actually supports OpenTherm properly. That means it can modulate your heat pump — telling it to run at 35°C flow temperature on a mild day and 50°C when it's freezing — instead of just flicking it on and off. On/off control forces the heat pump to cycle, which wastes energy. OpenTherm keeps it humming along efficiently.

The geofencing is genuinely useful too. It detects when the last person leaves the house and gently backs off the heating, then pre-warms before you get home. For a heat pump, "gently" is the key word — unlike a gas boiler, you can't crank a heat pump up for a quick blast of warmth. The tado° understands this and makes gradual adjustments.

The app is clean, the hardware looks good on the wall, and tado° makes matching smart TRVs if you want per-room control (more on those below).

The catch: tado° charges about £3/month for some extras like auto-assist and detailed energy reports. The core thermostat works fine without the subscription, but it's annoying that features you'd expect to be included aren't. Still worth it for the OpenTherm savings alone.

Best Budget: Hive Mini

If you don't want to spend £150+ on a thermostat, the Hive Mini is a solid choice at £80–£120. It doesn't support OpenTherm — so it's on/off control only — but here's why that's often fine: most modern heat pumps (Vaillant, Mitsubishi, Daikin) have their own built-in weather compensation that adjusts flow temperature automatically. If your heat pump is already doing the clever stuff internally, you don't need the thermostat to do it too.

What the Hive does give you is smart scheduling, app control, and geolocation — so you're not heating an empty house. It's well supported by UK energy suppliers, the hardware is reliable, and there's no subscription fee. If your installer tells you the heat pump handles weather compensation on its own, save your money and go with Hive.

Best for Google Homes: Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen)

If your house already runs on Google Home, the Nest is the natural choice. Its party trick is auto-scheduling — it watches your habits for a week, then builds a heating programme automatically. It does support OpenTherm, putting it on par with the tado° for efficiency, and the 4th-gen display is genuinely nice to look at and use.

The downsides: it's the most expensive option at £190–£230, and it locks you into the Google ecosystem. There are no Nest-branded smart TRVs, so if you want per-room control you'll need a third-party solution. If you're not already a Google Home household, there's no compelling reason to pick this over the tado°.

Comparison Table

Feature	tado° V3+	Hive Mini	Nest 4th Gen
Price	£130–£170	£80–£120	£190–£230
OpenTherm	Yes	No	Yes
Weather compensation	Via OpenTherm	No (relies on heat pump)	Via OpenTherm
Geofencing	Yes	Yes	Yes
Auto-learning schedule	No	No	Yes
Smart TRV ecosystem	tado° TRVs	Hive TRVs	No native TRVs
Subscription	Optional (£3/mo)	No	No
Smart home	Alexa, Google, Apple	Alexa, Google	Google Home only

Do You Need Smart TRVs Too?

Honestly? If you have more than two bedrooms, yes. Smart TRVs let you turn down rooms you're not using — and that matters a lot with a heat pump, because every degree of unnecessary heating costs electricity. If you're out at work and only the living room needs to be warm, why heat three bedrooms? See our full smart TRV comparison guide for the detailed breakdown.

The tado° Smart Radiator Thermostats are the obvious choice if you're already using a tado° thermostat — the whole system talks to each other. The Drayton Wiser system is a good alternative and tends to be a bit cheaper per valve. Either way, expect to save an extra £50–£100 per year, which means a 4-pack pays for itself within two to three years.

A Note on Installation

All three thermostats are DIY-friendly if you're comfortable with basic wiring. But if you want OpenTherm to work properly — and that's the whole point of buying the tado° or Nest — it's worth asking your heat pump installer to set it up. Get the wiring wrong and the heat pump defaults to less efficient on/off mode, and you might not even realise. Five minutes of the installer's time is worth it.

For more on cutting your heat pump bills, see our running costs guide. Still choosing a heat pump? Our best heat pumps guide covers the top brands.