Skip to main content

Chameleon ivie Bud In Home Display (IHD) - an honest review

Chameleon ivie Bud In Home Display (IHD) - an honest review
Show first post

71 replies

Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Carbon Cutter*****
  • 15 replies
  • March 18, 2022
Chris J wrote:
chartman wrote:

That’s me…. also IVIE Bud stil suffers connection problems/dropuot the same as my Chameleon 3. Be it software, interference, poor link budget I’ll never get to know. They both have to sit in the garage ( 2M from the HUB) until they finally rejoin properly and show data. Then I move them back into the lounge where it’s actually useful to have them…. In the garage it’s pointless. How long they last before they drop out again is anyones guess as is how long they take to rejoin properly….

I don’t have that trouble (yet) My Bud is situated next to my broadband hub and about 3-4 metres from the meters situated in the garage below and with a concrete floor/ceiling in between! I’m not sure it’s vital to have them near the meters as the connection is wi-fi.

They have to be next to/near to the HUB. How else do they get real time data for electric? IVIE told me that wi-fi is just used as a diagnostic port…. mind you it’s hard to know who to trust when it comes to smart meters. Current company excluded...


  • Carbon Cutter**
  • 7 replies
  • March 18, 2022

They have to be next to/near to the HUB. How else do they get real time data for electric? IVIE told me that wi-fi is just used as a diagnostic port…. mind you it’s hard to know who to trust when it comes to smart meters. Current company excluded...

 

Yes, sorry just came back into forum to delete my last sentence as I realised what I wrote could not be the case, Too late! There are bars on the Bud that tells you signal strength from the meters, mine is 3 out of 4, sometimes 2, which is v.good considering the distance!


Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Author
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • 7986 replies
  • March 18, 2022

There’s a one hour edit window to preserve integrity of the content here. However, you’re not out of luck @Chris J . There is a second option to edit your post with. If you have a chat with @Tim_OVO or @Jess_OVO either via PM or by sending an email to forum@ovoenergy.com they’ll be happy to make the edit on your behalf. As much as I’d be happy to do that for you, I’m afraid I don’t have the permissions to edit someone else's content.


  • New Member*
  • 1 reply
  • September 9, 2022

I am thinking of buying this product and their support have told me the app even with their Ivie Bud, does not support historical data. I don’t always trust customer services so wondered if a user could confirm please.


Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Author
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • 7986 replies
  • September 9, 2022
neilrlsmith wrote:

I am thinking of buying this product and their support have told me the app even with their Ivie Bud, does not support historical data. I don’t always trust customer services so wondered if a user could confirm please.

It may be possible in the future according to one of my sources. They prefer not to be named but they’re a very reliable one.

Alternatively, apps like Hildebrand Bright or Loop should be able to do what you’re looking for right now.


  • Carbon Cutter*
  • 2 replies
  • November 9, 2022

So the Ivie Bud set up easily and without issue. Check

I can see gas and electricity data in the App, updated every 30 mins. Check.

I have connected to my HomeAssistant system via Samsung Smart Things. Check.

HOWEVER I can only see Total Energy Used. Fail.

Is there any way I can have separate electricity and gas feeds into Smart Things so I can have separate feeds into Home Assistant. I don’t understand why it all has to be lumped together???

Thanks!


Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Author
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • 7986 replies
  • November 9, 2022

You’ll probably want to talk to Chameleon about that @dantmobi . I’m afraid I can’t do that for you.


Tim_OVO
Community Manager
  • Community Manager
  • 1925 replies
  • November 10, 2022

Tagging a few forum members who have Home Assistant, @dantmobi, to see if they can advise:

 

@creatish @stefmari @ArundaleP @SianiAnni @knight do you use a CAD In Home Display with HA and perhaps the Ivie Bud? 

 

dantmobi wrote:

I can only see Total Energy Used. Fail.

Is there any way I can have separate electricity and gas feeds into Smart Things so I can have separate feeds into Home Assistant. I don’t understand why it all has to be lumped together???

 


Forum|alt.badge.img+3
  • Carbon Catcher***
  • 24 replies
  • November 10, 2022

I’m sorry, I have no experience with Ivie Bud. 

I also have given up with Smart Things but admittedly haven't tried for over a year. My experience with it wasn't great (flaky and limited) so I tend to use HA integrations if available or MQTT (I prefer Hildebrand via MQTT and node-red).

What communication / integration options are available with Ivie Bud (other than smart things)?

 

Paul

 

 


Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Author
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • 7986 replies
  • November 10, 2022

Basically… Nothing. ivie Bud isn’t very open and by default can only really communicate with the ivie services and SmartThings Energy.


SianiAnni
Carbon Cutter*****
  • Carbon Cutter*****
  • 33 replies
  • November 10, 2022

I’ve never heard of Ivie Bud I’m afraid. I did use the HA Ovo integration for a while but it wasn’t providing any useful information for my purposes. If live energy usage data was available that would be useful, but that would have to be obtained locally as my understanding is that Ovo only gets updates once a day in the early hours. I’ve occasionally exported usage data (gas and elec separately) from another third party and imported into influx, but that’s not automated so takes a lot of time and effort each time.


  • Carbon Cutter*
  • 2 replies
  • November 10, 2022
Tim_OVO wrote:

Tagging a few forum members who have Home Assistant, @dantmobi, to see if they can advise:

 

@creatish @stefmari @ArundaleP @SianiAnni @knight do you use a CAD In Home Display with HA and perhaps the Ivie Bud? 

 

dantmobi wrote:

I can only see Total Energy Used. Fail.

Is there any way I can have separate electricity and gas feeds into Smart Things so I can have separate feeds into Home Assistant. I don’t understand why it all has to be lumped together???

 

Thanks @Tim_OVO that was thoughtful and helpful.


  • Carbon Cutter*
  • 3 replies
  • November 13, 2022

I have just bought one and so disappointed with it. 

It shows the electric reading OK and reads the gas meter correctly but does not display the gas usage, only the standing charge.

My question is :- If it can read the gas meter at 30 minute intervals (In cubic meters), then why can they not add a simple calculation to the software on the lines of;

(Cubic metres used)*11.448*(Tariff/100)=Cost to be displayed.

Surely that is not exactly rocket science ???


Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Author
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • 7986 replies
  • November 13, 2022

II think it’s more likely the gas meter isn’t sending all the data over. I’d keep an eye on it for a few days and see if things improve.


  • Carbon Cutter*
  • 3 replies
  • November 13, 2022

The gas meter is sending the data over every 30 minutes or so. The problem is that the Bud is only showing the standing charge. 
Simple answer is that they could use :-

(meter reading now) - (meter reading at midnight) * 11.448 * (Tariff/100) = Cost now.

not rocket science is it ?


Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Author
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • 7986 replies
  • November 13, 2022

You’ll need to contact Chameleon for that one. I can’t reach out to them on your behalf I’m afraid


  • Carbon Cutter*
  • 3 replies
  • November 13, 2022

Ps tariff in pounds 


  • Carbon Cutter*
  • 3 replies
  • November 19, 2022

If I contact support can they enable my meter to work with the Ivie bud they have said error e101 and e62. They have said ovo need to tell my meter it's ok to connect ?

 

 

 

 


BPLightlog
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+5
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • 2724 replies
  • November 19, 2022

Hi @Matmat85 did you do the compatibility check on the ivie bud website?

https://ivie.co.uk/compatibility/


  • Carbon Cutter*
  • 3 replies
  • November 19, 2022

Hi yes it says compatible. I was with sse but mo ed last week to ovo so haven't had to much contact as sse weren't very helpful.

Ivie have said I my supplier needs to let it connect ?


  • Carbon Cutter*
  • 3 replies
  • November 19, 2022

Thank you 🙂 will try and post the outcome


BPLightlog
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+5
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • 2724 replies
  • November 29, 2022
Andydsmith wrote:

The gas meter is sending the data over every 30 minutes or so. The problem is that the Bud is only showing the standing charge. 
Simple answer is that they could use :-

(meter reading now) - (meter reading at midnight) * 11.448 * (Tariff/100) = Cost now.

not rocket science is it ?

Just coming back to this @Andydsmith I wonder what you see now. It’s taken me a while to get it sorted by my ivie bud now shows me updated energy costs during the day 

 


BPLightlog
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+5
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • 2724 replies
  • November 29, 2022
Matmat85 wrote:

Thank you 🙂 will try and post the outcome

@Matmat85 did you get any further with your bud? I had a few connection problems but it’s now working ok


  • Carbon Cutter**
  • 14 replies
  • December 9, 2022

How and when did you receive your Ivie bud devices after completing checkout? Ordered mine last Sunday and haven’t heard anything since.


BPLightlog
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+5
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • 2724 replies
  • December 9, 2022
WelshPaul wrote:

How and when did you receive your Ivie bud devices after completing checkout? Ordered mine last Sunday and haven’t heard anything since.

It took a few days for mine .. I think they use Royal Mail and of course, there’s a few delays at present 

Edit: just checked back on my notes and mine took 6 days to arrive


Reply


Cookie policy

We use cookies to enhance and personalize your experience. If you accept you agree to our full cookie policy. Learn more about our cookies.

 
Cookie settings