I have bought the wall thermostat starter kit that controls the boiler and 4 TRVs. On how much you save depends how you use it. I expect for it to pay for itself in 2 years. I live alone and work from home 4 days a week. I can now heat the office room or the dining area or the kitchen without heating the lounge. I can easily program it for days I work from home and nights I tend to go out. And if plans change or like last night I've had a soaking from the rain when I fancied returning to a nice warm house I can remotely control it. A lot of satisfaction giving the energy companies less too.
I have a TADO system but instead of spending £200 to change all my TRV valves i would rather have a £40 electric blow heater in the room I use the most. Not only are these expensive but you then have to wait for your boiler to heat up the rad then the minute it hits temp its going to shut it down Maybe it then turns off and on again and again . A blow heater is fast and i can have it pumping heat as long as i want
I have a normal boiler not a smart one, but I want to put one of these valves in each room. Would I have control to switch a room off by the app and keep the rest on or reduce the temperature down when not being used?
Hey Andrew, For starters you'd need to get a starter pack rather than just a valve on its own as you'd need the Wifi Hub - This is the best value starter pack as it includes 2 valves and the hub - amzn.to/3sJZFFG If you put these on two of your radiators when your heating is switched on they would turn off when they reach the temperature you set them to in the app but if you're heating isn't on they won't turn it on. For example, if I had a normal non-smart programmable thermostat set to come on between 8am and 10am every day and a smart thermostatic valve on one of my radiators set to heat my room to 21 degrees via the app then if the temperature dropped below 21 degrees after 10am whilst it would open the valve the heating wouldn't be on so it wouldn't heat the room. It would only function whilst the heating is on. Hopefully that helps!
I had a question with these. So if i have these in 3 rooms, out of 8 rooms. if 1 room is set to 20 and is currently 17, the heating will come on with these to heat the room to 20 - but that will also heat the other 5 rooms up that have no valves and also the remaining 2 valves up the temp there set on. So isn't this then less efficient unless you have one on every radiator? You could end up with a point where the other 5 rooms are on for hours heating the 3 room with the thermostats alternatively? Or do you have the ability for them not to turn the heating on? I have tado, but i use it manually to switch the heating on and off from the app. I'm looking at getting some of these but i want these to only turn the radiator on or off and not turn the heating on. Therefore i control when the heating comes on and off, and i also then have control to ensure the rooms are heating up correctly as i like it. Can you do that with these or will it always turn the heating on if the temperature isn't reached. I.E can they go fully manual mode?
You're right in your first paragraph. In order for the smart radiator valves to be heating those rooms with them on the rest of the heating system is on. The only way for complete control is to have one on every radiator. Personally, I've taken the opposite approach with them and put the two that I have in the rooms I want to be cooler than the rest, so, I have one in the bedroom (set to turn off at 19 degrees) and one in my office set to the same. This means the rest of the house can heat to the 21 degrees I want whilst keeping those rooms cooler
Fantastic review Mark. Cleared a lot of doubts but I still have a couple. 1) Will these work with Nest Learning Thermostat? What advantage does the Tado Wireless/Wired Thermostat have over the Nest? 2) Tado also do a Wireless Temperature Sensor? Does the Tado Wireless/Wired Thermostat or these Smart Radiator Thermostat not sense the temperature? Why would anyone use the Wireless Temperature Sensor in any case?
Thanks, 1. I don't think they will. They would only adjust the status of the radiators if your nest had already turned the boiler on. When setup with a Tado thermostat they can also trigger the boiler. There are very few differences between the Tado/Nest/Hive and all do essentially the same things just slightly differently. I haven't used a Nest but I prefer the interface of the Tado over the Hive and it has the advantage of being something you can install yourself. 2. I think the main purpose of the wireless temperature is to allow you to have the thermostat somewhere more sensible if you've currently got the wired version of the Tado. There's certainly no point having more than one wireless thermostat. Hope that helps!
Yes Raj they work perfectly with Nest Thermostat , the Nest will take care of your on-off temperature and timing schedule ,PLUS the Tados each have their own schedules for each valve , they work exceptionally well together , i hope this helps
@@chrisc1315 - But doesnt the Nest have the master control over the boiler vis-a-vis the Tado SRVs? Let's say Nest is set to call for heat at 21 degrees, but Tados are set at 19, what happens then? Inversely, let's say Tados are set to call for heat at 22, what happens then?
Hi Mark, i am leaving in a building with central heating that is aways on. I want to set up the tado smart valves but wondering isn't the temperatures readings close to the radiator itself and the rest of the room won't be at the same temperature when the valve reads 22. For example the furthest of the radiator will be at 20? How do you get it set up more acucurately. Is the samrt termostat only used with heating pump/unit or it can be byitself as a temp reader so it tells the radiator valves when it also reaches 22 degrees. Thanks a lot great video
Hey, you can use these on radiators without a thermostat you just need to buy the starter pack with the TADO hub for the first one…extra valves can then pair with that hub. You have the option in the hub to offset the temperature so if it’s reading 22 when you know the room is 20 you can lower it for the valve. Hope that helps, this is the starter pack www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09ZPZFZBM/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_8CFA7XBDEJRRPZ1M2TTV?linkCode=ml2&tag=markstechvlog-21
Thanks for your review! Apart from the valves, do you need a hub etc. or you just need the valve heads and they connect directly to the home internet router, for them to control the radiotors only (regardless of the system)?
Hey, If you don't already have Tado heating you will need a Hub. Tado have a pretty good deal on a starter pack here on Amazon's Black Friday offers: amzn.to/3UVqTFCm - the valves then talk to the hub. Hope that helps
Good review Mark. I have just installed a Tado Wireless Thermostat, Bridge & Boiler Receiver to control my heating & hot water (system boiler with a HW cylinder). I am about to fit 8 of these rad valves so my question is - Some of my rooms have 2 rads in them so can I group 2 of the Tado smart valves in the same room to operate as 1 (master / slave style) without having to buy another room thermostat? Thanks for any info.
Hi Colin, great question and I'm not 100% sure of the answer but you group your devices into rooms so I'd imagine 2 valves in the same room in the app would work pretty well together...I certainly don't think you'd need another thermostat
@@MarksTechVlogs Thanks. I hope your right because it's starting to get a bit pricy! I have seen something about grouping devices / valves together but wasn't sure if this required the use of a separate wireless thermostat in the room or not. I guess I'll find out in due course. I ordered 2 x Quad packs of Tado Rad Valves from Toolstation who have them on offer at £199 per pack. The cheapest I've seen them for. You have to be careful because some sellers are offering deals on the "less smart" Basic Tado smart rad valve models which look similar which are cheaper. My Tado valves come tomorrow & I have just found 1 Radiator without an existing TRV on it which means I need to fit a new TRV body from a spare Drayton TRV I have. Buckets & towels at the ready!!
@@MarksTechVlogs Some info that might be of interest to others. I got my Tado Rad valves today & guess what? 7 of the 8 Tado don't fit my Drayton TRV's. One did fit a later Drayton TRV4 valve I fitted a few years ago but the other 7 are earlier models. Unfortunately none of the Tado adaptors fit the early Drayton valves (must be 30+ years old) & there is no other adaptor available from Tado, or so it says on the Tado Rad valve compatibility list - which I guess I should have checked first. One of the adaptors kind of fits but not sure if it's working properly. So, plan B is to order up some newer Drayton TRV4 valves (body only) & swap them for my existing valve bodies which will then be a direct fit for the Tado valves. It's a real pain because now I will have to drain down the the entire heating system. It's funny how a relatively simple 5min valve head swap turns into a major plumbing headache😡. Heyho, at least I can do the work needed & I have the time. Just have to swallow the extra cost for the new valve bodies & tell the wife the heating & hot water will be off for a day-ish🤞
@@colingoode3702 Thanks for sharing, hopefully that'll be useful for others! Good luck updating all the valve bodies...well beyond what I'd be capable of!
Radiator Valve: geni.us/JnfHx04
Starter Pack: geni.us/SOPT
Double Pack: geni.us/MWimp2Y
Triple Pack: geni.us/gmvhfYd
4 Pack: geni.us/9oztoML
Another benefit to consider for the price: It's nice when the room is the correct temperature!
I have bought the wall thermostat starter kit that controls the boiler and 4 TRVs. On how much you save depends how you use it. I expect for it to pay for itself in 2 years. I live alone and work from home 4 days a week. I can now heat the office room or the dining area or the kitchen without heating the lounge. I can easily program it for days I work from home and nights I tend to go out. And if plans change or like last night I've had a soaking from the rain when I fancied returning to a nice warm house I can remotely control it. A lot of satisfaction giving the energy companies less too.
A good review apart from not mentioning that you really need to use the temperature offset with these.
Thanks, I’ve been using these for just over a year and haven’t had to yet!
I have a TADO system but instead of spending £200 to change all my TRV valves i would rather have a £40 electric blow heater in the room I use the most. Not only are these expensive but you then have to wait for your boiler to heat up the rad then the minute it hits temp its going to shut it down Maybe it then turns off and on again and again . A blow heater is fast and i can have it pumping heat as long as i want
What’s the advantage of having the wireless smart thermostat when the thermostatic valves will call for heat and control each room separately.
For me it’s the ability to more specifically set programmes for my heating and the out of home control
Good honest opinion, thanks
Hi. I have the tado thermostat but want to use them as dumb TRVs, so they dont keep constantly calling for heat. Is that possible to set in the app?
This suggests it’s possible but that you need to contact Tado community.tado.com/en-gb/discussion/3470/how-to-stop-smart-trv-s-turning-on-boiler
Could I use some rooms with smart trv and some with standard valves? I’m looking to get the Tado hub.
You could. That’s my setup, so I only have task valves in the two rooms I want to control more
I have a normal boiler not a smart one, but I want to put one of these valves in each room. Would I have control to switch a room off by the app and keep the rest on or reduce the temperature down when not being used?
Hey Andrew,
For starters you'd need to get a starter pack rather than just a valve on its own as you'd need the Wifi Hub - This is the best value starter pack as it includes 2 valves and the hub - amzn.to/3sJZFFG
If you put these on two of your radiators when your heating is switched on they would turn off when they reach the temperature you set them to in the app but if you're heating isn't on they won't turn it on.
For example, if I had a normal non-smart programmable thermostat set to come on between 8am and 10am every day and a smart thermostatic valve on one of my radiators set to heat my room to 21 degrees via the app then if the temperature dropped below 21 degrees after 10am whilst it would open the valve the heating wouldn't be on so it wouldn't heat the room. It would only function whilst the heating is on.
Hopefully that helps!
I had a question with these. So if i have these in 3 rooms, out of 8 rooms. if 1 room is set to 20 and is currently 17, the heating will come on with these to heat the room to 20 - but that will also heat the other 5 rooms up that have no valves and also the remaining 2 valves up the temp there set on. So isn't this then less efficient unless you have one on every radiator? You could end up with a point where the other 5 rooms are on for hours heating the 3 room with the thermostats alternatively? Or do you have the ability for them not to turn the heating on?
I have tado, but i use it manually to switch the heating on and off from the app. I'm looking at getting some of these but i want these to only turn the radiator on or off and not turn the heating on. Therefore i control when the heating comes on and off, and i also then have control to ensure the rooms are heating up correctly as i like it. Can you do that with these or will it always turn the heating on if the temperature isn't reached. I.E can they go fully manual mode?
You're right in your first paragraph. In order for the smart radiator valves to be heating those rooms with them on the rest of the heating system is on. The only way for complete control is to have one on every radiator.
Personally, I've taken the opposite approach with them and put the two that I have in the rooms I want to be cooler than the rest, so, I have one in the bedroom (set to turn off at 19 degrees) and one in my office set to the same. This means the rest of the house can heat to the 21 degrees I want whilst keeping those rooms cooler
Fantastic review Mark. Cleared a lot of doubts but I still have a couple.
1) Will these work with Nest Learning Thermostat? What advantage does the Tado Wireless/Wired Thermostat have over the Nest?
2) Tado also do a Wireless Temperature Sensor? Does the Tado Wireless/Wired Thermostat or these Smart Radiator Thermostat not sense the temperature? Why would anyone use the Wireless Temperature Sensor in any case?
Thanks,
1. I don't think they will. They would only adjust the status of the radiators if your nest had already turned the boiler on. When setup with a Tado thermostat they can also trigger the boiler.
There are very few differences between the Tado/Nest/Hive and all do essentially the same things just slightly differently. I haven't used a Nest but I prefer the interface of the Tado over the Hive and it has the advantage of being something you can install yourself.
2. I think the main purpose of the wireless temperature is to allow you to have the thermostat somewhere more sensible if you've currently got the wired version of the Tado. There's certainly no point having more than one wireless thermostat.
Hope that helps!
@@MarksTechVlogs Thanks much Mark! :) Seasons Greetings btw!🙂
Yes Raj they work perfectly with Nest Thermostat , the Nest will take care of your on-off temperature and timing schedule ,PLUS the Tados each have their own schedules for each valve , they work exceptionally well together , i hope this helps
@@chrisc1315 - But doesnt the Nest have the master control over the boiler vis-a-vis the Tado SRVs? Let's say Nest is set to call for heat at 21 degrees, but Tados are set at 19, what happens then? Inversely, let's say Tados are set to call for heat at 22, what happens then?
How are they fitted?
They just use the existing thread from your previous thermostatic valve
Hi Mark, i am leaving in a building with central heating that is aways on. I want to set up the tado smart valves but wondering isn't the temperatures readings close to the radiator itself and the rest of the room won't be at the same temperature when the valve reads 22. For example the furthest of the radiator will be at 20? How do you get it set up more acucurately. Is the samrt termostat only used with heating pump/unit or it can be byitself as a temp reader so it tells the radiator valves when it also reaches 22 degrees. Thanks a lot great video
Hey, you can use these on radiators without a thermostat you just need to buy the starter pack with the TADO hub for the first one…extra valves can then pair with that hub.
You have the option in the hub to offset the temperature so if it’s reading 22 when you know the room is 20 you can lower it for the valve.
Hope that helps, this is the starter pack www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09ZPZFZBM/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_8CFA7XBDEJRRPZ1M2TTV?linkCode=ml2&tag=markstechvlog-21
Hi can you do a review now they have changed the app. Thanks.
I can do an updated review as I still use them however, whilst the app looks different the functionality remains pretty much unchanged
Thanks for your review!
Apart from the valves, do you need a hub etc. or you just need the valve heads and they connect directly to the home internet router, for them to control the radiotors only (regardless of the system)?
Hey, If you don't already have Tado heating you will need a Hub. Tado have a pretty good deal on a starter pack here on Amazon's Black Friday offers: amzn.to/3UVqTFCm - the valves then talk to the hub. Hope that helps
Good review Mark. I have just installed a Tado Wireless Thermostat, Bridge & Boiler Receiver to control my heating & hot water (system boiler with a HW cylinder). I am about to fit 8 of these rad valves so my question is - Some of my rooms have 2 rads in them so can I group 2 of the Tado smart valves in the same room to operate as 1 (master / slave style) without having to buy another room thermostat? Thanks for any info.
Hi Colin, great question and I'm not 100% sure of the answer but you group your devices into rooms so I'd imagine 2 valves in the same room in the app would work pretty well together...I certainly don't think you'd need another thermostat
@@MarksTechVlogs Thanks. I hope your right because it's starting to get a bit pricy! I have seen something about grouping devices / valves together but wasn't sure if this required the use of a separate wireless thermostat in the room or not. I guess I'll find out in due course. I ordered 2 x Quad packs of Tado Rad Valves from Toolstation who have them on offer at £199 per pack. The cheapest I've seen them for. You have to be careful because some sellers are offering deals on the "less smart" Basic Tado smart rad valve models which look similar which are cheaper. My Tado valves come tomorrow & I have just found 1 Radiator without an existing TRV on it which means I need to fit a new TRV body from a spare Drayton TRV I have. Buckets & towels at the ready!!
@@MarksTechVlogs Some info that might be of interest to others. I got my Tado Rad valves today & guess what? 7 of the 8 Tado don't fit my Drayton TRV's. One did fit a later Drayton TRV4 valve I fitted a few years ago but the other 7 are earlier models. Unfortunately none of the Tado adaptors fit the early Drayton valves (must be 30+ years old) & there is no other adaptor available from Tado, or so it says on the Tado Rad valve compatibility list - which I guess I should have checked first. One of the adaptors kind of fits but not sure if it's working properly. So, plan B is to order up some newer Drayton TRV4 valves (body only) & swap them for my existing valve bodies which will then be a direct fit for the Tado valves. It's a real pain because now I will have to drain down the the entire heating system. It's funny how a relatively simple 5min valve head swap turns into a major plumbing headache😡. Heyho, at least I can do the work needed & I have the time. Just have to swallow the extra cost for the new valve bodies & tell the wife the heating & hot water will be off for a day-ish🤞
@@colingoode3702 Thanks for sharing, hopefully that'll be useful for others! Good luck updating all the valve bodies...well beyond what I'd be capable of!
Yes Colin you can group the 2 Trvs and assign the room stat for that room and will control both Trvs 👍