Tado smart thermostat

Puntoboy

Yesterday I ordered my second stat and extension kit. Let's see how long that takes. Taken three months to get the order placed.

colonelblighty

Put my meter readings in today to see how Tado has done and it's been quite interesting with me perceiving the heating to be on more than usual compared to the old timers I had set. It seems I have used about 3kwh less per day than last February which of course we'll never know how much is down to the tado or not but still not bad going I feel.

SirSpike

I have been on the fence with the Honeywell Evohome for a long time as I don't think it quite offered what I needed.  I am now either looking at the Tado or the Ecobee3 but I cannot see how I can have zoned TRVs with the ecobee so I think the Tado works for me especially when it gets HomeKit enabled.   

I have 14 radiators spread across 10 rooms, obviously all rooms are not in use at all times and both me and the wife work from home but on varied schedules.  I also have 2 log burners so I would like to have the flexability to heat specific rooms as and when needs require.  Is the Tado system my best option if I want to run something with controllable TRV's?

davidegee

It's limited (I suggest by plumbing rather than technology ) insomuch as if one of the trvs is calling for heat, the whole heating system must be on. It's not quite what I hoped for..

SirSpike

I think one main reason for me would be to turn rads on and off automatically, for example if we have the log burner on in the lounge then I don't need the radiators in that room on, however I may want to heat the bedroom and the kitchen but not the office.  Does the Tado allow me the flexibility to control like this?  Also can the electronic TRVs also be used manually i.e. if there is network issues or the wifi is down can I still adjust the radiators?

ninG

From what i understand (i just installed my tado thermostat last week and will in the near future invest in the TRVs) this is correct, you can control each rad independently - in effect creating zones.

SirSpike

Thanks ninG, I did get in touch with Tado support and they were fast to respond and really helpful so I took the plunge and placed an order which has just arrived this morning (Thermostat, Extension Kit and 2 x TRVs) so will install these next few days and see how I get on before investing in more TRV's.  

Should the Thermostat be placed in the room which is usually the coldest? (probably the kitchen in my house)

Also what happens if there are more than one radiator in a room would both TRV's act independently or does one become the master?

Bl4ckGryph0n

But it isn't zoning though is it? I presume you still have a single loop with a single pump....A TRV does not control the boiler, it simply controls the air temperature in a room. Which depending on the boiler could make the return water temperature too high and/or flow too low, therefore switch off.

Also don't forget to not have a TRV in the same room as an Thermostat. You could get into a situation where the boiler never shuts off in the event a TRV regulates it before the thermostat can manage the boiler..

Hope that helps...

davidegee

I agree with dej. I'm not a plumber nor intelligent, so could be wrong, but my understanding is the plumbing is in series rather than parallel. The user can't select rads 1,4 & 7 to be on and the rest off. They're all on or all off, the user can only control the flow of heated water permitted to hit each rad

d10brp

Well yes, but if the valve is closed then no hot water is flowing into the radiator, it is bypassing to whatever radiator needs it. That means less water is flowing around so is losing less heat. Therefore the boiler shouldn't have to work as hard, no?