Saving money on heating with the tado° Smart Thermostat Starter Kit V3+ and Radiator Thermostats

tado wired starter kit at Amazon: am-redirect.com/link.php?keywo...
tado rad thermostat at Amazon: am-redirect.com/link.php?keywo...
A review of tado's smart central heating offerings, including their wireless starter kit and radiator thermostats. I show you how I replaced my Honeywell programmer, the features of the new system, the tado app. I also show you that smart central heating can save you money, by talking about the money I've saved on my heating bills since installing tado. Please refer to the tado website (www.tado.com) to see if you need a 'wired' or 'wireless' thermostat kit for your home - if your existing thermostat is wired, then you'll need the wired kit linked below.
TABLE OF CONTENTS ⏰
• 0:00 I was sent a Tado system to review
• 1:48 Tado radiator thermostats
• 3:26 OK Google!
• 4:48 Wired programmer and wireless thermostat
• 6:30 The Tado app for your phone
• 12:38 Wrapping up
#tado #smarthome #savingenergy

[@infodocs]

The extra info and graphs makes this way better than my hive set up.

[@kek23k]

I was looking at these awhile back so this has been really useful, thanks.

[@AndyK.1]

Nice to see tech reviews back

[@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews]

I can't promise that all future videos will be tech related, but this hopefully marks a little change of direction

[@anncleverley4721]

Just having is installed today. Brilliant and informative video. Thanks

[@llrainll]

I want this! Scared to install it myself but it looks straightforward!

[@Art0691p]

Great video. You've convinced me to get Tado :)

[@carldavies8855]

Cracker of a video Jake, thank you.

[@Erikve]

Great review! Quite a fancy system and I would definitly consider Tado 😀

[@Bari_Khan_CEng_CMarEng]

Boiler, after the demand/load, the burners stop firing, and then the post-purge cycle runs, to force draught the combustion chamber to clear all exhaust gases and and residual fuel gases/oil - I believe that's what you were referring to in the home assistant.

[@ln8605]

Great info. ‘Skedule’ for schedule (ironically very American!). Other than one of my pet hates, very helpful.

[@rodgerq]

I've had tado for 2 years and love it. By far the best thing about tado(compared to other smart thermostat systems) is its ability to communicate with the different boiler manufacturer e-bus systems for boiler modulation as opposed to just the on-off set up that others provide. It's something I've been trying to learn more about lately in a drive to cut costs like most people are. It should be noted though that out of the box, following the standard instructions, tado does on-off and requires some different wiring and setup depending on boiler manufacturer. Unfortunately this info doesn't seem to be well placed for consumers to find, maybe because it's a bit more technical and suited to a pro or more advanced DIY installer. The heat geek channel has some good videos and even one with a tado employee.

[@sebipayne]

That's not a unique feature anymore. Any smart thermostat with OpenTherm connection can modulate the boilers.

[@rodgerq]

@@sebipayne only if the boiler accepts the opentherm protocol. For instance, my WB doesn't, out of the box, communicate in OT, it requires an adapter in order to work. A translator if you like.

[@Bari_Khan_CEng_CMarEng]

Modulate* - modulate the boiler Firing Rate, therefore the burners and dampers don't just open to 100% (max chat), but can throttle

[@karthikeyangurunathan]

@@rodgerq did you manage to get TADO to modulate the WB in the end. If so can you share the adaptor you used please. I have a WB combi life.

[@rodgerq]

@@karthikeyangurunathan it's not an adapter as such but as far as I know you need the older style tado wireless extension kit with the button on top and the single light on the front. Luckily I had this and managed to get it worked up to modulate. I did have a link for the wiring instructions but can't seem to see it. If I find it I'll post it up. It might be worth speaking to tado themselves because I did hear they were updating their wireless thermostat to allow modulation.

[@Tianablue1]

If the geofencing requires an additional subscription to work properly, you may be able to use your heating system in conjunction with IFTTT to automate the heating when leaving your house or when arriving back home to preheat it. We do this with our Hive smart thermostat and it works well and much better than just getting a notification reminding you to do it yourself manually (like the useless Apple “automation” shortcuts)…I believe these thermostats appear on the list of services on IFTTT.. not unless you need a subscription before it’ll let you link your account to IFTTT. Worth a look..

[@JohnThomas-ey1hx]

Yes this is a free way of doing basic Geofencing, but problem with IFTTT is that it doesn't cope with multi-occupancy properties, i.e. last to leave house turns heating off and first back turns it back on. I Use IFTTT with Drayton Wiser and everything is controlled by the phone of the account holder.

[@92zaj]

Hi, thank you for the review. Can we control the hot water of a combi boiler with this ?

[@aivoi]

Hi and thanks for the review. I'm a beginner with limited yet knowledge and I'm wondering if you can clarify sth. If I only have the starter kit, bridge and 2 valves and only cover the main rooms I'm interested in and not all rooms, can I still independently control their heating? What features do I miss if I don't get the main thermostat?

[@bbraganza]

Hi Jake.. Thanks for the video. I plan to replace my existing Honeywell thermostat with tado, but not sure how to connect the programmer for HW and CH to my age old boiler powermax 155x.

[@alphaomega7868]

Do you need to have a tado rad valve where the thermostat is located? Also if you have a wired combi stat you can use the wired tado kit with Internet part. Can the valves talk to that Internet part?

[@michaeljosephoconnor6821]

Jake I have had a tado wireless smart thermostat v3 + system since January 2021 appeared to work well with my new Ideal logic c30 condenser boiler. All installed as new by corgi. With the increase in gas cost I started to look at how well my system was working only to discover that the opentherm system I under stood I had wasn't at all. The tado WiFi thermostat is both relay on off and opentherm but the control box fitted next to the boiler is relay control only no opertherm. It appears opentherm WiFi control has never been available in the UK. So as a consequence I now have a system that doesn't control and operate efficiently. Be were with tado equipment in UK.

[@kennycaiola1611]

Hi Michael, As I am looking to buy this system, Could you please explain further? Thank you

[@TurboTimsWorld]

30 seconds into this this video I saw the floor in the plan...I have underfloor heating ! lol great video you will be the next Paul Hibbart (youtube search his name) and does the app have cat sensing mode; when the cat enters a room the heat automatically turns up to nuclear, All joking aside, as you said a more efficient way is to warm all time and raise...Now with our underfloor thats the key, the pipes are laid in a concrete layer with oak flooring or slate tiles over it and that is also a factor, the oak is good quick heat in those zones and the slate is slower keep warmer for longer in those zones. we have 8 zones in the house and can balance thermostats across them (and this is a 2 bed barn conversion). There are other factors like windows and door drafts but our system uses in a year the same amount of heating oil as my mates house uses in 3 months. Thats just by underfloor and zones and using the concrete under the floor to store heat. I hope this info is of interest and not me waffling Great video Thank You .

[@TurboTimsWorld]

PS I do own a thermal imaging camera and the view from that of the floor is amazing!

[@Paul-Thomas-LifeCoach]

great video, thanks for sharing

[@666JGNotts]

I don’t understand fully how these radiator thermostats work. As they are alongside the radiator are they measuring a hotter temperature than the actual room temperature a few feet away from the radiator? Also could there be a situation where they are requesting more heat from the boiler more often than need be if the temperature drops slightly below the desired temperature?

[@simonward1988]

Hiya, what do I set my boiler/program too with these though? Auto, continuous, ect

[@martinc4251]

Hello, I live in an place where we share the boiler with 6 other appartments. I would like to use something to control temperature in each room but the only way is by moving the thermostats. can i use tado for this?

[@dunedunny6387]

Can you set different schedules per room? Some rooms I would like to heat all day where as others just in the evening

[@ttube111]

How does this link up to the boiler?

[@cormacdavies425]

great video and thanks for the insight. If you have a mesh wi-fi system are you able to locate the tado wireless receiver more centrally in your house? I have three storey house with internet router in ground floor corner, but have mesh wifi with 3 separate wifi units one on each floor - could the Tado receiver be attached to one of these?

[@JohnThomas-ey1hx]

In theory, if your separate mesh WIFI devices have a spare ethernet port on the back, you should be able to plug the internet bridge into the back of one of them then it should work as its just another ethernet device which is assigned it own IP that the router can communicate with. The bridge is the brain of the Tado system that talks to all you Tado devices, so it is better to have this centrally as you suggest in a 3 story house. Personally I would double-check with Tado to confirm it doesn't need to be plugged directly into the router before buying. If it fails to connect then you can at least say that Tado said it would and get your money back.

[@bhellsun]

Good introduction. I have a quick question. Other than the old thermostat I have a central controller where I turn on the central heating and timer is also available in that. In this case do I need the smart thermostat or can the smart radiator work without the smart thermostat. All I want is I can keep the central controller on all the time and can I control the smart radiator without the smart thermostat.

[@st321st]

Did you get answer to this? I had the same question.

[@geejaybee]

Should have mentioned that the version sold in the UK does not support Opentherm, so things like boiler modulation that is available on some of the latest boiler will not work. Also there are literally thousands of complaints about the range of both the wireless connection between the bridge and the boiler, but more significant between the boiler and the radiator valve, which use radio frequency rather than Wi-Fi .

[@Friskie888]

Hi Dr Jake, best review I've seen so far. I wonder if you can help me with the following question. Do know if the geo fencing can be set up and optimised for people living in a house share i.e. separate individuals bedrooms go off when they leave for the day without shutting down the rest of the house and vice versa when the first person returns to the house only their bedroom and the common areas for example come back on.

[@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews]

Thanks Neil! I’ve just checked and it looks as though the only way in which the geo fencing works with multiple occupants is to activate away mode (which is just one preset, albeit for all thermostats) when everyone has left the home. So one person leaving could not amend the heating in a single room.

[@Friskie888]

Thanks Dr Jake, something told you were the right person to ask. And to Tado 'House share' optimization would be a great addition to by all accounts seems to be an excellent Smart thermostat/TRV system

[@anthonydyer3939]

My big fear with these systems is “built in obsolescence”. I take note of the fact that Andersen has recently gone bankrupt. They made very stylish car chargers, but it’s anticipated that the app used to control them won’t work before too long. So if Tado goes into administration, can you still program and operate the CH system without the app? Meanwhile my 10 year old heatmiser programmable thermostat still works, anticipates how long it takes to warm up the house, and the house is that temperature by the required time. That said, the online information in the Tado app is very interesting and it can be very reassuring when you’re not at home for extended periods. Edit: Extra Subscriptions for geofencing and weather compensation? No thanks! This system is supposed to reduce my heating bills, not increase them with extra nonsense reminding you that you don’t actually own your ch system any more,

[@garethwilliams3919]

Excellent system. BTW where did you acquire the grey recliner chairs?

[@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews]

They are from Oak Furniture Land

[@garethwilliams3919]

@@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews Thank you, much appreciated.

[@fldmastr]

I bought some of the radiator valves recently, I like them although they do have their flaws. Measuring the temperature from the TRV so close to the radiator means it is not accurate. Still it is great, I use alexa routines to turn off the valves when not in the room.

[@JohnThomas-ey1hx]

There is a temperature offset you can set for each valve if its reading higher than it actually is, e.g. reduce TRV reading by 2 deg. However, you can only adjust in complete degree increments. If your TRV is reading 0.5 deg higher or lower than the actual temperature, then you cannot correct it as it will always be 0.5 deg out irrespective of what you offset you put in.

[@gcg2927]

Thank you for your review, can you tell me, once you plug in the bridge, do the individual thermostats and valves use the home wifi system to communicate?

[@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews]

Yes, they do

[@JohnThomas-ey1hx]

No. Only the App talks to the bridge by WIFI, and the bridge then talks to all the other components using RF (868 MHz). Also the bridge talks to the other components directly so you can hit connection issues if you live in a big house, awkwardly shaped house and/or your internal walls are sold brick as opposed to stud walls. Bad design to put the WIFI bridge at the back of router (usually router sits in one corner of the house) and then has to try and reach a radiator on the other corner of the house on the floor above and it has to go through 5 sold brick walls! This is why Drayton Wiser is a more reliable system as the bridge is built into their central hub and the hub can then talk directly or piggy back off the other devices to get to where it needs to (mesh network). They also have smart extender sockets you can add if you still hit issues, but with Tado your stuffed as the only solution they can give is to relocate your router/bridge to a more central position in the house (impossible or long trailing ethernet cables). Its the only thing that lets the Tado system down so keep hold of your receipt and the boxes!

[@joshroyle4159]

This is a great review, thanks so much for doing it. I don't know if I'm being a bit of an idiot here but if you can control all the valves from your phone then what is the thermostat on your wall doing? How does the thermostat information interact with app information? For example, if you use the app to make your bedroom 25' but then later set the wall thermostat to 30' which one will the bedroom valve listen to?

[@luc1ferblack]

If you have your heat on full around your house and you turn your manual trv down in the bedroom do you think the bedroom would still get as hot as the rest? of course not so yes your house will heat to 30 but your bedroom will only be at 25

[@joshroyle4159]

@@luc1ferblack That wasn't really my question. Yeah I'd assume no matter what I information I put on my app or the wall thermostat, if I changed the temperature physically on the TRV then that radiator would be that heat. My question was more, what is the point of the wall thermostat? If I'm controlling all my radiators individually on my phone then doesn't that make the wall thermostat useless? If I've spent time on the app setting up different timers and temperatures on all my radiators to what I want then why would I ever use the wall thermostat which presumably would override all that and set the whole house to one temperature and on or off.

[@sircompo]

Great video, just what I was looking for. One suggestion for future videos, please out "Hey Google" when you say it; I'm sure I'm not the only one who had to repeatedly pause the video to tell Google to shut up!

[@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews]

Sorry about that!!

[@sircompo]

@@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews In retrospect it was pretty damn funny. Hopefully when Google ultimately achieves sentience it won't hold my past abusive language to it against me 😶

[@wincotje]

Hi Jake. Thank you for the great review. If I have 1 main thermostat in the living room and 4 valves in 3 different rooms. Would I be able to set programs separately? For example, in the early morning only my bathroom and in the evening my living room? Thanks again

[@JohnThomas-ey1hx]

Yes that's correct. The room controlled by the main wall thermostat will also need a valve. The room thermostat just overrides the thermostat built into the TRV and tells it when to shut off. It is more accurate at sensing temperature than the TRV itself. You could get away with no room thermostat and just use the TRVs.

[@andytaylor9990]

Hi Jake, I liked your review. Do they suggest putting one of the valves on every rad or just the ones in the main living areas? We currently have a wireless system programmed to come on and off at certain times. I assume this system would mean your boiler is on more of the time but supplying heat to fewer radiators?

[@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews]

They suggest a valve on every rad you have. But they're expensive, so a valve on the ones you use the most would be appropriate too. In my experience, the boiler is on less, because it's having to heat fewer rooms

[@JohnThomas-ey1hx]

Best to have valves on every radiator. If you cant afford them all up front, put valves on the radiators you use least (not most) so you prevent heating up rooms your using least often, e.g. spare bedroom. All remaining rooms without a smart TRV will get heated up together and temperature controlled by the room thermostat. Better to put smart TRVs on all your radiators so you only heat up specific rooms at specific times. Your boiler wont be on any longer than it is now, but it will now only be heating up the rooms you have scheduled, and then shut them off, e.g. only heat your bedroom on a morning and at night before you retire to bed - no point heating it when your not in there.

[@GamingKingdome]

I need your help and I think you have the knowledge I'm looking for. I am just looking for a thermostat I can control with my phone, can I just buy a thermostat to replace the manual thermostat I have in my kitchen where I can turn on my gas turn it off and turn on the 1 hour boost function? I'm not really caring about the control nobs that go on my heaters to set the water flow from 1 to 5 as I just jeep my radiator settings on number 4, I'm just looking for a thermostat to just turn on my heating abd turn it off with my phone and just wondering if I can just buy a thermostat without buying the control nobs that go on my heaters

[@luc1ferblack]

yes you can buy various options but for this it would be £99 in screwfix tado v3+ kit. it would come with 2 parts a display aka thermostat you can mount on the wall or leave on the side and the control box you mount. If your boiler has a existing digital unit next to it where you control the boiler then turn off the power open it and see how its wired if its 4 cables L N COM NO or similar it will be easy to replae if you dont have an external unit you would need to open the boiler and wire the unit to your boiler using the guide on the app again with the power turned off

[@BigidyBooh]

Could you use the Smart Radiator Valves with a NEST thermostat? As the nest is great but more as an overall house thermostat

[@JohnThomas-ey1hx]

NO - only compatible with the Tado V3. This is the problem with NEST as they never got round to manufacturing their own valves.

[@Leonards-leopard]

you could but then you'd have to control both tado and nest separately

[@herfavouritefoodtravel2989]

I contacted Tado and sent photos of my radiators and boiler. They said my radiators are manual and not compatible with Tado Smart Thermostats but my boiler is compatible with the starter kit. My question is, is there any point in buying the starter kit if I can't install smart radiator thermostats?

[@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews]

Think so. You can turn your heating on and off remotely, set minimum temperatures, preheat your home before you return

[@humbletraveler2004]

It’s not easy to connect wireless receiver to Combi boiler. If you have a Combi boiler better to choose the wire option.

[@AustinVinkler]

Hi, is it possible to place a wireless wall thermostat in each room in the house that has a radiator, and connect them individually to the radiator-thermostat also from Tado in those rooms. I want to be able to see the actual room temp in each room and use the wall thermostat in each room to adjust the target temp.

[@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews]

I believe so, yes. Because that is all my hall wall thermostat does; it controls the rad thermostat in the hall but gives a more accurate readout of room temperature.

[@rodgerq]

Yes it's possible. You add the trv and wall stat to the room and then you can choose which device to use as the measuring device.

[@omitnl]

I have a 2 person household, so that geofencing does that work for 2 people? Not that im away and the wife gets cold...

[@warriorspirit6083]

Can I use this system to turn on individual radiators and not turn on radiators in rooms that I don't use as I have 19 radiators in my house but only want a few to come on at scheduled times?

[@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews]

Yes, you can do exactly that

[@FrancisCWolfe]

Yes but you will need 19 valves if you want to control them all.

[@mryan4452]

Experienced a 50% saving?! My spidey bs detector fired up when I heard that doozie.

[@brickfilmgamerpro8644]

Dr Jake please answer my question. What is your opinion on Lepin and has it changed over the last few years?

[@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews]

I don't like Lepin and my opinion has not changed

[@brickfilmgamerpro8644]

@@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me.

[@stevekz400]

Having a smart thermostat is like living in the future!

[@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews]

I love it! What a lovely day, Dillon

[@Thatsright-tr2ks]

Government "Energy crisis, we stopping your thermostat at 79° " Yup that's your future. 🤣🤣🤣 Chit...... They've don't it already in CO

[@mydiscworld]

I'd love one but I just know if I make the rooms I'm not currently using cooler, my wife will walk in and decide, oh it's still cold, and leave the heat on for another hour...

[@rubendewulf]

Why would you heat your bedroom??

[@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews]

So my nose doesn’t get cold while I’m trying to sleep

[@sy7zx]

I believe you need constant Internet connection to make work properly, if not you can be left without hot water

[@JohnThomas-ey1hx]

Exactly right. They put a button on their extension box but it is only in use to test the HW system. Once its commissioned the button is useless. Bad design - no WIFI, no HW! Why they didn't design the button to be used as a manual boost is beyond me.

[@Leonards-leopard]

@@JohnThomas-ey1hx that's not right. there's a manual override on the wireless receiver if it loses contact with the bridge.

[@JohnThomas-ey1hx]

@@Leonards-leopard The receiver and the bridge are not connected by WiFi. The feature you refer to is when your RF link between these devices is lost for more than 30 mins. You can then turn your CH and HW on or off until the link is restored. If you lose internet/WiFI, your app can't turn the HW on as it can't talk to the bridge. However, if you do lose the internet you may still be able to get HW by using the wireless thermostat (if you have one) - think its two button presses in. Sure this is only an on/off (so you have to remember to turn it back off again when done). Not tried this as I have replaced my Tado system now. Try it out and let us know?

[@luc1ferblack]

No. Boilers dont work like that if you turn on the tap or shower the boiler will heat the water so you will still have hot water you might loose the heating but tado say that doesnt happen

[@Parnnemis]

Attention si les radiateurs sont trop éloignés ou derrière trop de mur , le signal ne passe pas ( signal radio ) ,et aucune solution n est possible (voir le forum Tado) donc pour une maisons avec radiateurs éloignés l un de l autre impossible de placer le hub wifi correctement pour couvrir toutes les vannes

[@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews]

Merci, mais est-ce que vous pouvez repeter ce en anglais, sil vous plait? Je ne comprends pas

[@MrCalldean]

Using voice commands and not beeping them out is more than a tiny bit annoying.

[@Hamishislive]

Be very warned around their range issue, if you have a mid size house or a small house with stone walls do NOT use this!

[@Dampealx7]

Ah man, you didn't even show us how you installed it. :(

[@juliangulliver7744]

A radiator thermostat does not control the temperature of the radiator. It controls the air temperature in the room.

[@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews]

How does it control the temperature in the room?

[@Leonards-leopard]

@@DrJakesVeryBritishReviews As the room temperature changes the element contained in the valve head expands, adjusting a pin in the valve to open or close it.

[@InquisitiveMind23]

That is loads of assumptions and judgement about computer degree there... 😄I can build computer in no time. I have computer science degree but I am DIY dud. I would never chance it when it comes to gas and electricity. But looking at what you are doing... it is doable....

[@beatbonjon1384]

Hello there

[@idontusetwitter]

Hi

[@AlexManMe]

12:52 he won’t

[@danielpeters6906]

Sound great until u said the best Features you need a subscription for. Like open window detection, to save you money, but it doesn't because you need a subscription for it haha Great review though!

[@luc1ferblack]

sub is £25 a year you would save more than that with the geofencing

[@ducuBAR]

Great solution but the sole idea of an subscription makes me avoid Tado. You are already paying a premium for their product, to include this subscription is just greedy. Thank you for the review but I will avoid Tado.

[@luc1ferblack]

more fool you. Maybe you should look at the price £25 a year and what features you get before making silly comments. Other systems may exist but then are they as reliable and do they work properly and offer the same features? I work nights my gf works shifts heating is on 4am-7am and 5pm-10pm daily if she has a 2pm start nobody is in 5pm-10pm if she has a 10pm start nobody is in 4am to 7am so i can think a subscription is a ripoff and continue to heat our flat when we are not home or pay £25 a year and save alot more than that

[@mage1915]

You can use many options as far as I know without a sub..

[@MartinHannett_]

@@mage1915Yup the sub is only for geofencing and one other feature. Personally, I think a sub means the app is more likely to remain updated because you’re keeping a dev team paid.

[@CristianVasquez]

Yeah don't feed the greed or it will become the norm

[@k365]

I've been using tado without subscription and it is a great addition to save energy bills

[@kristaylor6694]

Dude you got to bleep out the ok Google

[@barneyallen5377]

Jake, please mute your audio when you say smart speaker commands to avoid setting off smart speakers in your viewers’ homes!