Location of main sensor

Options
Hi
I have installed Tado with rad controls on all rads except- one hall rad ( constant to protect the system) and 4 bathrooms / en-suite.
Everything seemed ok until our main living room wasn’t heating to a comfortable level. There are two rads with Tado valves set to 25!! but it feels like 18.
The main wireless sensor is on the hall wall controlling everything that doesn’t have a rad Tado - so five rads.

Should I move the main sensor to the living room and remove the two Tado rad controls as they don’t seem to allowing the room to get to the right ( comfortable) temp?
We don’t use two of the bathrooms so I can just shut them manually or fit more Tado
Many thanks for any advice

Answers

  • johnnyp78
    johnnyp78 ✭✭✭
    edited November 2023
    Options
    Sounds like a plan. There isn’t a main device as such with tado, it will be associated to a room in the app. If the room that’s set to 25 feels like 18 there’s something wrong there. Either the trvs aren’t installed correctly, something is covering the sensor, they’re not connecting to the bridge or they’re malfunctioning. Bear in mind that only one device per room is the measuring device.
  • Do your radiators even heat up in the room that feels like 18?

    Does your boiler fire up when they are set to 25

    I had similar woes today but mine was that the TRV to zone mapping wasn’t right …
  • We've just installed a new tado setup and are experiencing the same issues, valves reading 23° but on the other side of the room independent thermometers reading several degrees below. Looks like the trvs are reading the rad temp not the room temp 😞. Maybe the reality is there should be another smart type thermometer in the room so it can work out the average temperature of a room?
  • neiltado
    Options

    Hi and thanks for the quick response.

    I call the first thermostat the “ main sensor” but, as you say, it’s just a thermostat controlling any radiator that hasn’t got a Tado radiator thermostat control. So as I’ve invested in more and more radiator valves I’ve left out the 4 in bathrooms and en- suite plus one in the hall which must always allow flow/ return to the boiler. It just seemed excessive to add Tado to bathrooms when we only use two and they had existing simple .


    i have removed the two Tado from the rads in the living room and moved the “ main sensor” to the living room . So the “ main sensor” is controlling the four bathrooms rads / always on rad and now the two living room rads as if they were all one big room.

    I suppose I now need to put the removed Tado next to the “ main sensor” to check they all are saying the same temp. If they are then that’s not the problem.

    Working back I call the “ main sensor” “living room” then put the two removed Tado on the two bathrooms we use calling them “bathroom 1” and “bathroom 2”. That just leaves me closing down the two remaining bathroom valves and accepting the “ constant flow / return” is part of “ living room” control.

    It’s just a surprise that the two living room radiator Tados just didn’t allow the temperature to reach a comfortable level. It’s not a big room .

    Yet again many thanks for any advice.










    .

  • That's a good idea, I think I'll do the same, it looks like your narrowing it down, I was wondering what to do with the tado thermostat temp reader, as initially it was starting the heating off when it wasn't required so I turned it off, but I'll give your ideas ago and try to suss out the best set up. Thanks
  • johnnyp78
    Options
    @neiltado there’s only one measuring device set per room. You don’t need to remove the trvs from your living room, you just set the wireless temp sensor as measuring device for that room. However it does sound like there’s something wrong there with the installation if they’re not letting the rads heat up so it might be the best solution.
  • Johnjhs
    Options

    Please can the community clarify the following.

    if I have a wired room thermostat in the hallway which has reached temperature, and have a radiator valve that is asking for heat, will my boiler still fire up?

    i think the answer is no,, if so what do I need to achieve this? I assume sensor valves on all radiators and the room stat set to maximum?.

    many thanks for your comments.

  • @johnnyp78 How do I set the one wireless temp sensor for that room when the rad also has a tado trv i.e. set the trv to 25 deg and the sensor to 25deg but surely the rad will furn itself off when it's up to temp?
  • johnnyp78
    Options
    One device per room is set as the measuring device. None of the other devices will do anything at all to measure temperature.
  • neiltado
    Options
    I must be doing something wrong.
    I have two rad tados but each one says it’s the measuring device. I can’t see how to make one the sole measuring device and then I assume the other is just a slave
  • johnnyp78
    Options
    When you click on a room you can only set one measuring device. Maybe you’ve put the devices in two different rooms?
  • roycruse
    Options

    another thing thats not mentioned here which maybe worth exploring once you have your tado configured correctly if you think the rad valves arnt opening fully is give them some tlc...

    when you first install a tado smart valve head it goes through a calibration cycle to determine the min and max throw of the trv pin its pushing on. if the rad valves are old or on systems with a lot of sludge etc these can become quite stiff and this calibration might not have worked correctly. and it may have detected the wrong end point for your rad valve.

    the best way to "service" the valve (without removing it and stripping it down) is to spray the pin with a penetrating silicone lubricant then work it in and out and repeat with more lubricant and manual in out manipulation until its moving freely - the silicone will penetrate in and lubricate the seals etc.

    i noticed a big difference between before and after on several of my rad valves.

    after you've cleaned and lubbed the valve pins - you will need to factory reset and re setup the valve to get it to re calibrate.,

  • neiltado
    Options

    I’ve just about mastered this. Having taken onboard everyone’s comments ( many thanks!,) I have now got to a point where the rooms are heating to a controlled level. The big change was when I offset the rad Tados so they thought it was 3-5 deg lower than it was. Measuring the temp in the middle of rooms then adjusting the Tados seems to be the real trick . It’s been cold outside for the past two weeks so I’m running the house higher than “normal” .

    Now I’ve got to this point can I ask what kind of temp difference do most have between a hall and living rooms. Seems a stupid question but I try to have the main living room at 23 deg but the hall 18 deg. Obviously when you open the door there is a sudden draft of “ cold” air .

    Im just trying to get a feel for what people tend to run temps at in various rooms. Obviously everyone is different but it would be interesting to get an idea of the ranges.

    Finally if you don’t heat a room as it isn’t used - is that best or is it better to keep it at a minimum level compared to the rest of the house.

    Sorry if these seem stupid questions !