Expected remaining life of 'good' batteries
I have 7 Smart Radiator Thermostats installed over a period of 6 month. The app reports that all batteries are 'good' (the battery indicator is fully green). Does anybody know, the minimum remaining life of a 'good' batteries.
Answers
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Sorry but isn't that impossible for anyone to know? Each rad could well have a very different profile in terms of how often it switches on/off per session etc and the way I use mine could be quite different to your practice. Or have I not understood your question?
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How long is a piece of string? As a best guess, anything from tomorrow to another six months.
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I've managed to get over two years battery life on most of my Tado devices, but seems that most people get less than that
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We have several TRVs in our holiday so that over the winter when we don’t visit the house, we don’t need to worry about the house freezing or pipes bursting. Our last trip to the house was at the beginning of December and I replaced all the batteries (Energiser AA alkaline) so that everything would be working properly until we return in the spring. Today I got a warning that the batteries in one of the TRVs are low. Apparently I need to replace them in a few days to “maintain proper control” of our heating system. It is very disappointing that we have had less than 2 months life from these batteries. I can only hope the other TRVs don’t suffer from the same fate. Can anyone recommend a particular brand of batteries to use in future?0
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My experience is that you shouldn't rely on the messages that Tado central sends you regarding low battery status. I've found the app to be more reliable when it comes to when to replace batteries. Why the two sources don't agree is a mystery to me.
It might seem that there's no rhyme or reason when it comes to comparing battery life in different rooms, but it does make sense that the valves in rooms with a higher set temperature will need to be replaced more often than those in rooms that are set to be cooler, because they're going to be doing more on/off cycles to keep the room 'topped up'.2 -
Agreed as I've had a low battery flag up on one of my SRV's that just resolved itself.
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I think part of the issue is that when a house is cold, the battery peformance drops so when a valve operates, it can detect that the battery might not be providing full power but once the temp comes back up, all works well and the warning disappears.
I have had warnings on some valves come and go for a couple of months before they stay consistently. Once they do that, I change the batteries
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To be honest it's not really a question that can have a definitive answer.....because there are so many variables that tado's "wooly" detection system could not ever provide a solution that could apply to every different household.
It's really more of a "how long is a piece of string" type of question....imho0 -
How long is a piece of string? We wait until the TRV goes off-line. I changed the original batteries in a bedroom TRV today. No prior warning, a few days short of two years. Other rooms get through batteries much quicker, especially those rooms with regular changes to temperature settings.
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Exactly my point.....every device...every room/radiator....number of schedule changes per day.....orientation of property.....number of occupants etc etc.....
Every setup is unique....each piece of string is a different length.....therefore not possible to answer the question with any level of certainty.....for some users it's weeks/months and for others it's years.0 -
“ Can anyone recommend a particular brand of batteries to use in future?
Tado recommend the Panasonic Eneloop 2000mAH batteries, these are rechargeable. However it’s the 2000mAH bit that’s important. Ansman also have high capacity batteries if looking for alternatives.
I am 4 months into Tado ownership and replaced one set of batteries on a busy radiator already but the other 5 still looking good and all 100% green in the App.
Similar to others had alerts via email but choosing to ignore these and rely on the app status.1 -
The Eneloops comfortably fit the TRV battery slot. Before fitting, we check the battery is fully charged in a Panasonic charger.
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Thank you for your helpful comments. I have checked the app and only one radiator is showing “offline” and none of the TRVs have low batteries. That’s a relief!0
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Most of our TRVs have batteries in excess of two years old which still work fine. I’ve also noticed that sometimes valves which are reporting low volts will recover if the existing batteries are removed and then put back again. So I’m pretty conservative about replacement . . .0
