Tado Set Up - New Build Bloor Homes 4 Bed - Help Required Please! Opentherm & Modulation

bearwoodlakes

Hi All,

Hope you’re well.

I’m very impressed at what I have researched so far on Tado and would like to invest into the ecosystem.

I had some questions before purchasing so if you could help resolve, that’d be great.

We have a new build property which is 4 bedrooms and set up is as follows:

Downstairs:
- Thermostat is located in the hallway when entering the property
- There is a radiator in the hallway which I believe the thermostat measures in terms of the temperature
- The boiler is located in the utility area in the kitchen, housed in a cabinet along with 1 radiator
- 1 x Additional Radiator in Kitchen
- 1 x Radiator in Lounge
- 1 x Radiator in WC

Upstairs:
- 4 x Radiators (1 in each room)
- 1 x Towel Rail Radiator in main bathroom
- 1 x Radiator in En Suite

Questions:

1. I have an Ideal Logic Combi ESP1/Logic Code Combi ESP1 which controls both our radiators and water. Can you confirm Tado is compatible?
2. I believe our boiler is OpenTherm and Modulating. Can you confirm exactly which kit to buy to enable this please? (Wired/Wireless)
3. Can you point me onto how this should be installed? I believe it is the digital instructions but not sure.
4. Is modulating better than the weather sensor check set up?
5. I’m planning on purchasing the 8 pack TRVs. Where should I place each one to maximise the capabilities of Tado?
6. What set up is required to enable the system to call for heat from any room?
7. If the thermostat registers a certain temperature, can the TRV override this in another room which requires perhaps more heat? If so, how?
8. If the thermostat registers a certain temperature, can the TRV override this in another room which requires perhaps less heat? If so, how?
9. Can you turn the boiler on/off via Alexa? If so, how does this work with the temperature set on the thermostat?
10. How is the hot water controlled in all of this?

Thanks,
Mr Bakshi

SPT

(Take this with a pinch of salt but I used AI to answer your questions)


1. According to the Tado website¹, your boiler model is compatible with Tado, as it supports both relay and OpenTherm connections. You can also use the Product Finder² to check the compatibility of your heating system with Tado products.

2. If your boiler is OpenTherm and modulating, you will need the Wireless Smart Thermostat Starter Kit³ and the Extension Kit⁴ to enable this functionality. The Extension Kit connects to your boiler via OpenTherm and allows you to control your hot water as well. The Wireless Smart Thermostat communicates with the Extension Kit via radio frequency and acts as the main controller for your heating system. You can also use the EU version of the Wireless Receiver⁵ instead of the Extension Kit, but you will lose the hot water control feature.

3. You can find the installation guides for the Tado products on their website⁶. You can also use the Tado app to guide you through the installation process step by step. The app will ask you some questions about your heating system and provide you with the instructions tailored to your setup.

4. Modulating and weather sensor are two different ways of controlling the boiler's output. Modulating means that the boiler can adjust its power output according to the heat demand, rather than just turning on or off completely. Weather sensor means that the boiler can adjust its output based on the outside temperature, rather than just the inside temperature. Both methods can improve the efficiency and comfort of your heating system, but they have different advantages and disadvantages. Some people prefer modulating because it can reduce the boiler cycling and provide a more stable temperature. Some people prefer weather sensor because it can anticipate the heat demand and prevent overheating or underheating. You can also use both methods together, but you will need to install Tado via relay and use an external weather sensor for your boiler. You can find more information about this topic on the Tado community forum⁷.

5. The best place to install the Smart Radiator Thermostats is on the radiators that are in the rooms that you use most often or that have different heating needs than the rest of the house. For example, you may want to install them on the radiators in the bedrooms, the lounge, the kitchen, and the bathrooms. This way, you can control the temperature of each room individually and create different heating schedules for different zones. You can also use the Tado app to set the Smart Radiator Thermostats to either call for heat or be independent from the main thermostat. This will affect how the boiler responds to the heat requests from the radiators. You can find more details about this feature on the Tado website⁸.

6. To enable the system to call for heat from any room, you will need to set the Smart Radiator Thermostats to call for heat mode in the Tado app. This means that the radiators can request the boiler to turn on if they need more heat, regardless of the temperature measured by the main thermostat. You will also need to set the main thermostat to a high enough temperature to allow the boiler to turn on when needed. You can find more information about how to do this on the Tado website⁹.

7. If the thermostat registers a certain temperature, the TRV can override this in another room that requires more heat, if the TRV is set to call for heat mode. This means that the TRV can request the boiler to turn on and heat up the radiator in that room, even if the main thermostat is satisfied. However, this may also affect the temperature in other rooms that have radiators without TRVs or that are set to independent mode. You can find more information about how to do this on the Tado website[^10^].

8. If the thermostat registers a certain temperature, the TRV can override this in another room that requires less heat, if the TRV is set to independent mode. This means that the TRV can close the valve and stop the flow of hot water to the radiator in that room, even if the main thermostat is calling for heat. However, this may also affect the temperature in other rooms that have radiators without TRVs or that are set to call for heat mode. You can find more information about how to do this on the Tado website¹¹.

9. You can turn the boiler on or off via Alexa by using the Tado skill. You will need to add the skill to the Alexa app and link it to your Tado account. Then you can use voice commands to control your heating system, such as \"Alexa, set the temperature in the living room to 21°C.\" or \"Alexa, turn off the heating.\". You can find more information about how to do this on the Tado website¹².

10. The hot water is controlled by the Extension Kit or the Wireless Receiver, depending on which one you use. You can set a hot water schedule in the Tado app to control when the hot water is on or off. You can also use the Tado app or Alexa to manually turn the hot water on or off. You can find more information about how to do this on the Tado website¹³.

bearwoodlakes

This is massively helpful - thank you!

Sorry had a couple of follow ups:

Can’t I buy the wired UK thermostat and replace the existing one for my set up to be modulating/open therm?

I imagine you are using the term ‘ Smart Radiator Thermostats’ and Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRV) interchangeably?

So you’re saying if I wanted more heat in a certain room, I’d have to set it to ‘call for heat’ but if I wanted a room lower than the thermostat, it should be set in ‘independent mode’? Have I understood that correctly? Isn’t there a way to do both e.g. Thermostat was at 19 degrees, office warms up to 19 but actually I wanted it at 15. However, late in the day I wanted it to go up to 21 degrees?

Would you also recommend that the heater next to the thermostat has a TRV attached to it?

Really appreciate your advice!

SPT

You know what though, do your research on this because the way the smart TRVs are positioned, they are not accurate. I've spend over £500 on this system and whilst I'm okay and happy with it, the room temperature is not the same as the TRV temperature..some argue that it's inaccurate. Tado released a separate temperature sensor but you'd have to buy that for every room you have a smart radiator thermostat in.

Also Tado is fully online only. If your internet goes, your heating is very very limited.

If you have a big house, WiFi is a known issue with the internet hub.

To answer some of your questions:

TRV, smart radiator thermostat etc that's just the "radiator valve" and yes my WC has the manual TRV and so do the bathrooms.

Your Ideal Logic boiler should be openTherm so you need the EU kit. I just have mine on the EU plug adapter. They sell the kit in the UK. It's probably more easier than wiring an Opentherm wire from your boiler to the thermostat.

I have the office set to 21 right now, twist or setting the heating on the TRV whilst the rest of the house is off.

Your thermostat in the hallway is not needed anymore, you just use the TRVs in each room to measure the temperature. But as I said they are NOT accurate.

I'd sell you my TRVs if I could!!

Unknown

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bearwoodlakes

https://community.tado.com/en-gb/discussion/comment/76616#Comment_76616

Care to elaborate? :)

hugbilly

The tadoº system has two Achilles' heels:

(i) Very weak RF and no signal booster / repeater available. This can cause problems with the devices communicating with one another.

(ii) The need for an internet connection to follow a schedule, other systems have fallback measures for when there are problems communicating with the internet.

Although I like the system when it is working correctly if I had my time again I would probably opt for an alternative smart product such as Wiser or Honeywell . . .

bearwoodlakes

Thanks for your input mate.

(i) I live in a new build, do you think this would be an issue? I've read that this is normally if you have stone walls

(ii) Do you know/have experience of how often this problem occurs? I'm hoping my internet connection is stable but of course at the mercy of it so understand why this is a concern

Any links to Wiser or Honeywell which can do better?

hugbilly

(i) Unfortunately I think that's a "how long is a piece of string question" I, and many others, have had to do a lot of experimenting with the positioning of the bridge to optimise connection between the devices. However several of the internal walls of this house are brick, I'm sure stud walls would prove less of an obstacle but I think RF is known to be a black art and it would be much easier to solve such problems if tadoº offered repeaters.

(ii) All depends on the stability of your internet connection

I don't really have any links to Drayton's Wiser or Honeywell's Evohome systems but there's lots of online info. I think Evohome is pretty expensive. There are also other systems, for example a Bosch one, but I know nothing about them.

If thinking of alternative systems I would suggest that whatever you do don't opt for Hive. That company's TRV Heat On Demand (HOD) system does not work; plenty about this on the Hive forum

SPT

@bearwoodlakes - https://wiser.draytoncontrols.co.uk/product-selector/45

If Tado priced the temperature monitor at less than £30, it would be a winner. Research the TRVs from Wiser.