show battery charge level as a percentage
Please show the battery charge level as a percentage or even better show a graph of the battery charge level over time; this will provide much better info on anticipating when batteries need to be changed.
Comments
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I’m using rechargeable batteries which work fine but due to the fact that their maximum mAh charge is lower compared to a use-once battery they appear with “low battery” reading in tado even when fully charged.
That means I never know when they really run out of power as they easily last for 9 months in that “low battery” state.
Use-once batteries start with higher mAh reading which then gradually declines.
Rechargeable batteries start with a lower mAh reading but then stay there for much longer and only at the very end drop their charge quickly.
Therefore, seeing the percentage of the battery charging level or a graph would help me decide when it's time to replace the batteries.
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Same here, I use rechargeable batteries in my smart radiator thermostats and the minute I pop them in with a full charge the "battery low" warning is there, although they last between 3-9 months (depending on the season) easily.
It's kind of interesting that tado is marketing themselves to conserve energy and using it to be environmental friendly and yet if I'd be using regular batteries I'd be throwing away (5 radiator thermostats*2=) 10 AA batteries every year or so.
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I agree - to reduce waste it should be much easier to manage the battery levels when using rechargeable ones. It should be quite easy to implement as I'm sure tado have an exact reading of the voltage as they must know at which voltage to display the "low" message; just turning this into a percentage would an easy and quick change. They could still add the "low" message after percentage if it's below a certain threshold for one-use batteries; better would be to be able to enter the starting voltage of you battery and then tado can show a more accurate percentage and low message.
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I too agree with all the comments above, for me this is the number one improvement I would like to see in the Tado smart radiator valves, better support for rechargeable batteries please!1
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I think that what the valve reads is the voltage level, not the mAh (it cannot, it can only know instant current consuming, not the capacity of the batteries). Recharcheable batteries have a lower voltage (1.2V) than alkaline (1.5V), but the batteries level measuring it seems adjusted on alkaline batteries that when they reach 1.3/1.2V are discharged and they cannot provide the needed current for more time anymore. The rechargeable batteries are full charged at 1,2V and they can provide the needed curent for long time, these I think is the reason why you can survive 3-9 months with a rechargeable battery with "low battery" notification.
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I think this is very important. Surely Tado could provide an option in the app to indicate that you are using re-chargeable batteries and then they could tailor the behaviour accordingly. I can't believe it would be that hard to implement.
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I agree with chris. there should be a setting for rechargeable batteries. changing batteries every 3-4 month is just wastfuld for a company that goes for being green.
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Excellent suggestion. I would like to see this feature.
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I completely agree! This would be a welcome addition.
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This is a showstopper for me. I was so close to investing in the 5-pack, but then stumpled upon this issue. About 10 years (!) ago I made the switch from alkalines to Rechargeable batteries with low self-discharge, and I am not about to go back.
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I second this idea. PO convenience :
>As a user i want to see the battery life in increments of 20% as an icon in my app so that i can see better what the battery life status is
>As a user i want to use rechargeable batteries in my Tado Smart Thermostat and Smart Radiator Thermostat so that i can lower my e-waste (without seeing a low battery icon with fully powered NiMH Eneloop batteries)
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I like the idea of using rechargeable batteries. Does anyone have a recommendation as to which is best. I am using eneloop pro in a golf range finder which requires 2400 mAh and these last longer. Do I need a particular mAh rating?
I didn't have the factory supplied batteries with my stat & used some cheap polaroid AAA. However, although the app indicated ok, my stat wasn't working!
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@gezzaharris - I'm using Ansmann max-e AA with 2500 mAh and they work well in my tado radiator thermostats; in the main "smart" thermostat controller, I usee Anmasnn max-e AAA with 800mAh. Make sure you get the max-e versions as they are designed to hold the charge for a longer period of time.
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I have just replaced another set of batteries today in a SRT and I guess more will follow in the weeks ahead as we start using the heating again.
Rechargeable batteries are the obvious way forward; better for the environment and providing long tem cost savings. Having information on the percentage of battery power, by device, should allow better management of battery replacement.
The only issue I can foresee is that rechargeable AA batteries produce 1.2V; disposable AA batteries are 1.5V. Will this 20% voltage reduction create more problems?
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@Heatexpert - my Ansmann batteries have 1.2V and they work fine for many months; I last charged them back in FEB; only downside is that tado reports them as "low battery" even when fully charged which makes it impossible to know when to recharge them; this is exactly why I created this feature request asking to see the battery charge as a percentage; normal batteries start high and then lose charge gradually, whereas rechargeable batteries start lower but then keep the charge for longer before dropping fast.
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I really do not understand why Tado have not implemented the optional use of rechargeable batteries. It should be a user option in settings to specify the battery type. Tado can then follow the flatter NiMH discharge curve to indicate low battery as it rapidly dips. Personally I am prepared to accept the downside that when the low battery warning comes the I have much less time to get the batteries changed. Maybe a day or two for Ni-MH compared to a week or two for alkaline.
It is perhaps to be noted that Honeywell Evohome support different batteries including rechargeables for their HR92 radiator controllers.
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I also agree this would be a great feature. Shouldn't the support lithium batteries also be a possibilities? I can see that the HR92 support it.
I will try it out on one termo, to see how it works.
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I made an account just to be able to say that I'd love to buy Tado radiator valves, but seeing as they have this annoying issue when using PROPER HIGH QUALITY Eneloop batteries, I'm not going to buy them for now.. Please fix this
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I also would like you to support rechargeable batteries. It’s silly to have “green” heating without “green” batteries..
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I also fully support this idea.
I have been looking through 5 years of comments dating back from 2015 from Tado on this:
https://twitter.com/tado/status/583240281409130496
pretty wild that Tado hasn't introduced a solution to this......
I should think that this would be top of mind in these days and age.
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Agree to above statements on
1) usage of re-chargeable batteries
2) need to have such percentage indicator for remaining battery life
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For me, if Tado could determine "life" information from the default battery they supply for the TVR's I would buy that specific battery so I could have reliable accurate infotmation.
I would by it from Tado if it was a specialist type.
Simples ......
KK
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@kkorkky - what you're describing is in a way what we currently have, i.e. if you're using a "normal" battery, tado will notify you when it's time to change it; however, tado cannot provide "life" information as it obviously depends on how often the TVR is active and probably also how far away it is from the bridge, i.e. each battery has its own "life" which cannot be predicted.
This is where the battery percentage would help as you could gauge how quickly a batteries are running down even before the low battery notification is triggered; and for those who use rechargeable batteries it would be the only way to see when the batteries needs to be recharged,
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Oh please, I would love this feature. The low battery message is meaningless to me. And using disposable batteries defeats the purpose of buying Tado in the first place. I wanted to have a more environmentally conscious approach to my heating after all.
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+1... think of the environment, think of the children, please add this!
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Hi, can I throw my hat in here too. Been using Tado for 4years and fed up of putting primary batteries in, I want to use rechargeable. If it's just a tweak of the low battery warning voltage level then ... TADO why has hasn't this option been added? Are we missing some important factor herr? This seems like a simple fix.0
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Rework to allow rechargeables without false ‘low battery’ indications would be more in line with the ethical messsage from Tado.0
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+1 Come on Tado devs, either implement this or have the grace to come on here and comment as to why you haven’t yet. If not technically possible then at least say why.0
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Has anyone tried NiZn rechargeable batteries on the SRT? They run at 1.6v?0
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@smith_robert4 good luck finding NiZn batteries that are any good. Most seem to die after a very short period of use, according to many of the reviews. They are also rather expensive given the poor quality. See reviews here:
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