Wireless Receiver v Extension Kit

I’ve just received a new Smart Thermostat starter kit which I’m waiting to be installed but when looking at the picture of what I ordered the unit that gets wired to the boiler looks different.

Checking here https://support.tado.com/en/articles/3387312-what-function-do-the-individual-tado-devices-serve I have received the extension kit but the wireless receiver was in the photo when I ordered.

Whats the difference between the wireless receiver and extension kit?

The info in that link isn’t quite helpful because many of the components look alike but have different names.

I’m confused.

Answers

  • Yep I'm also confused, I'd love to know the difference between these! The descriptions given by Tado are basically the same.

  • tado support is a shame .. just a shame ... the support is the point where i can just advise to not use tado products at all ...

  • Okay.. for everybody asking the same question .. for me, seems both, the wireless receiver and the extension kit are the exact same thing .. the (old?) extension kit is not even advertised at all .. so i did bought a starterkit with wall thermostat and wireless receiver and without using the wall thermostat , it is possible to use the wireless-receiver stand alone .. the actuators(?) , work with the receiver directly, without the need for a wall thermostat or the extension kit.


    tado support: thanks for nothing .. really bad

  • I’ve got both in separate houses.

    The old extension kit is in two parts like a lot of older heating control panels: a wall plate with terminals and spring loaded sockets that you connect wires from your boiler to, and a faceplate with all the electronics on it that locates onto the wall plate sockets via pins.

    The new Wireless Receiver combines the electronics and wiring terminals into a single unit with a simple plastic cover. Tadoº say the newer one has been introduced to make installation simpler. It didn’t seem any simpler to install to me, but the new one has a good test mode that allows you to verify your wiring controls your heating properly.

    I’d like to understand if there is a way to use that receiver to manually control the boiler. The test mode only lasts for 2 mins.

  • I *think* that the only difference is that the extension kit also has the 36v control for opentherm.

    The wireless and wired thermostats seem to be exactly the same. The only difference is whether a wireless receiver or extension kit is registered with an account and then all thermostats revert to wireless mode. How stupid is that? Why would I wire in a thermostat only to want to control wirelessly? At least we can revert that on the web interface now.

    Think about it - if you want to wire opentherm, with the wireless starter kit, you can't do it from the wireless receiver (which is wired in), but you can from the wireless thermostat. It's nuts! And you can't also have an extension kit along with the wireless receiver, I believe.

    What I find with tado is that the guides to set things up in a simple way are all out there but there is nothing which describes comprehensively how the whole tado ecosystem works so you can figure out your installation for yourself.

    I am waiting for tado support to explain things to me...
  • @AndyMarden your assumptions about the wireless receiver not supporting Open Therm are incorrect. There are two variants of this new device; one with a low voltage bus and one without.

    As stated above, the difference between the extension kit and the wireless receiver is how they are wired up. The wiring for the new device is similar to a Nest heat link.

  • I am also trying to find the difference between the extension kit and wireless receiver. Also the differences and compatibility between the versions of these things.

    I have the v3+ wireless receiver and its not working with my boiler.

    Tado support have told me that it is only capable of relay mode and not opentherm. They say I need the extension kit for opentherm.

    They also told me that the UK version of the wireless receiver does not support opentherm. Does this mean that other countries get opentherm with the wireless receiver?

    Is this a firmware or hardware difference?

    Tado is marketed as opentherm compatible, they should make it clear when hardware or jurisdictions are cripple in functionality.

    Trying to make things simple by withholding information does not help anyone.

    Answers and ecosystem information please Tado. And yes, please get technical.
  • GrilledCheese2
    GrilledCheese2 ✭✭✭
    edited December 2020

    @trogg The Opentherm version of the wireless receiver (EU variant) is different hardware. You will never get the UK variant to work with Opentherm.

    It looks like Tado have chosen to sell the Opentherm version to mainland Europe, but continue to sell the Extension Kit to the UK for those that want to use Opentherm.

    The wireless receiver does not have a backplate for the wiring terminals, the wires are attached directly to the main body of the device. The wireless receiver also has some LEDs and test buttons on the front to show the status for heating and hot water relays.

    The extension kit is a two part device that is compatible with the 2 channel programmers used with most heating systems in the UK.

  • Sorry for all the questions - How many versions are there of the extension kit? Which versions are compatible with which bridges? Do we still need the wireless receiver or does it work with a bridge and wireless stats?

    Thanks @GrilledCheese2
  • I’m only aware of one version of the extension kit. It has two relay outputs plus the low voltage bus used for OT.

    The extension kit is compatible with the current V3/V3+ bridge and the previous V2 bridge.

    If you install the extension kit you don’t need the wireless receiver. It’s not permitted to have both devices in the same system.

    If you want a complete starter set the product code is V3P-SK-ST01EK01IB01-TC-UK. For just the extension kit the product code is V3P-EK01-TC-ML.

  • rizsher
    rizsher
    edited December 2020
    So, I just received my extension kit, haven't installed it yet, but, gone thru the installation instructions at https://my.tado.com/app/en/main/home/installation/BU3078164992

    It definitely has OpenTherm capability. you can power it from the boiler using the 4 core cable they provide in the pack (2 for OT, 2 for powering the extension kit), or directly from mains using a 2 core wired plug, to be procured separately. (My nest HeatLink is currently powered directly from mains with a plug cable)

    I curently understand that this box pairs wirelessly with the Tado Internet Bridge that is hardwired to the router. I also believe this can be made to work in tandem with the Smart Thermostat. The 2 together would then replicate what the Google Nest setup is, the extension kit is equivalent of the Nest Heatlink, and the smart thermostat equal the nest round display unit.

    The last part is all conjecture as the Tado website, abd fir that matter any description if Tado products in any website is a hot mess. Its worse than Apple calling every ipad, ipad since 2010!!!.

    I plan to replace my currently installed Nest 3rd Generation with the Tado boiler controller, so all the radiators AND boiler get controlled by the same ecosystem.

    Having bought everything, Im now in a dilemma, i now am thinking that the boiler maybe better left to be controlled by Nest, so I can independently set a schedule for it, and use the (currently);free Google geofencing/presence feature to turn it off automatically when away from home.
  • Hi, I’ve just replaced the thermostat, got the heating working again but cannot get the hot water to activate, app says No Remote Access, ???. The Link light on the bridge continually flashes, never noticed if it did that before it went faulty, thanks. Any helpfully suggestions how too rectify this problem please, be very grateful

  • I am getting the same, everything was fien until earlier in the morning, now I see all my radiators tiles in the app dark bkue in Color with "No Remote Access" listed under each - I haven't made ANY changes to the system in over a week - maybe Tado online services are having an issue??
  • Ok, update, it seems I had taken the first step towards adding the wireless extension kit to the Tado app (scan the QR code). I stopped after that, but, it seems the kit is now in the app, but, not connected, as i never powered it or connect to the boiler.

    What that seems to be doing is, all of the Tado kit is looking at this extension kit... AND because it isn't fully setup, there is no option to delete it either!!?. Anyone know how to remove it? I dont want to try anything with the boiler over the holidays lest something goes wrong.
  • rizsher, I had the same problem with the tiles when I scanned + added the receiver without powering it up 1st.

    I had to delete my account, and re-install it, then add all the individual trv's again as if from new !!!

    I still haven't installed + powered up my receiver yet , so haven't scanned/ added the receiver again

  • I actually found out how to fix that, go into "Room and device", click in the right arrow next to a TRV, on the next screen, at the bottom, there is an option for Zone controller, yiu can choose Indeoendent, or the extension kit, choosing the former brought the TRVs back online.
  • I've bought the Starter kit V3+ in the apple store. Before doing that, I tried to reach the support to find out if it's compatible with my boiler's Opentherm. They didn't help. Kept repeating that Tado can only replace the thermostat and wouldn't connect to the boiler. Anyway..... Now, after reading this, It seems like the wireless receiver doesn't connect to Opentherm, only the new extension kit or wired thermostat? I'll probably return this one, unless for a miracle they send the extension kit instead of the wireless receiver in the pack.

    Has anyone got recommendations for another brand that is not as confusing/connects opentherm/has it's own smart radiator valves and is compatible with Apple/Google and Alexa?

  • @Peds

    I don't think there is a perfect smart heating solution - at least for the UK and presumably Europe.

    Tado might be considered the closest despite the many outstanding issues discussed in these forums. However other brands are getting better and therefore getting much closer to Tado so Tado need to wake up and address these issues. Even before Covid19 it was clear Tado had pretty much fallen asleep at the wheel, it is almost as if they are a one man operation. It is surprising because I get the impression their sales have been strong for such a product. I almost wish someone would buy them and then be more active although takeovers are no guarantee.

    In a number of European countries including the UK, Vaillant and Worcester Bosch each use their own proprietary ebus protocols, in the Netherlands they use OpenTherm. Tado are unique in supporting these proprietary ebus standards - at least for the Vaillant VR65 controller, not sure about the VR66.

    OpenTherm and ebus both use the same wiring but different protocols.

    In no particular order…

    1. Netatmo (now part of Legrand) have recently updated their product line to offer both the previous 'call for heat' model and a new OpenTherm only model. It supports HomeKit, Alexa and Google, although strangely they only list HomeKit for the new OpenTherm one, it is not clear if this is genuine or a marketing mistake. They also do matching smart TRVs. I get the impression that the older still sold model does not do hot water but the newer OpenTherm model does.
    2. Heatmiser have a product which claims it does HomeKit, Alexa and Google. The problem is that they don't seem to do matching smart TRVs. I think they support OpenTherm. Interestingly considering one of the issues people have had with Tado, Heatmiser do use mesh based wireless communications. Even more interestingly just found the Heatmiser 2-wire Thermal Actuator, this is supposed to be for underfloor heating but some people report they have successfully fitted them to standard (dumb) TRVs to make them smart. Not really an adequate solution as they each would have to be individually wired to the Heatmiser Neo system.
    3. Hive have recently added HomeKit support. They also support Alexa and Google. It can do hot water and they do matching smart TRVs. However their site does not make it clear if these functions are supported via HomeKit, I get the impression the TRVs are not. It looks like Hive do support OpenTherm. It looks like they have compatibility issues with Worcester Bosch boilers and the older Vaillant VR65 module.
    4. Nest Learning Thermostat v3 supports Google Assistant (duh!) and I believe Alexa. It does support hot water and OpenTherm. Nest do not do smart TRVs. There is an unofficial means of using it with HomeKit.
    5. Honeywell in the US have various HomeKit compatible smart thermostats but in Europe their 'smart' products suck.
    6. Ecobee do not support Europe at all.
    7. A reminder that Eve Home make smart TRVs for HomeKit only. They don't do a boiler controller or smart thermostat. These potentially could be used with Heatmiser.
  • Rob2
    Rob2 ✭✭✭

    "clear Tado had pretty much fallen asleep at the wheel, it is almost as if they are a one man operation"

    I agree with that. It is known that Tado was formed by 3 men, specialized in sales, hardware and software respectively.

    It looks like the further expansion of the company went all into sales, hardware and support, and the single software man is still running the show. But probably he now is a managing director as well and has little time left to tinker with the software.

    It is a pity, because the system could do so much more when the software would be developed further.

  • Hello, i buyed from Amazon kit tado° wireless smart thermostat starter kit v3+ with hot water control V3P-SK-ST01EK01IB01-TC-UK , with Extension Kit, wireless smart thermostat and bridge

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07VXBMC14/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    but Amazon sent to me new kit V3P-SK-WTS01WRP01IB01-TC-UK, with Wireless receiver (programmer), wireless temperature sensor and bridge.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/tado%C2%B0-Wireless-Thermostat-Starter-Assistant/dp/B08LP1LS5T?ref_=ast_sto_dp

    My gas boiler is Vaillant turboTEC plus VUW RO 242/3-5 (eBUS) and untill next winter, i will buy Quadra Green 25 CSI (OpenTherm).

    I talk with Marco@tado and he told me, my Vaillant can work with eBUS if i will re-wire my boiler and then, connect to new wireless receiver (programmer)?

    • Can somebody explain me (with pictures will be a lot better also) how to do that?

    Also, Marco told me second boiler Quadra Green 25 CSI, can work on OpenTherm interface and this wireless receiver (programmer).

    • True?
  • I'm currently waiting for my wireless starter kit v3+ and will be pissed if it doesn't have OT and I need to buy a extension kit instead
  • The wireless receiver I got from OVO with the V3+ wireless starter kit has 11 terminals. The one in tado’s professional installation document for the V3+ kit has 12 terminals, both sets terminals labelled very differently. Disappointed that what OVO had sold me is not going to work with my Vaillant system boiler with eBus so I will be asking for my money back and then I think avoiding any further dealings with tado!
  • OVO have sold you the UK variant of the wireless receiver, and it’s the only one available for sale in the UK. To use Digital bus you would have to source a unit from another country that uses the EU variant.

  • Thanks for confirming @GrilledCheese2. How ridiculous that there are 2 variants and typically the UK variant is not compatible with an arguably more efficient boiler system (I.e one capable of modulation).
    Yet the thermostat in the kit seems to be fully able to select the D07 eBus system!
    Very confused with all this, and angry that OVO seem oblivious to this issue, or are just plain mis-selling
  • I had the same question. They must be fully aware that the information they give isn't clear neither enough, marketing techniques made on purpose.
  • Just in terms of the wireless kit, Tado have said to me:

    "Vitodens 100-W B1KF is compatible with tado°. tado° can be connected with this boiler to either an OpenTherm or a Relay interface, however, it cannot work on Viessmann Plus BUS interface. You will need 1 x Starter Kit - Wireless Smart Thermostat V3+ for the EU market (the UK version doesn't have an option to control digital interface)."