Have I bought the wrong Tado equipment?

number43

Hi all,

I have just moved into a newbuild house configured as follows:

Danfoss TPONE-M in the downstairs hallway running CH & HW.

Danfoss TPONE-B in the master bedroom.

I have fitted a Tado Extension Kit downstairs in the hallway in place of the TPONE-M and connected it correctly to the CH & HW. I have also fitted a Tado Wired Smart Thermostat upstairs in the bedroom in place of the TPONE-B.

I imagine that with the two Danfoss controllers that were originally fitted, the house will have the heating divided into two zones, upstairs and downstairs. I understand how the upstairs works using the Tado Smart Thermostat, but what I don't understand is how the Extension Kit calls CH as it has no display or option to change temperatures? Should I have bought the Tado Wireless Receiver instead of the Extension Kit? If so, can I fit a Wireless Thermostat add-on in the hallway to control the Extension Kit somehow?

Thanks,

Mark.

johnnyp78

Have a look here - it sounds like you do have a multi zone system, in which case you could replace the extension kit with a second wired thermo.

https://support.tado.com/en/articles/3481812-how-does-tado-control-a-multi-zone-radiator-heating-system

The other option would be to fit Tado trvs on your radiators as well but this may not be necessary, depending on the size and insulation of your house.

number43

Thankyou for your reply.

It is quite a large house, and is well insulated. I do have 6 TRVs to fit too but didn't want to confuse matters.

If I replaced the Tado Extension Kit with a Tado Smart Thermostat I don't know how I would get any HW as that was controlled by the Danfoss TPONE-M and was the whole reason I bought the Tado Extension Kit?

I've had Tado in my old (smaller single zone) house for years, but this new install really has me stumped.

Thanks,

Mark.

johnnyp78

Do you know how the thermostats connect to the boiler - ie 230v or digital? And I’m assuming it’s a system boiler (that you have a hot water tank).

There is a slim chance as it’s a modern house that the thermostats are connected to the boiler via Opentherm, in which case you won’t need an extension kit, just a wired thermo.

I suspect multi zone wiring plus hot water tank is going to be quite complicated, especially if it’s s or y plan with 230v relay switching.

You’re right that you could a wireless temp sensor to trigger the extension kit, which might be enough to make the system work. You should also be able to control It via the app - can you turn on HW from there?

johnnyp78

This might be of use too. https://tado.vanillacommunities.com/en-gb/discussion/9114/are-3-zones-possible

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johnnyp78

Not sure about this. I can’t see any reason why the extension kit should be located near the boiler if there’s wiring and power available and it can communicate with the bridge, and you’re ok for it to be on display. I put mine next to the boiler because that’s where the previous RF transmitter was wired to but I don’t see why it can’t go anywhere, provided it can send a 230v/ low voltage signal to the boiler.

number43

Hi, sorry for the late reply but moving house is taking up all my time and heating has gone on the back burner so to speak! I am 100% sure I am using the correct names for all of the Danfoss and Tado devices. The TPONE-M in the hallway downstairs has the heating and hot water timers, the upstairs TPONE-B is just a thermostat. There are only those two devices in the house, apart from a 'frost stat' in the garage next to the boiler (which has no adjustment). Both of the TPONE devices are 230v and yes I do have a hot water tank. With the current Tado setup, I can see, and control the HW via the Tado App.

I'm clutching at straws now, but the Tado Extension kit that I bought is the old version with just a single light on the front. After reading the links kindly provided by johnnyp78 I've just ordered a Tado Starter Kit V3+ Wireless Smart Thermostat that includes the new version of the Extension Kit called a Tado Wireless Receiver which (like the old Tado Extension Kit) controls the hot water, but also seems to have a Tado Wireless Thermostat which will hopefully control the downstairs heating. The upstairs heating will hopefully work with the Tado Smart Wired Thermostat that I already have fitted.

I can now see why there is so much Tado kit for sale on eBay, probably people ordering the wrong equipment and trying to get some money back.. I'll soon be in the same predicament!

Then again hopefully (I'm using that word a lot!) I can get the upstairs TRV's to link to the Tado Smart Thermostat, and the downstairs TRV's to link to the Tado Starter Kit V3+ Wireless Smart Thermostat.

Hopefully I won't need to talk to Tado Support and get anything adjusted as I'm not sure what I would need to ask them?

I'll wait for it all to arrive, get it fitted and set up, then come back with my findings.

Thanks,

Mark.

johnnyp78

Hi Mark,

If it’s all working, why are you buying more equipment? You don’t need the starter kit, you have everything wired up correctly by the sound of it. The new and old extension kits are exactly the same, with the only difference being that the new UK extension kit (aka wireless receiver) has less functionality (but more buttons) - Tado has removed Opentherm support from it, though this isn’t important to you as you’re connected by 230v relay anyway. Regardless, all you’d be doing is replacing one correctly functioning extension kit with another.

If you want to control the hot water from a physical device rather than the app, you can buy a wireless temp sensor, currently on sale for prime day. Sounds like that’s all you need.

You should be able to control the hot water from the wired thermostat too but you’ll need a temperature sensor for the downstairs zone, either a wireless temp sensor or smart trv fitted to the radiator.

It sounds like you’re getting confused about the separate zones. All the Tado products communicate with just one thing: the Internet bridge. Zones are created virtually in the app by designating trvs and thermostats to rooms or areas.

number43

Hi, yes I am getting a little confused by the zones. But I think I have it now that each room is classed by Tado as a zone. I was previously thinking about the two actual zones in the house i.e. upstairs and downstairs. Last night I fitted a few TRVs upstairs, and tried to set up the upstairs Tado Wired Smart Thermostat as a zone controller, but even that seems beyond me at the moment.

When I get home from work I'm going to remove all of the Tado devices from the app and set them all up again, and hopefully there will be an option to set the upstairs Thermostat as a zone controller to be operated by TRVs on each of the upstairs radiators.

Once I've completed that basic step, I'll start with the downstairs CH & HW.

johnnyp78

Good good. Set the upstairs thermostat as the zone controller for each upstairs room and the extension kit as the zone controller for each downstairs room. Sounds like it’s all wired in correctly so hopefully it will work.

You probably already know this but you set the zone controller by clicking on settings -> rooms and devices -> then click on the room and select room controller in the heating zone. If it’s all installed correctly you should have the option of either the extension kit or the wired thermostat.

https://support.tado.com/en/articles/4689126-how-does-tado-control-heating-zones-how-can-i-change-the-zone-controller-of-a-room