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Potential new user / customer

Schizophonic
Schizophonic
in General Questions & Topics

Hi all

I'm looking to change my heating system in my house as I'm now WFH more and with the winter and colder months coming soon and not to forget the rise if gas prices.


Currently I have a Google Nest which is working fine as expected but I'm looking into the individual smart radiator value system which Tado offer. Long story short I want to only heat up my office space when I'm WFH and leave the rest of the house cold as I'm not in any of those rooms during the day time. This is not possible to be configure under a Nest system.


Can someone offer me some advise if this will be achievable? Can someone provide any feedback or comments if they have gone down this route or not before? I understand there is an large initial cost to swap the kit over and possibly change the radiator system around my house. Also I've seen some packages where they offer professional install, is this best to be used as I'm not very savey with it comes to wiring and etc?


Thanks

Answers

  • johnnyp78
    johnnyp78 ✭✭✭
    It’s mostly possible, depending on your level of insulation and whether your radiators have trvs already. I doubt you’ll need to change the radiators themselves but this depends on their efficiency. Unlikely though.

    Installing the Tado trvs is simple and doesn’t require rewiring. You will need to wire in to the boiler either a wired thermostat or wireless receiver though. Tado provides instruction to do this, I found it simple, if you’re lacking confidence it may be better to use a professional.
  • Schizophonic
    Schizophonic

    Sorry I meant not to change the radiators thesmeves but the TRVS will need installing and etc.

    The only reason I'm reluctant to do the install myself is that I've looked at it before when I wanted a Google nest and from the online youtube videos they were nothing like my wiring. So I'm curious to know if there are knowledge guides out there that outline for users who have a Google nest how to swap it out.

  • johnnyp78
    johnnyp78 ✭✭✭
    edited August 2022
    No idea, but Tado will give you an installation guide that’s very straightforward, or was in my case.
  • GrilledCheese2
    GrilledCheese2 ✭✭✭

    @Schizophonic Some points to consider:

    Your gas boiler is sized to heat the whole home. Using a large gas boiler to heat just the one radiator is inefficient. Obviously cheaper than heating the whole home, but don't expect the percentage reduction to be linear.

    You're probably familiar with how important it is to insulate the external walls of a property. Your internal walls are probably half the thickness and are not insulated so you will lose a lot of heat from the warm room to the cold house. Again, the percentage reduction by heating just one room is not linear.

    You may want to calculate how much it will cost to heat the office room with a 1KW electric heater for 40 hours per week. Comparing this to the cost of upgrading your controls and the gas that would be used. 

    If your goal is to turn off unwanted radiators, then you don't have to remove the Nest system to use smart TRVs. You could purchase Tado (or another brand) and use them to turn off the unwanted radiators during the daytime. The Nest thermostat continues to control the boiler and call for heat. This works best if the Nest thermostat is not fixed to the wall and can be moved into the office room whilst working. If your goal is to have full temperature control of every room, then you'll need a full Tado system.

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