New tado installation - radiators and underfloor heating - configuration and shopping list

mlc

Hi,

I'd like to smarten up my home heating installation and probably need some help about the shopping list and configuration.

Currently I have a Vaillant ecotec plus with calormatic steering built-in and hot water boiler , radiators in most of the rooms + underfloor heating in 3 of them (4 circuits, one of the rooms uses 2 circuits). I don't have any room thermostats and I don't have any actuators or steering on the floor heating manifold (the temperature may be only controlled by the mixing valve in the basement for the whole underfloor heating).

What I would like to achieve is:

1. Separate temperature steering for the 3 rooms with the underfloor heating (kitchen + bathrooms)
2. Global temperature steering for the rest of the house.
3. Individual steering for some of the rooms with radiators (bedrooms).
4. Integration with Homekit (I don't necessarily need a physical thermostats, steering by homekit is fine)

So the question is: can I get it with tado?

I understand that I would need a Starting Kit with wireless thermostat to achieve #2 and #4 and some additional radiator valves to achieve #3. Is that right?

But what about the underfloor heating?

• what actuators should I buy?
• do I need some additional steering accessory for them or should it be somehow directly connected with tado?
• I don't have any wires for the thermostats and it's practically impossible to place them now. So is there a way to make an underfloor heating work with wireless thermostat? If no, then maybe I can leave the thermostats in the box with the manifold and use some room temperature sensors + homekit steering?

I know that's probably some basic questions, but it's my first time and really wold like to do as much by myself as possible.

Any help on my idea, shopping list and configuration will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

mlc

Hi,

I've read a lot and most things seems clear, but still looking for some help and confirmations. I believe that just controlling the boiler and radiators just via starter wireless kit and smart valves for some of the rooms is not going to be the problem. The main issue remains combaining it with the underfloor heating so i can be individually steered and regulate the heating on the boiler. So, the main questions still are:

1. Can the underfloor heating be controlled only via the wired thermostat? I don't have wires to the rooms.
2. If so, then can it be "faked" by installing the termostats directly by the underfloor heating manifold and placing wireless thermometer sensors in the rooms with underfloor heating?
3. Are some specific actuators required? I don't have any right now, do you recommend anything?
4. Do I need some steering device for the actuators or do I connect it directly to the thermostats?
5. Do those thermostats by the manifold require some wiring to the boiler?

Thank you!

johnnyp78

Paging @GrilledCheese2

GrilledCheese2

Before you use any brand of smart thermostat you'll need a wiring centre installed. This will control the actuators, call for heat and switch on the pump. You'll also need one that can control a radiator zone in addition to the UFH zones. It needs to use 230V on/off control, not a proprietary system that locks you into components from the same ecosystem. Avoid low voltage, digital bus and wireless systems. You're going to need a heating engineer to view your system and make recommendations.

In terms of the Tado kit you need just the one starter kit. You'll need to used wired thermostats, but should be able to pair these with wireless thermostats to act as remote temperature sensors. All requests for heat will go via the wiring centre.

With regards to the smart TRVs they operate in two modes. In independent mode they follow the time/temperature schedule in the app but do not request heat. In this mode the maximum room temperature is controlled, but the temperature can drop below the set temperature. When a smart TRV is linked to a Zone Controller (wired thermostat) it works in a mode where it can request heat and will always maintain the room temperature.