w.Intercom = i;Tado vs Hive (Radiator valve only) — tado° Community

Tado vs Hive (Radiator valve only)

landscape
landscape ✭
in General Questions & Topics

Hi everyone,

I’m currently looking to purchase radiator valves to use with my existing Hive thermostat. I’m deciding between Hive valves and Tado ones. Hive has a sale going on, and I believe Octopus customers can get a 40% discount on Tado products.

My main priority is integrating these valves with HomeKit for automation, and I have no intention of paying for any subscriptions. I’m particularly interested in valves with presence detection, and if they lack this feature, I might consider building an add-on myself. I’m curious about what others are doing in this regard.

Can Tado valves work without their hub, using just a HomePod mini as the hub? I’m also looking for an open ecosystem, as I’m wary of companies restricting access or shutting down services (like IFTTT).

Any advice or experiences you can share to help me make the right choice would be greatly appreciated.

I’ll also be asking similar questions in the Hive hub forum, as the reviews on some websites seem to just copy the product page.

Thanks!

Comments

  • martini
    martini Volunteer Moderator

    I haven't ever touched Hive products, so I can't speak or directly compare them…

    My main priority is integrating these valves with HomeKit for automation, and I have no intention of paying for any subscriptions. I’m particularly interested in valves with presence detection, and if they lack this feature, I might consider building an add-on myself. I’m curious about what others are doing in this regard.

    Can Tado valves work without their hub, using just a HomePod mini as the hub? I’m also looking for an open ecosystem, as I’m wary of companies restricting access or shutting down services (like IFTTT).

    Well, there is a lot of "yes, but…" coming…

    When looking at the V3+ devices, you can use them through HomeKit - but you'll have to use the tado brigde (see:

    https://support.tado.com/en/articles/3387324-how-do-i-set-up-tado-with-apple-homekit%29

    Since the newer tado X devices are relying on Thread and Matter, you can connect them directly to HomeKit without the need of a tado X bridge - but you'll need to have a supported Thread Border Router (such as the Apple TV 4K 2nd/3rd gen, HomePod mini or HomePod 2nd gen).

    That being said: There have been reports here in the community that the HomeKit-integration for the X-line is still a little bit wonky and not always just working "out of the box" - if memory serves right, the Dutch community is currently discussing this at large and firmware updates are being pushed out on a regular basis.

    Tado is also shutting down their IFTTT-integration (there are plenty of threads here on the community about this change, too); so I wouldn't even consider that a feature for you, since you're starting out new (and: it was always V3+ only).

    When it comes to openness and interoperability, tado does provide an extensive API - but unfortunately tado is not only "not supporting" it, but not even providing the absolute basics like an official documentation. Since their Android and iOS-apps are more or less just the same as their webapp, getting a good idea on how the API works is not difficult - but it's more or less a community-lead effort.

  • hugbilly
    hugbilly ✭✭✭
    Having had a very poor experience with Hive TRVs myself I would strongly caution you not to invest in them. The Hive Heat on Demand function never worked properly and the valves constantly demand recalibration which is a lengthy exercise, I returned my Hive kit and bought tadoº instead. A visit to the Hive forum will reinforce the above . . .

Categories