Wireless temperature sensor and 12 smart radiator thermostats

hardlyhphil

Hi, I have looked around and can't seem to find an answer. If I have 12 radiators and only one wireless temperature sensor, I can only add 10 rooms. Is it the case that if I want a setup like this I need to have the wireless sensor always on and then all 12 should work, or is there a smarter way to set them up?

wateroakley

@hardlyhphil Hello Phil. There are multiple answers and limitations. To provide a considered answer, more detail of your heating system is needed. E.g. do you have multiple Tado TRVs on some or all of the rads, or just one Tado wireless sensor and manual TRVs or no TRVs?

hardlyhphil

I have one wireless sensor connected to boiler and 12 TRV one on every radiator. (And internet bridge). Seems I can only connect 10 of the TRV to wireless sensor therefor 2 of them will not fire up the boiler.

Seems strange not to allow more than 10 to connect

wateroakley

@hardlyhphil Hello Phil. Ok, the answer for larger homes is to manage the ‘zone’ limit of 10 and ‘device’ limit iof 25. This means you’ll need to either group some TRVs in one Tado ‘room’ (maximum of 10 rooms) or set some TRVs as ‘independent’ (up to 25 devices).
In practice, we set a couple of the bedrooms as ‘independent’. They don’t call for heat, but act a smart time/temperature TRVs. Other rooms call for heat, and these independent rooms keep warm.
Hope this explains how to use Tado.

hardlyhphil

@wateroakley thanks for that. How do you create room? Or is it just, as you say, having one TRV in a room call for heat and the other just act independently?

hardlyhphil

Or could I connect a wired thermostat in addition to the wireless?

wateroakley

Hello @hardlyhphil With a wireless starter kit there is no obvious reason to add a wired thermostat, unless you have UFH or more than one heating zone valve on the plumbing. In one room with multiple rads and trvs (or room stat) just one device is the temperature measuring device.

To give a better answer on zones and independent control, can you describe your home and heating system? Rooms, rads, boiler, S plan or Y plan, etc.

hardlyhphil

Thanks for the help so far! I have a combi boiler (in the UK) the hot water is always on. I have put a valve on each radiator. The house is 3 floors, and 12 radiators. For example the attic has 2 radiators, both with a valve. I think I would be happy for them just to act as one.

wateroakley

@hardlyhphil Thank you.
Physical rooms that have more than one rad/trv, like your attic, should be grouped together in the Tado room. One TRV (or room stat) is the temperature measuring device.

Rooms can be set as ‘independent’. We have 14 rooms and 16 rads. To follow the 10 zone and 25 device limit … three bedrooms are set as ‘independent’. That means they act as smart time/temperature trvs, but do not call for heat.

Hope this helps.

Snacker

I too have hit upon this irritating limitation on both the 10 device limit and the inabilty for zone controllers to operate in a daisy chain - ie TRV requests heat from wired thermostat which in turn calls on extension kit to turn on boiler. This has forced me to have non-controllable "independent" rooms, which is a nonsene status for a 'smart' device because I cannot use wired thermostats as zone controllers without rewiring my boiler.

My irritation was peaked when support told me this is no longer an issue in the new Tado X range, so I could just bin all my devices and buy an entirely new system because they have also made their systems non-backwards compatiable.

I've had Tado for around 4 years and really disappointed by how they have approached (or ignored) their device development.