[Released] Rechargeable batteries in Smart Radiator Thermostats VA02 hardware revision
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@Will
Spot on. I was looking at moving to rechargables but they are not cheap and I'm more likely to switch to a different smart heating controller before I break even.0 -
UPDATE: Just to help, I have a mix of OLDER/NEWER Tado Smart radiator valves, and have been using PALO 1.5v rechargeable without any problem. They fitted without any problems... 11 radiators all using these and , so far, no issues. They can be found on Amazon, 8 pack of AA 2800mAH with charger. I bought a 4 pack initially to test, then went and bought more to cover the rest of them once I knew they fitted, so I have a couple of spares fully charged ready to swap. Hope this helps.
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With 8 TRV's in the house, I'm disappointed with the amount of battery changes required.
Just curious, where are we at with this rechargeable option? Is it still only Panasonic Envelop?
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I bought some Ikea LADDA NiMH AA (1900mAh, 4 for £4) this week and they fit my TRVs fine, maybe they have tweaked the design? These are 14.2mm diameter. However, the TRV I put them in is still saying low battery? (I haven't charged these batteries as they say ready for use - showing 1.3V with a voltmeter)
edit: the other batteries in the pack did take a couple of hours of charge so guess they weren't completely full, I've dropped some newly charged ones in the TRV and it seems happy now. Seems these are rebadged 1st gen eneloop 1900 from a quick google
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Ikea Ladda batteries have been tested by several YouTubers and everyone agrees they are the same as Eneloops. You’re wasting quite a bit of money on getting the Eneloops instead of the Ladda’s, then again you need to make the effort to buy them at a IKEA store….
I have successfully tried an older (white) set of Laddas (2450mAh), they do fit in my V02s.
Haven’t tried the more recent grey coloured Laddas but see no reason why they should have made them bigger.0 -
I picked up some of the new 2450 LADDAs this week to see their fit and they are slightly larger and also not perfectly round - the diameter varied between 14.1mm and 14.5mm as I rotated the battery. Trying to insert this into a TRV was definitely a tighter fit than the 1900s, slightly better rotating it but didn't want to push it all the way in as it was getting tighter and didn't want it getting stuck. You wouldn't have thought 0.3mm would make a difference in a battery compartment but it clearly does! These ones will be saved for the torch :D
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there are now available 1.5 volt rechargeable batteries...
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@Geoff I have some devices with Firmware 95.1 but they are VA01, so the firmware above 70.x is not always correct?
Another question: if I can choose between alkaline 1.5v and the envelop 1.2v which one performs better/ should I Prefer? Initially you build the devices for 1.5v alkaline only, because the motor performed best with the higher voltage if I remember correctly?
Thx.0 -
Edit: the ones with firmware 95.1 actually don’t have the model label VA01 nor VA02, are they still Eneloop compatible?0
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So in essence there are 3 design issues with the radiator thermostat in connection with battery use that I have discovered. Pretty major I think and im mulling getting rid of them
1 - vertical mounting seems to be an issue in that the temp sensor is directly above the flow pipe, so tends to go through process of turning on and turning off. Could be wrong. If this is the case, it would lead to more battery use. Reading more suggest they really should have a separate sensor, but thats prohibitive as need to be tado ($$) at present - perhaps that will change eventually when communication protocols between devices are updated. (You can see how uptake of Matter is a whole big thing coming up )
2 - battery compartment size. Some say this is the reason only alkaline or Panasonic eneloop. Well thats a pretty stupid mistake to make! It is SO basic. So not only do they not fit, but also they wedge in so contact is not made with the contact on closing the compartment
3- apparently the specific type of battery. eg 1900mAh is important. Perhaps tado help are confusing the issue, and it's really about SIZE not TYPE, and its other issues that are causing battery failure. Perhaps it's both. But they need to be clear.
I am fed up with constantly replacing batteries, and if solution is not forthcoming they are going to be returned a faulty.
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Sorry for the necro...
Came across this after issues using EBL 2800 AA, and 1100 AAA.
All still show low battery, even after an hour or so.
And the thermostat I put the AAA in, is now offline, won't turn on.
I've ordered some more batteries. But the ones I have aren't particularly old or highly cycled. We're fully charged.
I understand the voltage is 1.2 not 1.5. But surely they should be lasting more than a hour in a stat?!0 -
We use Panasonic 1900mA eneloop rechargeable batteries without any issue in Tado TRVs. If your rechargeable batteries only last an hour, then something is wrong. The worst we see is a faulty TRV that draws 10mA and lasts one week.
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Does the new Eneloop 2000 fit? Does anyone know?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rechargeable-Capacity-Batteries-Recharge-Packaging-Blue/dp/B09ZLD62CZ
Thanks.
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@Squuiid Hello Squuiid. We use Panasonic eneloop batteries. Just looked in the desk drawer and the newest four eneloops (December 2023) say 2000 mAh. They don't appear to be different in physical form (size) to the original 1900 mAh ones.
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