Is it safe for the boiler if I have a smart radiator valves fitted to all my radiators?

Tadcad

I am thinking of installing smart radiator valves to all my radiators but my plumber says that is a bad idea and risks overtemping the boiler. Because if they all close off, the boiler could get damaged. It appears I do have an auto bypass valve fitted to the boiler system, so I can’t see the problem. He says you should not have a TRV in same room as a thermostat too. I don’t think he understands how Tado works.

I’m running a smart thermostat in the hall and have smart radiator valves in all rooms except for the bathrooms (normal rad valves fitted to towel radiators and fully open). The hall has a normal radiator valve which I am replacing for a smart radiator valve, so I will have both a smart thermostat and smart radiator valve working together there.

Should I hold back from installing smart valves in all rooms? Or should I leave the bathrooms without smart valves and use them as bypasses for the boiler in case all smart valves are closed off. What have you guys done?

These pictures show the set up of system with what I think is an auto bypass valve fitted. Apologies for them appearing stretched. Thanks

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NeilW

You are correct, you do have a bypass valve (assuming it is set correctly) this does allow you to fit a full Tado radiator valves to your system, your plumber is also correct when he says you should leave the radiator where the room thermostat is without a Tado radiator stat but that being said i have personally fitted a full TRV system to my property including the hall where my Tado room thermostat is. This is because i have rooms in my house that take longer to heat than my hall, if my hall reaches 21deg my whole system shuts off leaving a couple of rooms under temperature, so i now set my TRV in the hall a touch lower than the Tado room thermostat and this allows the TRVs to control all of my rooms to my chosen temperatures.

I would also install radiator valves in the bathrooms so as not to waste energy.

It is important to make sure that the auto bypass valve is set correctly. if you do not have any instructions, look them up on line.

Good luck

samd

@NeilW

This is because i have rooms in my house that take longer to heat than my hall, if my hall reaches 21deg my whole system shuts off leaving a couple of rooms under temperature, so i now set my TRV in the hall a touch lower than the Tado room thermostat

You could ask support to switch from default so as to give primacy to all devices then your hall rad could use the hall stat as measuring device.

tadcad01

Thanks guys. The guys at Tado have now set my smart rad valves to call for heat separately from the thermostat in the hall. I now have a smart thermostat and smart rad valve in hall working together, so whether I set the rad or thermostat to a set point they both work together as one to do it. The smart thermostat is only used to switch water on or of outside the app, and as a reference display only for the hall temperature. I can set the temp for the hall from either the thermostat or rad confident they work together. I will probably get another smart rad valve for the landing and zone it in with the hall so they all work together as one.

Tadcad

So would you fit Tado SRV’s to the bathroom rads or just regular TRV’s? Or leave as is with bog standard rad valves fitted. The missus doesn’t like the heat kicking out in the bathrooms when a room SRV is calling for heat. It does seem a waste of energy. Issue is I have 9 SRV’s already fitted and Tado only allow 10 and with 2 bathrooms to install makes it impossible, so I am thinking to fit TRV’s in the bathrooms. Can you group 2 smart valves together in different rooms? That may help free up.

Ixnay

The thinking behind this - have one rad with no thermostat I assume is based on the idea that you mught have an old kind of heating timer switch. So then you could have a situation whereby the clock said - "time for some heat" andf fired up the boiler. But all the valves are shut so the hot water has nowhere to go. But if you have a Tado system then the call for heat comes from a room with a smart rad thermo fitted, not just a dumb clock. Therefore there will be at least one rad stat open - ie the one that called for heat.

Not a plumber but that sounds logical to me. My friend has a system next door where she has four smart stats, four nasic TRVs and in the bathroom the rad has not stat fitted. And whenever heat is on somewhere in the house then its going as well aty full tilt. SO I want to fit a stat to that as well, just and ordinary one.

To answer your last question, yes you can group 2 SRV into a single room so it becomes one zone.

mirrormurr

Have the same question. Albeit having the internal by-pass properly set (open), the supplier of Vaillant (called Protherm here) and the installer claimed the internal valve is designed as a failsafe, and not as a regular by-pass-whatever that means. I am therefore also reluctant to mount TRVs on all radiators. The combi-boiler itself is set to get rid of excess heat before shutting down the pump, meaning that if all valves are closed-there will be pressure building.