Economical smart heating?

[Lob0]

Hi, everyone,
I installed Nest in my previous house and really liked it. Now I moved and have 1 year old house.
I wonder what will be the most viable set up in terms of heating costs economy vs costs of smart heating installation? I have two Honeywell CM707 thermostats (ground floor and first floor), Honeywell ST9100C timer next to Logic System S18 boiler (guess my boiler won't matter) and considering three options:
1. Buy Tado Smart Valve Thermostats (SVT) for radiators I want to control (about 10-12) (I understnad then I will need Tado bridge to connect to WiFi). This means I keep my current heating setup with Honeywell and only add SVTs
2. Buy Tado Smart Valve Thersmostats for radiators I want to control (8-10), 2 Smart Thermostats to replace Honeywell CM707 thermostats and Extension Kit to replace Honeywell ST9100C timer next to the boiler
3. Buy 2 Tado Smart Valves to replace Honeywell CM707 thermostats and Extension Kit to replace Honeywell timer next to the boiler - this is what Tado helpdesk recommended because it allows me to control the flow of hot water thus immediately saving on reduced hot water consumption, though I cannot control temperatures in each room
A friend of mine told me that many users only go for option 1 as it provides good comfort, least hassle and still allows you to save money by not heating all rooms. I wonder if going for Option 2 will sufficiently reduce my heating costs in comparison with option 1 that it becomes viable
What is your experience?
Thank you

 

[bremen1874]

I doubt you'd ever save enough to cover the cost of the smart TRVs or any other smart heating components over their useful life.

Smart heating is fine for increased comfort and convenience, but I wouldn't be expecting to save money.

 

[Lob0]

Thank you. Ok, then, in your opinion, is there a significant difference in comfort between the options? I am most inclined to Options 1 and 2, Option 3 seem not to offer room comfort, something I am interested most

 

[Orionaut]

I doubt you'd ever save enough to cover the cost of the smart TRVs or any other smart heating components over their useful life.

Smart heating is fine for increased comfort and convenience, but I wouldn't be expecting to save money.

Well, at those prices yes!

I bought a load of these some years ago

https://www.pegleryorkshire.co.uk/E...errier_i-temp/product/Terrier_i-temp_PRC_i30v

And a load of spares when I realised that they had been discontinued.

Really good, can be programmed from a laptop/pc or by using the controls on the item and Only about £20 each. Why is the modern stuff so expensive. Seems like these days put "green" in the product description and add a zero to the price!

They are still available on e-bay though the dongle needed to allow PC programming appears no longer available and the software to use it has to be mined (IE you have to do a bit of searching) from Wayback machine if you are able to find one.

 

[lewism]

There's nothing a Smart TRV can do that a normal TRV can't do. Also, Zonal heating will only ever truly work with Zone Valves in your pipework.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

There's nothing a Smart TRV can do that a normal TRV can't do. Also, Zonal heating will only ever truly work with Zone Valves in your pipework.

Except change the temperature based on time/day programming but I get your point.

You’ll never save enough money buying 10 smart TRVs, that would buy you the best part of a years worth of heating. I’m not even convinced you’ll save cash buying a ‘smart’ thermostat. For me they are all about convenience and comfort, not saving cash.

 

[Danm54]

Except change the temperature based on time/day programming but I get your point.

You’ll never save enough money buying 10 smart TRVs, that would buy you the best part of a years worth of heating. I’m not even convinced you’ll save cash buying a ‘smart’ thermostat. For me they are all about convenience and comfort, not saving cash.

Exactly this.

I may have gone OTT when installing my heating, we have seperate time and temperature controls per room, and can set different temps for different times of day.
Efficiency was part of my thinking but it's more about comfort and keeping monthly bills down rather than saving the money I've spent.

Obviously I hope it'll save money long term but that may be 15 - 20 years depending how well the solar works.

 

[rubberduck]

Just heat up the whole house as localised heating of rooms can create temperature gradients and hence drafts which makes you feel colder and hence you turn the heating up further... By all means if you have a room that hardly ever gets used keep the door shut and turn the radiator down, but otherwise don't micromanage heating.

 

[Pho]

I have Tado with individual room stats, I find it really good. They regularly go up on offer on Amazon so wait until they're ~£30 each. It integrates into things like Home Assistant if you use it too and want even finer control over heating rules/triggers.

My radiators didn't have TRVs at all previously so it was a bit of a messy day installing them all . If you already have TRVs the Tado stats come with adapters for most existing ones so you just need to pop off the old one and pop on the new one. The TRVs I bought to stick them onto (https://www.screwfix.com/p/white-chrome-angled-trv-with-lockshield-15mm-x/31811) didn't need an adapter at all mind.

 

[lewism]

Except change the temperature based on time/day programming but I get your point.

You’ll never save enough money buying 10 smart TRVs, that would buy you the best part of a years worth of heating. I’m not even convinced you’ll save cash buying a ‘smart’ thermostat. For me they are all about convenience and comfort, not saving cash.

And I would agree with you that these are more form over function.

I just have a gripe with the smart TRVs as they are sold, with some ambiguity, that they are zonal heating. When in fact, they are not.

However, I still also argue that if you have the space for an immersion tank and a pump in your property. Electric heating is the way to go. Cheaper to install, cheaper to maintain, offers more control but the down side is a higher running cost.

 

[413x]

Unless you have a massive house I don't see the point.
And if you have a massive house heating bills likely don't matter anyway.

Thought about smart heating, but decided not to. Cost would never come back. A thermostat and a boiler is the simplest for me.

Likewise, told by multiple people only to replace old style tank boiler with a combi when it breaks. You never see the benifits

Do use all rooms of the house each day

 

[robj20]

There's nothing a Smart TRV can do that a normal TRV can't do. Also, Zonal heating will only ever truly work with Zone Valves in your pipework.

What a load of rubbish. Unless standard TRVs can fire the boiler up individually, be grouped, have remote sensors, turn the heating off when doors are opened.

 

[Lob0]

I felt I was saving money when I had Nest in my previous house - my wife puts the heating to about 20-22 Celsius, I know we heat hte house more than other people. And we often forgets to close windows after venting, sometimes for hours. I wonder if Tado will work well in our bizzare habits - I am definitely getting a subscription so that the sensor stops the heating if it feels the draft from open window, do it work well?
By the way, they are doing a promotion now, I got 44% off and bought everything