Smart heating with Tado and save money at the same time?

We live in an age in which you will soon be able to control everything in your own four walls via your smartphone. There are fridges that have an inbuilt camera and tell you what to buy via live transmission when you're out shopping. Washing machines can be controlled and started remotely via your mobile. Thanks to Tado, you can also heat your home via your mobile phone. The smart room thermostats are designed to reduce your ecological footprint and, according to the manufacturer, save you up to 31% on heating costs. I tested what the white box can really do at home.

Thermostats

EUR201,23

tado° Smart Thermostat Starter Kit V3+

70

Thermostats

EUR201,23

tado° Smart Thermostat Starter Kit V3+

70

Unboxing

The package is handy and light, just like the product itself. In addition to the thermostat, the box contains a bridge that you need to integrate it into your network, the cables, plugs, screws and adhesive strips required for installation and a label sheet for labelling the cables. Two brochures are also included: One - the installation guide - tells you to download the app and then follow further instructions there. The other booklet is used to list all thermostats so that you don't lose track in larger flats or houses. This way, you always know which device you have installed in which room.

Installation

I download the app, start the installation guide, create an account as requested and enter my address. The app needs this information to determine when I'm not at home and to set the heating to Away mode. After a few steps, the app sends me to a tablet, PC or Mac. Of course, you can also access the specified website on your mobile. I then have to register the Bridge with a serial number and code and connect it to the router and the Tado servers. Everything runs smoothly. Now it's the thermostat's turn. Here, too, I am connected to the Bridge and the servers after just a few seconds.

Now it's time to get down to business: I have to select my heating system. "Do you work with a boiler?", "Do you have additional control elements in your heating system?" and "Does your underfloor heating system use electronic or water heating?" are some of the questions I have to answer. I can just about find out. But then I'm at a loss as to the brand and type of room thermostat. I unscrew the part on the wall and look behind the plastic. There I find the name "Feller" and the designation "4250". Both Feller and the exact product name appear in the Tado drop-down menu. It's going like clockwork, I think. This euphoric phase is short-lived: on the next screen, I'm told that engineers need to check whether my system is suitable for Tado.

Two days later, I received a reply by email: I still had more questions to answer. Unfortunately, they were exactly the same questions I had to answer when choosing my heating system. There's definitely a more efficient way, dear Tado team. Another 48 hours later, I finally receive the good news: "Your heating system is compatible with the Tado thermostat." I'm pleasantly surprised by the fact that Tado has stored step-by-step instructions for my system in my account. So it does work after all!

The instructions guide me through the installation process in great detail. Nothing is left out, everything is illustrated several times and caution is paramount. That's a good thing, because there's power involved. Tado is way ahead of other manufacturers and devices with instructions like this. That's why I managed to get the whole thing working on the first attempt, even with my two left hands. Everything seems to hold and work.

App

Now I can control the heating from my mobile with the app. I can - quite simply - turn the heating up and down manually. But the really interesting thing is the planning tools: I can set the desired temperature for each day of the week, including the time. I select the minimum temperature I want when I'm at home and the minimum temperature I want when I'm not there. The app recognises this because I entered my address at the beginning. I can also decide whether the heating should only switch on when I get home or as soon as I leave the office.

Tado provided me with Auto Assist free of charge for this test. Otherwise, you pay 3 euros per month for this plan. You can also use the smart thermostat without Auto Assist. However, some features are then not available. For example, you have to press a button in the app every time you leave the house. The same applies to returning home after work. Tado also only recognises when a window is open if Auto Assist is activated. It then automatically switches off the heating for a period of time determined by you to avoid unnecessary heating during ventilation.

Test phase

After playing around with all the functions, I make the settings that suit me best and start the test phase. I select a minimum of 20 degrees Celsius at night and one and a half degrees more during the day. Only when I'm at home, of course - thanks to Auto Assist. In the event that nobody is in the flat, I set the value to 19 degrees. By the way: If you press the button on the thermostat, both the current temperature and the selected minimum value appear. After a few seconds, the display switches off again, so it doesn't interfere with sleeping or watching TV. You can also adjust the temperature manually if you don't have your smartphone to hand.

In the new year and at the end of the test phase, the app provides me with an analysis of the last month. According to Tado, I saved 5.8% on energy costs in December, never controlled the heating remotely from outside the house, experienced a full 6 hours of sunshine, opened the window 15 times, never set an energy-saving temperature and made manual settings directly on the thermostat 5% of the time. Almost all of these values seem to be correct. I must have opened the window more than 15 times. I know this because I ventilate at least twice a day. Either I didn't ventilate long enough or the temperature difference was too small to be recognised. The energy-saving temperature is 18 degrees or colder, but that's not enough for me in winter. So the 0 hours here are probably correct. And the measly 6 hours of sunshine? Sounds sad, but it's true - it really was a grey December in Birmensdorf. As a little extra, Tado also shows the total energy savings of all users combined.

Conclusion

The smart thermostat from Tado is a cool gadget and fits perfectly into today's smart home era. It fits in seamlessly and does what the manufacturer promises: it controls the temperature and humidity, recognises open windows (in my case with 25% accuracy), maintains the desired minimum temperature even when you're away and saves energy. Installation is child's play thanks to the great support and accessories supplied, but can take a little longer than planned depending on the heating system. If you don't want to drill and screw, stick it on - the thermostat will stay in place. The design is modern, simple and fits into any home.

What dampens my euphoria is the price. There are a total of five room thermostats in my 3.5-room flat. I would have to spend more than 700 francs to completely convert them. That's a bit too much for me. By the time I've saved this amount with smart heating, I'll probably have moved house again. The subscription or payment requirement for Auto Assist is also unnecessary. Although the product works without these functions, it makes no sense to charge 3 euros a month for recognising open windows and whether you are at home or not. Especially as the open window function only worked partially for me.

In a rented flat, I would buy the Tado if the temperature in the flat can be controlled via a single thermostat. If you have several thermostats, I think it's only worth buying if you own a flat or a home. Then I would also be prepared to invest and upgrade.