Oh I definitely use the outside temperature and weather forecast to help set the heating level!
I don’t actually get any heating bills though, which spoils at least some of the fun. It’s a communal heating system.
Some really useful information here. Something about the Monzo community that’s great for questions like this - so thank you.
At this stage, I think I’m now leaning towards Nest, and manually adjusting radiators. It seems like the least hassle of the options.
I also just noticed that Tado now charge £3 a month to use the automated features, which is a bit irritating considering it’s not exactly the cheapest system to begin with.
1 Like
You don’t have to pay the £3, from memory the best pay walled feature was auto turn off if you’re not at home, but you still get a push notification and the option to do it.
Because I’m pro Nest… We have this feature back again 
When Google took over it was removed but since then they’ve rebuilt it into Google Routines which is like IFTTT.
So we use the Nest ‘home’ or ‘away’ triggers (which detects if anyone is home or not) not only for our heating but to also turn on and off lights around the house which is really useful. Not only to save electricity but as a deterrent for burglars.
1 Like
Looks like automated geofencing requires a subscription, which is a bit annoying. Getting push notifications almost defeats the purpose of an automated system.
I have it set on my schedule, so I didn’t want it turning off because I’ve gone for a walk around the block 
It’s me back being picky again 
With Google you can set the home and away status manually with a tap, or even say to Google “I’m off for a walk around the block” so this would tell it to not to turn off.
It would also learn when you like to go walk around the block and that you like to crank the heating up when you return. So to be more efficient it would adapt to your needs and not turn on/off.
On the Tado one, I paid for a full year of the Auto-assist. I think it was £21 or £24 for the year.
To be honest I quite like the way it works, I’d rather not pay, obviously, for it, but it does work very well.
In the app you can select an “away radius” from your location, and when you leave it, it turns the heating off. You can set the size of this radius to an appropriate gap so it doesn’t turn off when you’ve just nipped out to get milk
When you’re coming home, you can select what mode you want, but basically it will try and predict when you get in based on your location, and make sure the home is at your desired temperature.
I think in “notification” mode, it only alerts you when you’ve left the property, or when you’ve got back in, so it’s not like “the same feature but triggered with a notification” if that makes sense.
But I do like how it works.
And to be fair, from the data I’ve seen in the past, once the heating has “hit” the target, it’s slow to drop off without the heating on.
Took your advice and took advantage of the Black Friday discount - perfect timing as the temperature drops… (currently £99 for the starter kit)
Having been through one winter with auto-assist and other paywalled features, do you still feel it’s worth it? Have you continued subscribing beyond one year?
Haven’t tried it yet myself. Am particularly interested in energy IQ.
Any other subscribers to auto-assist?
Thoughts?
1 Like
I subscribe over winter. Save a few £ if you just subscribe when you need over winter. I quite like it as just set it and don’t look at it. Based on the fact I don’t look at it, I don’t think I know if it’s worth it. Although I feel based on that fact it probably is!
2 Likes
So 1 year on and I properly love the Tado - I’ve started installing the radiator TRVs this autumn too, to give more control.
There’s 2 of us in the flat who both partially WFH on variable schedules, so I just find the smartness of that to be worthwhile on the whole.
With the smart radiator TRVs I can set certain rooms to be on speciifc schedules anyway, and the Auto Assist helps even further.
I’ve not tried the energy IQ bit, but so far I’m happy with the set up. This winter will be a real test as I knock the settings a little lower and have room specific ones.
3 Likes
I’ve just subscribed too, but figured it was much better value for money to only pay in the winter months.
So far it seems okay. Having the heating automatically switch to away mode has been good so far. Window detection has been a bit hit and miss. I’ve opened the balcony door and a few times now the heating has fired up instead of staying off.
Still early days though, and the heating has only run for about 10 minutes this winter so we’ll see!
1 Like
I’ve just brought a Honeywell t6 many because it saved me changing the box over on the new boiler that the landlord has just put in just need to pair it up and also integrated with HomeKit so no subscription
@Will_i @BritishLibrary @RichardL thanks for comments on Tado Auto-assist. Have now started 7-day trial.
I do quite like the Energy IQ feature/analysis - particularly month-by-month consumption comparison with previous year data. I only had a smart meter installed a few weeks ago so don’t yet have much historical data via my smart meter. But my tado has over 3 years of data to use for trends and comparisons.
1 Like
@o99 and anyone else interested - a fair chunk of Tado stuff - including the radiator TRVs are currently on sale on Amazon.
Our old one was on a schedule but now used HomeKit automation to switch it off once we have both left the house and then switch on once we arrive home so should see some savings
The deals on Amazon aren’t the best, there are better or equal prices and you don’t have to give money to penis rocket man.
For example I bought the wired thermostat starter kit.
Direct from Tado (if you refer yourself): £144
Amazon: £152.99
TRVs
4 pack at Toolstation: £199.99
4 pack at Amazon: £299.99
3 pack at Amazon: £169.99
Shop around, Amazon are too good at making you feel like you’re getting a good deal.
The thermostat alone can help you with advanced scheduling and auto switching to away mode when you leave home, but the real money saving comes when you add the TRVs so that you can heat specific rooms at specific times and stop wasting money heating the rooms you’re not using.
2 Likes
Will they support matter over thread?
Thanks. Unfortunately last time I checked the mounting points on my radiators weren’t compatible with Tado TRVs (or the various adaptors). But might take another look in case they have new adaptors. Having zonal control would be nice.
This feature does save me money I feel. Before having a smart thermostat I would sometimes turn the heating on manually and then forget to turn it off before going to bed. With smart thermostat, that doesn’t happen.
1 Like