Smart heating brand Tado has announced a new range of Matter-compatible smart heating devices that should be simple to set up and use.
The Tado X range comprises wired and wireless smart thermostats, a smart radiator valve, a temperature sensor, a heat pump optimiser and Bridge X, the brand’s Thread border router. They’ll all be available to buy on Amazon from 1 November and we have prices below.
Genuinely integrated smart heating
Over 240 smart home brands – including Google, Amazon, Apple, Samsung and Philips Hue – are adopting the connectivity standard Matter, which means that Tado X devices will work with new gadgets from all those companies.
If you’re setting up a Matter-friendly smart home network that includes Tado X home heating, you’ll be able to use the Bridge X, the Wireless Smart Thermostat X or a third-party border router, such as an Apple HomePod, as your smart home master controller.
What’s exciting about this is that it could well be the first opportunity for non-tech enthusiasts to start setting up a genuinely integrated smart home system: as more and more devices work with Matter-over-Thread, you’ll be able to add them to your network and control them in the same app.
Tado X devices can be voice controlled by the key home assistants as well: Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple Home.
The fact that the new Tado devices link together via a Thread mesh network, not Wi-Fi, should be a better option for larger homes, offering improved range and coverage. Tado X devices will also be compatible with heat pumps and underfloor heating.
Can Tado save you money?
However, Tado’s biggest claim has always been that its smart thermostat and associated devices can help to save money on electricity bills by running home heating more efficiently.
Tado now says its devices can save an average of 19% on users’ bills – but this sort of saving is only likely if you don’t do anything to monitor or curb your energy use at the moment.
Tado’s smart thermostats employ a number of energy-saving features and the more you use them, the more likely you are to save money. Here are the key features:
- Smart scheduling
- Geofencing (turning down the heating when no one is home)
- Open window detection (heat your home, not your back garden)
- Weather adaptation (which takes hours of sunlight into account when scheduling heating)
- Energy IQ information (including tips for cutting heat waste)
Other features, such as Air Comfort, are – as the name suggests – more about home comforts. It will give you insight into your home’s humidity and temperature, so you can adjust conditions to your liking.
These features aren’t new for Tado X, by the way, but there are likely to be software upgrades in time for the new hardware, so some features may get a new look.
The hardware itself is fairly simply designed. The devices are nowhere near as beautiful as the new Nest Learning Thermostat, for example.
But there are some great features. The smart radiator valve, for example, charges via USB. Most smart radiator valves use batteries, so this will be a big upgrade in terms of money saving and ease of use.
Will you need a subscription?
But there is a little catch. Tado doesn’t mention its subscription service in its new product announcement but it’s very likely that to unlock all the features and maximise the money-saving potential, you’ll need to pay for Auto Assist.
However, it’s not as expensive as some rival subscriptions, with a monthly cost of £3.99, or £29.99 per year.
At this stage, you don’t need an Auto Assist subscription to use these features: Air Comfort, Smart Schedule, Insightful Reports, Weather Adaptation and smart home integrations. You’ll also get push notifications for Open Window Detection and Geofencing.
However, if you subscribe, Open Window Detection and Geofencing will be automated and you’ll also get Energy IQ and a Care and Protect troubleshooting service.
Tado X prices
- Wireless Smart Thermostat X Starter Kit (with built in Thread border router), £159.99
- Wired Smart Thermostat X Starter Kit (with Bridge X), £159.99
- Smart Radiator Thermostat X Starter Kit (with Bridge X), £139.99
- Smart Radiator Thermostat X – £79.99 / Smart Radiator Thermostat X Quattro pack, £260.99
- Wireless Temperature Sensor, £89.99
- Heat Pump Optimizer X, £229.99
- Bridge X Thread border router, (RRP) £59.99
You’ll be able to buy the Tado X range in the UK from Amazon on 1 November and we’ll be reviewing the smart heating system as soon as we can. In the meantime, have a look at our round-up of the best smart thermostats available in the UK now.
