Aqara Radiator Thermostat W600 Review – Quiet, Accurate Smart Heating what about the rest?

[ericmark]

Full marks on the review google shows around £50 so not cheap, and the app looks very similar to the Kasa TRV head.

Two year battery life is good, the Energenie has a two-year battery life as well.

"you also get six adapters in the box, covering Danfoss RAV/RA/RAVL, Caleffi, Giacomini, M28x1.5 and Oventrop M30x1.5. " This varies, Kasa, and eQ-3 come with the kit, the Wiser has less but a free adapter is available, the Energenie very much reduced, and seemed to have a problem with working out pin travel, the eQ-3 gives a code for under or over travel so you know if working or not. (automatic calibration)

"The W600 works with Zigbee 3.0 and Thread, it can easily be integrated into Apple Home, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, Home Assistant, Alexa without an extra hub." The Wiser is also zigbee, but I could not link to other zigbee devices, but would link to Google Home, but needed the Wiser hub. The Kasa and Energenie also needed their own hub, the eQ-3 is Bluetooth and does not need a hub, but it will only connect to 1 phone. One point is some including eQ-3 can be paired with other TRV heads, where more than one radiator in a room.

The working with voice commands has a second advantage, in that three different makes (Wiser, Kasa and Energenie) in my case, can be adjusted with a single command.

The app seems the same as one used for Kasa.

The window open detection has not been found with Energenie, but is included with the rest, even the eQ-3 which only cost me £15 each in 2019. I use it to detect the door open when unloading shopping into the kitchen. One can set the time it will switch off for.

The problem with TRV control is radiators often placed against outside walls, if not linked the valve may open, but radiator will not heat unless the boiler is running, but with the linked TRV head, it can cause the boiler to fire. In theroy we don't need wall thermostats, the TRV head can do it all, but where the radiator is on an outside wall, the likes of Kasa allow the use of a wall thermostat to control the TRV head, I don't know if it can also fire the boiler?

At 74, I find working out how to control central heating is not as easy as I first thought. Each house I have lived in has been diffrent. With a modulating boiler I would say control with TRV is required, but with simple on/off boilers, the problem it to get boiler to fire when the programmable TRV head calls for more heat. And we need multi devices which can cause the boiler to fire, so we are looking at how to link the TRV to the boiler.

 

[denso13]

And we need multi devices which can cause the boiler to fire, so we are looking at how to link the TRV to the boiler.

Not me. Simple Hive is all we need, if we feel cold we turn it up, if too warm we turn it down. Simples.

 

[ericmark]

Not me. Simple Hive is all we need, if we feel cold we turn it up, if too warm we turn it down. Simples.

For the flat under my main house, I have a simple thermostat, bi-metal strip type. And that's fine. But the main house is a lot larger, it would cost a fortune to heat all rooms 24/7, so we heat rooms as required.

I would not call Hive simple. And I know it does connect to the TRV heads, I was undecided as to Hive or Wiser, I went with Wiser, I know with Wiser there is no need to have a wall thermostat, not sure if Hive needs them. Maybe as you have Hive, you can explain how it works?

 

[denso13]

Maybe as you have Hive, you can explain how it works?

Just like any other wall stat, turn it up and down as required. TRV's control the individual rooms but they are rarely touched.

 

[ericmark]

Just like any other wall stat, turn it up and down as required. TRV's control the individual rooms but they are rarely touched.

That is rare, not like any other wall thermostat, my thermostats both can turn up and down, but the boiler can't, so the OpenTherm option is not used.

I don't touch my TRV's much either, neither do I touch the wall thermostat, once the schedule has been set, I just leave them to follow the schedule.

But originally I had a problem, the wiring was to the hall, so did not really have an option, but the hall cooled down too slowly, but did not want to rely on a wireless thermostat, so I fitted Wiser and Nest, so still got the hard-wired option of Nest, but the Wiser monitors the living room, and wife's bedroom temperature, but I am not relying on the Wireless, heating will work, although not as good, even if the batteries go flat.

 

[denso13]

That is rare, not like any other wall thermostat,

Eh? Do you know of any wall stats that don't turn up or down as required?

 

[ericmark]

Eh? Do you know of any wall stats that don't turn up or down as required?

Most will not, they turn the power on or off, very few connect to the boiler's e-bus and turn the heat up and down.

 

[denso13]

Most will not, they turn the power on or off, very few connect to the boiler's e-bus and turn the heat up and down.

I turn the stat up and the boiler comes on. I turn it down and the boiler goes off. You are overthinking it again.

 

[ericmark]

There are two control methods to control central heating, on/off which gives one a high hysteresis the other method is to turn the heating up/down which is far better a TRV turns the heating up/down, and OpenTherm is up/down, but most wall thermostats turn it on/off.