Help Wiring Tado Smart Thermostat

Howard Finkel · 05-09-2018 1:00pm #1

Hi folks.

I bought a Tado smart thermostat that I am looking to replace my regular Apt timer switch with. The existing timer is one of these:

The wiring at the back of it has two blue neutrals in 3, two brown lives in 2 (live in) and a black (?) in 1 (live out).

The Tado back plate is like so (right):

The three slots on the left normally open (NO), normally closed (NC) and common (COM). The remaining slots are meant to be for unneeded wires.

How should the wires in the back of the timer correspond to the pins in the back of the Tado thermostat? I wasn't expecting to see a black wire at the back of the timer which is throwing me for a bit of a loop, obviously I don't really know what I am at!

sdevine89 · 05-09-2018 11:47pm

Get an electrician/plumber and don't burn down your apartment block.

Howard Finkel · 06-09-2018 9:41am

I live in a house but thanks for the tip. Just trying to see if anyone knows which wires ought to be connected to which terminals in the tado backplate.

irelandrover · 06-09-2018 9:44am

You can request help from Tado, you submit the details of your boiler/ setup and they send you back the set up instructions.

Probably better than asking here.

Howard Finkel · 06-09-2018 10:02am

irelandrover wrote: »

You can request help from Tado, you submit the details of your boiler/ setup and they send you back the set up instructions.

Probably better than asking here.

Thanks for that IR. I'm waiting to hear back from them also.

deezell · 06-09-2018 10:36am

Howard Finkel wrote: »

Hi folks.

I bought a Tado smart thermostat that I am looking to replace my regular Apt timer switch with. The existing timer is one of these:

The wiring at the back of it has two blue neutrals in 3, two brown lives in 2 (live in) and a black (?) in 1 (live out).

The Tado back plate is like so (right):

The three slots on the left normally open (NO), normally closed (NC) and common (COM). The remaining slots are meant to be for unneeded wires.

How should the wires in the back of the timer correspond to the pins in the back of the Tado thermostat? I wasn't expecting to see a black wire at the back of the timer which is throwing me for a bit of a loop, obviously I don't really know what I am at!

Wire the two browns, live in, to tado COM. Wire the black to Tado NO. Park the two blue Neutrals on a Tado spare terminal. but keep them together, as the timer was obviously being used as a junction box to carry the mains on to some other component, probably the boiler. Park the earths also or just keep them strapped together.

Howard Finkel · 06-09-2018 10:57am

deezell wrote: »

Wire the two browns, live in, to tado COM. Wire the black to Tado NO. Park the two blue Neutrals on a Tado spare terminal. but keep them together, as the timer was obviously being used as a junction box to carry the mains on to some other component, probably the boiler. Park the earths also or just keep them strapped together.

You're a gentleman and a scholar, much obliged.

Howard Finkel · 06-09-2018 4:42pm

Thanks again to deezell, those instructions worked perfectly and the thermostat is now up and running.

emg74 · 07-09-2018 11:04am

Hi, hope you don't mind me asking but what kind of a setup do you have in your house. I'm looking for some kind of remote control for the heating in my Dad's house which is mostly vacant at the minute. It's a 70's bungalow with a timer on the oil like in your first photo, no controls on radiators. I would like to be able to control heating remotely, don't need it on every day but still need some heat in the house. I've had a look at the Tado and it looks good but would love feedback, costs, where to buy etc... Thanks

irishgrover · 07-09-2018 11:22am

Howard Finkel wrote: »

Thanks again to deezell, those instructions worked perfectly and the thermostat is now up and running.

Hi, and sorry for the stupid questions but... is that a standard tado thermostat? if yes, am I correct in guessing that the temperature is not monitored? That is, you are using the tado just for turning on/off and scheduling activity, as opposed to regulating temperature?

Howard Finkel · 07-09-2018 11:35am

emg74 wrote: »

Hi, hope you don't mind me asking but what kind of a setup do you have in your house. I'm looking for some kind of remote control for the heating in my Dad's house which is mostly vacant at the minute. It's a 70's bungalow with a timer on the oil like in your first photo, no controls on radiators. I would like to be able to control heating remotely, don't need it on every day but still need some heat in the house. I've had a look at the Tado and it looks good but would love feedback, costs, where to buy etc... Thanks

Same set up with gas boiler rather than oil burner by the sounds of it. My gas boiler was controlled by the Apt timer (on/off/clock). When on it would heat all the rads and hot water in the tank, i.e. no zones or anything fancy.

I got it for £50 on o2.co.uk but they are currently out of stock. I have just installed it so not much feedback as yet except to say that if it works as it seems to be attempting to work it will be a very nice system.

irishgrover wrote: »

Hi, and sorry for the stupid questions but... is that a standard tado thermostat? if yes, am I correct in guessing that the temperature is not monitored? That is, you are using the tado just for turning on/off and scheduling activity, as opposed to regulating temperature?

It's this one here:

https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/tado/smart-thermostat-starter-kit-v2

The temperature is monitored. There is a thermometer built into the front plate of the stat (battery operated). You then set it up with a minimum temperature - say 20C. If the thermometer detects that the temp in the room is 18C then it signals the backplate to fire up the boiler. The boiler will stay on until the thermometer reads 20+ again and then turn off.

The software operating in the background is pretty neat. When you install the app on your phone it monitors your location and will control the boiler differently depending on whether you (well, your phone) are at home or not.

At the moment I can see on the app that the temp in the house is 19.8C. I have the minimum temperature set to 20C so if I were at home the boiler would kick in for a few minutes to warm the place a touch. As I am at work it is operating on a different schedule, where it will leave the temperature get down as low as 5C. Once it spots me on the move back towards home it will start to heat the place up for me and get back to whatever level I have set for myself.

I'm not sure exactly how close I have to get before it starts to heat the place in expectation of my arrival.

deezell · 12-09-2018 1:18pm

Howard Finkel wrote: »

........I'm not sure exactly how close I have to get before it starts to heat the place in expectation of my arrival.

on the app, Settings/Location based control/Home area,

mark your house and set the diameter of the "fence" where you want the app to return the house to At Home status. If you drive, this might not kick in until your're almost in the door, as it takes about a minute or two. If you walk the last kilometer to home then it should be up and running by the time you hit the front door.

Howard Finkel · 12-09-2018 1:25pm

deezell wrote: »

on the app, Settings/Location based control/Home area,

mark your house and set the diameter of the "fence" where you want the app to return the house to At Home status. If you drive, this might not kick in until your're almost in the door, as it takes about a minute or two. If you walk the last kilometer to home then it should be up and running by the time you hit the front door.

Yeah I discovered those settings since.

It would be great if you could set up a custom fence of some sort. In my case I work a good bit away while my partner works only a few hundred yards from home. Worse again our local is only 100 yards away so the heating thinks we're at home when we're in the pub!

Ideally I would be able to draw a custom fence so that it would know I'm driving home from a mile away while excluding my partner's workplace and the local. I might put in a feature request to that effect.

deezell · 12-09-2018 2:27pm

Try setting the smallest setting, 50m, then activate home WiFi detection. Maybe add a wifi spot you pass on the way home to kick it off while your a bit away. It should turn off in the pub, but could turn on earlier if you were passing some hotspot. Alternatively create a voice operated command on the phone using IFTTT. I've done this, so " OK Google" and " heating on" goes to manual for 20 mins.

emg74 · 24-09-2018 11:43am

Just to update - Didn't buy the Tado system in the end - I had one of the Sonoff S26 Smart sockets so I set that up in my Dads place - Plugged the oil burner into it in the boiler house, set the APT timer to on in the house. I have set a schedule on the Sonoff App to flick on the heat 3 times a week at the minute for about 40mins each time. Can turn it on remotely if someone is going to be in the house so the heat is on when they get there. Works well for us at the minute.

Might look at the Tado for my own house though

Thanks for all the info earlier

utyh2ikcq9z76b · 09-11-2018 9:59pm

Hey guys I have a similar setup, its just a timer (Flash Immermat 31100) switch has broke, had on/off/timer connected to gas boiler which heated rads and water, got the same Tado as above (V2) to replace it. Now Tado say I need an extension kit to place at the boiler, which doesn't make sense after reading this thread, here is the current set up.

Will It work just with the Thermostat?

deezell · 09-11-2018 11:20pm

Niko Broad Vengeance wrote: »

Hey guys I have a similar setup, its just a timer (Flash Immermat 31100) switch has broke, had on/off/timer connected to gas boiler which heated rads and water, got the same Tado as above (V2) to replace it. Now Tado say I need an extension kit to place at the boiler, which doesn't make sense after reading this thread, here is the current set up.

Will It work just with the Thermostat?

Yes it will. I assume you didn't have separate HW/CH zones before, so that will be the same. You may have separate untimed HW control already with a cylinder stat, or possibly HW is just heated on demand straight from the gas boiler to the tap. It doesn't matter. Whatever event occured (presumably CH) when the old timer clicked on, will occur with the tado stat, but you'll have temperature as well as timing.
Tado will suggest the ext. Kit either because they think you need the hot water timed separately, or because location of your current timer is not in a suitable place for the main living space thermostat (is it in a cabinet or press, or in a utility room?). In this case you can fit the thermostat in the main hall or living space, and connect it wirelessly using the ext. kit to replace the old notch timer. You can do this without the ext kit, but you will have to bring 2 wires from the old timer location to wherever you situate the tado stat.

deezell · 10-11-2018 12:04am

Note also that the wiring on the immarmat is different to the apt timer in the op. They generally have Live in on terminal 1 and switched live out on terminal 4, these would go to COM and NO on the Tado. The 2 neutral wires on terminals 2 and 3 are connected together in the immarmat, and would be parked joined together on the Tado. I'm concerned by the connection of the green/yellow wire to terminal 4. If this is the switched live out, it's really wrong to use earth colour coded wire to carry live mains. I can't read the terminal labels apart from the numbers1 - 4, but I'd be surprised if terminal 4 was an earth terminal. Please check carefully the paths of the wires in and out to avoid a big bang. If you're in any doubt, unless you have a phase tester or meter to establish the original switch function of the immermat, get a sparks in to do it and connect the new stat.

Tinomag · 03-11-2023 11:44am

Hi, I know this an old conversation but I just moved into new home with same APT IMM24 timer switch which controls HW and CH. When I want HW only it heats radiators also. I hoped to be able to control both CH and HW independently so I bought Tado V3.

I opened up the timer and it revealed following wiring.

Do you know if the following wiring allows me to control CH and HW independently?

I don’t know how to determine if I’m on a S plan or Y plan heating system

how do I go about the wiring into the tado?

deezell · 03-11-2023 12:10pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121319275#Comment_121319275

This is just a simple timer, it doesn't have a seperate HW/CH switch on the front. It does however, have two live wires from the timed output, so its possible each of these go to a seperate zone valve for CH and HW. They may also just go directly to the Boiler and a pump or single valve. There are also two taped up black wires, which may have no function. You'll have to inspect your system to determine if you have an S plan with two valves, a gravity system with a single valve connected to a wall stat which would close off the CH for HW only, or if your boiler is an oil boiler, you may have the pump operated from one of those lives, and cutting this may provide gravity heating of the HW only. A gas boiler has an internal pump, so will always heat CH unless a valve is in the CH circuit and interrupted by the wall stat.

farmer2018 · 07-12-2023 10:23am

I got one of these recently for my house and the app is a disaster to use there is no function to turn heat on and off. I had only two brown and blue wires from my existing thermostat. I wired the brown in the positive + and blue into the negative -of the tado terminals, am I right doing this?

ongarite · 07-12-2023 10:35am

You can turn off heat from app with "turn off all rooms" button or click into each room & then drag temperature slider down to off.

Do you have photo of your original thermostat & it's wiring?

deezell · 07-12-2023 11:02am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121465546#Comment_121465546

No. They're low voltage digital connections. You may have fried it. Com and No you should have used.

farmer2018 · 07-12-2023 12:03pm

It's still working. I will change it thanks.

deezell · 07-12-2023 1:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121465992#Comment_121465992

Yes, like this,

Fully OFF is on the app.

farmer2018 · 07-12-2023 3:30pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121466467#Comment_121466467

So I will be putting my two brown wires into the COM and my two blues in the one of the spare P's?

deezell · 07-12-2023 4:52pm

That depends on what way the previous stat was wired. 4 wires suggests a powered stat, and maybe a joined neutral. Did you sketch down the connections to the old stat? It was a stat I assume. What make was it, maybe post a picture. Most simple wall stats will have two wires, a live in usually from a timer. And a switched live out to the boiler, or zone valve if you have a zoned system. A blue neutral wire would be needed if the stat was powered, but may be just routed through the stat housing, in and out. If the stat is replacing a single timer or powered stat, it was probably L N in, and L N out, so you would swith the brown wires on Com and No, one wire each on each terminal, and join the Neutrals in the parking strip.

ongarite · 07-12-2023 4:54pm

What make & model is your existing thermostat?

Can you upload photo of it here & find a link/photo of it online?

Usually only 2 wires to thermostat.

farmer2018 · 07-12-2023 7:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121467499#Comment_121467499

Apt

farmer2018 · 07-12-2023 7:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121467488#Comment_121467488

I didn't but there was two the same colour in separate terminals and two of same colour in the one. I think it was brown, brown and the two blue together.

deezell · 07-12-2023 8:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121468188#Comment_121468188

That's sounds right, wire it up as I drew on picture, Com and NO for the browns, join the blues in a parking spot. Hopefully the live brown on the + terminal didn't blow the circuit. Those terminals take 36v DC max.

ongarite · 07-12-2023 8:46pm

That’s not thermostat. That your heating programmer or timer

You need to return the wired Tado thermostat & purchase the Tado V3 wireless controller & thermostat.

https://www.screwfix.ie/p/tado-v3-wireless-heating-hot-water-smart-thermostat-starter-kit-white/141kt

The unit in the left of the photo link I posted will be wired in place of your APT with wireless thermostat left in kitchen or living room to control your desired heating requirements

deezell · 07-12-2023 8:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121468458#Comment_121468458

If @farmer2018 is happy with the stat located where the timer was, it'll work. I'd already guessed it was a timer. If there's an existing manual wall stat, (I doubt it) just turn it up.

farmer2018 · 07-12-2023 9:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121468497#Comment_121468497

No I used the existing one to turn heat on and off, the boiler is outside. I want to be able to turn the heat on and off remotely through the tado.

deezell · 07-12-2023 10:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121468518#Comment_121468518

And you can do that. It will measure the temperature of where it is located, so if this location is in the kitchen say, or in the hall, then the Tado will control your heat by temperature, not just random timed on and off steps. It's much more than a timer, but if you want to program it like one, just set time blocks of low temperature like 10°, these will turn the boiler off if the location of the Tado is not outside in a shed. Where is it located exactly?

farmer2018 · 07-12-2023 10:48pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121469007#Comment_121469007

Boiler is outside back door. So how would I wire up my tado to replace my Apt timer?

deezell · 07-12-2023 10:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121469073#Comment_121469073

I meant where was the timer which you are replacing with the Tado.

farmer2018 · 07-12-2023 11:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121469090#Comment_121469090

Inside the back door

Help Wiring Tado Smart Thermostat

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