142461A0 Bluetooth Smart Radiator Thermostat UK

We've a unique setup in our bungalow where the attic space has been converted into an office. That's all there is on the upper floor of the home.So, being able to turn the central heating radiator off outside of Mon-Fri, 9-5 schedule saves energy. I looked into Tado, Nest etc. but they all seemed very expensive for what they offer (e.g. £500+ to kit out our home).A single digital TRV like this one therefore makes a lot of sense for us. But it's hard to see a situation where it could be useful for most people, especially considering the whirring noise it makes (see more below).Note that this TRV doesn't require an internet hub or indeed anything else in addition. It doesn't use wifi. It's just Bluetooth, and I believe it's the old style of Bluetooth that every phone has had for years. You don't even need a phone if you're happy getting on your knees and trying to program it using the buttons.Rather worryingly, the goods I received had clearly been opened. The box seal was fully broken. I'm unsure if it was a return. I found no evidence of it having been used, however. But perhaps you might want to bear this in mind if buying from this retailer ("Megga Distribution" [sic]).Installation was easy, because I read the other reviews here. Do that if you're going to buy this. I've included my installation steps below. They highlight some of the caveats others have mentioned.It seems to work very well. The motor is audible when it's adjusting the temperature – a quiet, gentle whirring for a few seconds. But this is true of all the digital TRVs. It whirrs on to get the radiator warm, and then whirrs off again to when the temperature is reached. This can happen several times an hour, of course, and so is something you know bear in mind if you want to use this in a bedroom, for example. Normal TRVs are silent. This one could disturb sleep if the heating is on overnight.The single-sheet printed instructions and the app are not entirely user-friendly. The app is typical of those for Chinese manufactured goods, in that the English isn't quite right (e.g. rather than tap Cancel, you tap Reject). Because of this, I wouldn't advise this product for people who aren't technically minded. But for those who've done a little DIY and aren't afraid of their phone, you'll probably be OK. For the rest, well, that's why Tado came along and made it all easy – but you will end-up paying a premium!However, this seems to be the cheapest option if you want a digital TRV controlled by your phone, and that lets you schedule daily heating for a room/radiator. And it seems to work.Here's how I installed mine.1. Installed it on the radiator (turn existing valve to highest setting, unscrew its cap, remove it, screw on this one).2. Installed the batteries (don't use the ones provided. Another reviewer said they leak. I used Duracells.)3. Set the time and date using the controls on the thermostat. Don't do anything else at this point—another reviewer warns that doing anything else could block the Bluetooth connection!4. Download the Calor BT app to your phone using the App Store, open it, and select to "Teach-in Device".5. Press and hold the large circular dial on the thermostat until it says bLE on the display.6. The app should connect, and you'll have to type in the code shown on the TRV.7. Do everything from this point onwards on the app. Don't touch the thermostat again.8. Don't upgrade the firmware even if prompted to do so! Again another review said this caused connection problems. In all likelihood, you'll never even touch the app again once you've set the timings you want—outside of times perhaps when you want to tap to boost the heat, which I would do perhaps if working in my office on a Saturday, for example.

For me, these are a great cost-effective solution that lets me set different heating schedules for different rooms (for example, so the bedroom is only heated when I'm getting up in the morning, and most other radiators are off when I'm working in my home office). An added bonus is that you can set them to the exact temperature you want rather than a less meaningful 1-5. They don't need a hub and were relatively easy to install and set up (see below for more on that). I've had them for a couple of weeks now and they're working perfectly.It's important to understand what they can't do:(1) They can't be controlled by the app when you're out of bluetooth range. In other words, if you want to turn on a radiator or change its schedule, you will need to be in your house and near the radiator in question. The app makes it much easier to change settings (compared with using one button and a dial on the valve itself and cycling through options) but it isn't designed to operate them remotely. If you want to be able to turn on individual radiators before you come home, you will need a more expensive product that connects to wifi.(2) As they can't talk to your boiler, they won't turn on a radiator unless your central heating is already on. For most people, it's probably easiest to keep your central heating schedule and thermostat as they were before, and then use the valves to turn individual radiators off/down within that. But if you ever want a specific radiator to, say, come on earlier in the morning, you may need to adjust your central heating schedule too.Installing these was incredibly easy; you simply unscrew the top part of your existing TRV (the bit that lets you set your radiator to 0-5) and screw this on in its place. No technical skills required. The valves are supplied with various adaptors to fit to different existing TRVs, but if your TRVs are the most common kind (mine were) you don't need them. Note that this product is the top part only of a TRV and so you can't use it on its own if you don't already have some kind of thermostatic radiator valve to replace.Setting the valves up (i.e. setting the time, pairing them with the app, setting the schedule) was a little more complex as the instructions weren't very clear and the app didn't seem intuitive. Once I'd figured it all out with the first one, the remaining valves were quick and easy to do. However, if you're not IT savvy then you may need some help with this stage.All in all, I think these are a great solution if you want to save on your gas bills by only heating the rooms you need to. They don't have all the bells and whistles of wifi radiator valves, but are much cheaper, and don't require a hub (I have smart heating that I'm very happy with, but the radiator valves for that system are ~£50 each and get terrible reviews, so these were a much better option). Recommended.