A smart radiator valve (SRV)? What, it went to uni? Got a Masters? No, not that kind of smart. It just means you can control the radiators in every room of your home individually through an app on your phone, anytime and anywhere.
Even if you have the oldest sort of radiator valves, the ones you turn manually that have little numbers on them that go from ‘Off’ up to ‘Max’, you can turn up and down the heat without having to crouch down and fiddle about. Just open the app, select the room and decide whether to power up and how hot you want it to be. It makes life simple and cost-effective if you know, for instance, that you’re only going to be in one room working from home all day, or that you want to get the bedroom cosy before you head up for the night.
However, there are a few things you need to have and need to know before you jump on the smart conveyor belt.
What do I need before I install one?
You’ll need a connecting device to go into your modem so your mobile phone can communicate with the smart valves. However, if you already have a smart thermostat, then you probably already have one of these installed. If not, SRVs usually come with one.
Can I install SRVs myself?
Yes. You don’t need a specially trained engineer. Just take off the old one, put an adaptor on the SRV if it needs one (again, they usually come with these or else check you’re buying one that will be the right size), pop batteries into the SRV (you’ll want AAs) and put the new valve on. Hey presto.
What are the advantages of smart radiator valves?
- Being able to set the temperature in Celsius, which makes more sense than a number between one and seven, or one and five if you have a newer thermostat radiator valve.
- Being able to control individual rooms remotely.
- If you have a smart thermostat, you can turn your boiler on and off through your SRV app as well.
- Being able to keep on top of your energy use as you can see what you’re using.
Any cons?
- More expensive than regular radiator valves.
- You need that smart thermostat to be able to control the boiler as well.
- Once you have a particular brand’s smart thermostat or SRVs, you’re pretty much going to have to stick with that brand, though this may not really be a con, as if you like the brand, why not?
Here’s our pick of the bunch
Best smart radiator valves at a glance:
- Best for easy and effective: Tado Smart TRV Thermostatic Radiator Valve - £173.34, Amazon
- Best for larger homes: Drayton Multizone Kit 1 - £229, City Plumbing
- Best for if you’re on a budget: Energenie MiHome Smart Radiator Valve - £79.98, Toolstation
- Best for easy to install: Qiumi Zigbee Thermostat Radiator Valve - £212.69, Amazon
- Best for those who relish quiet: Hive White Smart TRV Head - £49.99, Amazon
- Best for if you prefer a trusted brand: Honeywell Home Evohome White Radiator Zone - £292.08, City Plumbing
- Best for when you want to buy British: Sandy Beach Thermostat TRV Radiator Valves - £49.99, Amazon
- Best for remote heating control: TP-Link Kasa Smart Radiator Thermostat - £59.99, Amazon
- Best for scheduled heating: Eve Thermo Smart Radiator Valve with LED Display - £54.99, Amazon
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Tado Smart TRV Thermostatic Radiator Valve
Best for: An easy, effective way to get on the smart radiator valve bandwagon
Easy to install – there are simple step-by-step instructions online – and compatible with most radiators., Tado is one of the leaders in the smart home market. The brand claims you can save an average of £294 annually, or 22 per cent, by using its smart radiator valves, but this is probably only the case if you were profligate with your heating in the past.
However, Tado’s Energy IQ feature in the app does allow you to get fuel-cost predictions each month, compare the cost with previous months, as well as previous years (which might make grim reading), and you can see how you use energy, which could help you to cut back.
Other cool features include automatically turning the heating off when no one is home, open-window detection, weather adaptation and smart schedules so heating is never used unnecessarily. Finally, a big bonus, Tado smart valves will fit 95 per cent of radiators.
Price for a three-pack.
Buy now £173.34, Amazon
Drayton Multizone Kit 1
Best for: Larger homes
To get you started, Wiser – which makes the Drayton range of smart radiator valves – recommends you get its Multizone Kit 1. This comes with everything you need to set up with its smart heating system and convert two rooms to smart heating, You can then add more smart radiator valves – or smart room thermostats, as Wiser calls them – until your whole home is smart. You can also simply buy one of its smart radiator valves (£40).
It’s compatible with Google Home and Alexa (“Alexa, turn the heat to 21 in the living room”) and can be affixed to 90 per cent of radiators (or you can use its adaptors, which come with the kit), but you do need the Wiser heating system to make it work through the internet. Once set up, though, it can control up to 16 rooms.
Buy now £229.00, City Plumbing
Energenie Mi|Home Smart Radiator Valve
Best for: If you’re on a budget
At the lower end of the price point for a smart radiator valve, you can get two for half the price of just one of most of the other brands. Like the others, these allow for individual room temperature control, will work with Alexa and Google Assistant, and you can set them to come on at certain times and particular temperatures.
While these smart radiator valves will do the job at a great price – in fact, if you buy multi-packs the price gets even better – you do need a bit of patience to set up the app.
Buy now £79.98, Toolstation
Qiumi Zigbee Thermostat Radiator Valve
Best for: Easy to install
This six-pack of smart radiator valves is voice-controlled (through Alexa and Google Assistant), as well as remotely through the app on your smartphone. You can set up weekly schedules so, for instance, you can have the heating turned off if you’re out all day at work Monday to Friday, but turn up the heat during the weekend days.
They also have open-window detection, so it will automatically turn off the heat in that room. They’re easy to install, will fit most radiators and run on two AA batteries (not included). Of all the smart radiator valves we looked at, this one was the most pleasing to the eye, so if you care about design details, that might sway you.
Buy now £212.69, Amazon
Hive White Smart TRV Head
Best for: Those who relish quiet
While some smart radiator valves make a bit of a sound when they do their thing, the Hive ones are pretty quiet. They also have a wide temperature range – 0° to 40°C – while most top out at 30°C. Like most of the other brands mentioned here, they are both voice (through Alexa and Google Home) and remote-controlled through an app on your smartphone.
You can programme it for seven days, will work with any sort of boiler, and need those two AA batteries to get going. It needs a Hive smart hub to work (sold separately) but is an easy system to install and get up and running.
Buy now £49.99, Amazon
Honeywell Home Evohome White Radiator Zone
Best for: If you prefer a trusted brand
What sets this smart radiator valve apart from the herd is both the trusted brand name – it’s a well-known, long-standing one – and the display, which shows the temperature, battery power and other useful info. It comes with adapters in case your radiator fitting isn’t instantly compatible, brackets to hold it in place and batteries, which have a long two-year life.
It has up to six daily programmable settings, is voice (through Alexa and Google Home) and remote controlled. Features include open-window detection, so it will shut off If the temperature drops suddenly and it’s compatible with any boiler. It works through the EvoHome thermostat controller (sold separately).
Price for 4.
Buy now £292.08, City Plumbing
Sandy Beach Thermostat TRV Radiator Valves with Zigbee Gateway
Best for: When you want to buy British
If you like the idea of buying British, these smart radiator valves will be your go-to as they’re made by a medium-sized company based in the UK. The valve comes with a variety of adapters to make sure it will fit just about any radiator out there and the Zigbee Gateway is included, which will let you get going straight away through Alexa, Google Home or your smartphone.
It’s available in white or anthracite, so you can match it to your decor and, once you’ve bought this starter kit, you can buy additional Sandy Beach smart radiator valves on their own, without the Zigbee Gateway, to smarten up (Geddit?) your whole home.
Buy now £50.00, Amazon
TP-Link Kasa Smart Radiator Thermostat
Best for: Remote heating control
Picture this: you’re on the sofa and suddenly the temperature takes a turn. You’re freezing but so, so comfortable. Which do you choose; warmth or comfort? You need not make that challenging decision with this radiator thermostat from TP-Link.
This valve simply replaces your current radiator valve with super easy installation (either vertical or horizontal) and will allow you to control the heat of the room from your phone or even just by asking Alexa. This means you can do it remotely, set schedules and save money in the long run by switching it down or off when you’re not home.
The Kasa connects via WiFi and has helpful LED-illuminated symbols to show when linked up, battery levels and temperature display.
It’s worth noting that this model is not compatible with Tado.
Buy now £59.99, Amazon
Eve Thermo Smart Radiator Valve with LED Display
Best for: scheduled heating
Schedule your heating according to when you’re in or out of the home. Eve is designed to heat individual rooms or the whole house to suit your routine via your iPhone or internet connection. Dictate the exact levels of heat you desire and automate the heating system with Open Window Detection, Vacation Mode, Valve Protection and other nifty features.
Buy now £54.99, Amazon
