Below you can find some useful information about the role tado° plays in different domestic hot water setups.
Controlling hot water in boiler systems
tado° has created two versions of the Wireless Smart Thermostat X Starter Kit, which connects your boiler to the rest of your heating system with a Wireless Receiver X and Wireless Temperature Sensor(s) X. One version is designed specifically for UK heating systems and one is designed specifically for European heating systems. The key difference between them is how they control hot water.
Combi boilers
Combi boilers, which are standard in the EU, heat water on demand. When you turn on a hot water tap, the boiler immediately starts heating the water. Since these systems only heat water when required, there’s no need to create hot water schedules.
If you have an OpenTherm boiler and tado° controls your hot water, you can set your hot water temperature in the app. Simply follow these steps:
Open the tado° app.
On the Home Screen, select the Hot Water tile.
Drag the slider up or down to set your desired hot water temperature.
Release the slider to confirm your setting.
System boilers
System boilers, which are more common in the UK, rely on preheating instead. So for UK systems, it’s most efficient to programme hot water schedules, which you can do with the Wireless Smart Thermostat X - Starter Kit [incl. Programmer with Hot Water Control and OpenTherm]. But if you want hot water right away, you can push the Boost Hot Water button on the Wireless Receiver X, which starts heating your domestic hot water immediately and lasts for 60 minutes.
Controlling hot water in heat pump systems
Heat pumps can transfer heat very efficiently, so the potential savings from strategic preheating and hot water storage are significant. If you have a heat pump, you can use the tado° Heat Pump Optimizer X to control both your heating and your hot water with smart schedules. You also have the option to boost heating or hot water if you want it right away.
If you’re interested in automating your heat pump to preheat when energy is cheapest and greenest, you can learn more in the article about Balance for Heat Pumps.