heat in the home under control
Are you looking for an easy way to smartly and most importantly easily control the heating in your home? Then you might be interested in a solution from Netatmo, which we also had the opportunity to test. How demanding is the installation and operation of Netatmo Smart Radiator Valves and what all this solution offers to users.
Contents
Content of the review Netatmo Smart Radiator Valves
Package Contents Netatmo Smart Radiator Valves
You will find the Netatmo smart thermostatic heads in the basic package of the “starter kit” everything needed for their installation – only with the exception of tools. The most important are, of course, themselves smart warhead along with control unit necessary for the operation of the Netatmo Smart Radiator Valves system. To modify the design of individual heads in the package, you will also find adhesive rings in four colors – orange, green, blue and red. Mounting of the heads on various heating systems then allow the included spacers. Specifically, these are reductions to these dimensions / systems -M30x1.5, M30x1, M28x1.5x, Danfoss RAVL, Danfoss RA, Giacomini. Finally, you will find four more in the package AA batteries for powering the heads (2 batteries each).
The design is simple and elegant
In terms of appearance, the manufacturer did not invent already invented and thermostatic heads are extremely simple. That this is not a standard warhead reveals only e-ink displej showing the current room temperature. Otherwise, it is a white cylinder with a smooth surface made of transparent plastic with a matte surface. Thanks to this, after gluing the ring, the color of the selected sticker passes through this plastic “sheathing”. The head is then finished with a white, glossy cover with the manufacturer’s logo. By turning it, it will open for us space for two pencil batteriesthat they should be able to handle power the warheads for up to two years. If you want to temporarily adjust the temperature in the room you are in, but you do not have a smartphone with you (or your internet connection does not work at the moment), you can do so using the head itself. Just turn its outer casing slightly and the newly set temperature will appear on the display. It can be manually regulated in the application by half a degree Celsius.
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In a similar design as the head itself, it is also shown control unit. It also combines both a transparent matt and a smooth white surface. You then need to insert the European plug into the body of the unit itself, and then you can plug it directly into an electrical outlet. It is a pity that the unit is not a bit smaller, it would then be less noticeable in the drawer. The control unit is connected to the individual heads via radio waves (868 MHz) and according to the manufacturer it should be the range in the open should be up to 100 meters. In the interior, of course, it is much less – this value is greatly influenced by, for example, the thickness and number of walls. It is ideal to place the unit in the middle of the home so that it covers all the installed heads well enough.
Montáž Netatmo Smart Radiator Valves
Thanks to the included reductions, Netatmo thermostatic heads should be smart compatible with most current radiators – respectively their valves. However, before purchasing, make sure that your current thermostats use one of the above-mentioned threads, list of compatible thermostat brands then you can also find at Netatmo website, however, this list may not be complete. It is important to keep in mind that for easy installation of the Netatmo Smart Radiator Valves system you must have thermostatic valves on your radiators and not just ordinary throttle valves. You can usually recognize the thermostatic valve by the mounted head with a marked scale for precise temperature control in the interior.
How to install your Additional Smart Radiator Valve – Installing the Netatmo Smart Radiator Valve
The installation itself then begins by plugging the control unit into the socket and downloading Netatmo Energy application. After starting the application, all you have to do is follow the instructions on the screen – register, fill in basic household data, pair the application with the control unit and then the unit with the heads themselves. The last step of the basic installation is then assembly of heads on radiators. It is very easy and you don’t have to be a do-it-yourselfer to deal with it. Enough unscrew the union nutwhich attaches the current head to the valve. Then to the valve screw in the appropriate reducer,fit the Netatmo smart thermostatic head so that the display is clearly visible and screw on the union nut. You will most likely need a wrench or pliers to loosen the nut, but this is the only tool you will use throughout the process.
Netatmo Energy application
In addition to the hardware itself, an equally important part of the entire solution is the software page, represented by the Netatmo Energy application. The one, as we mentioned above, serves as useful helper during initial installation and setup of Netatmo Smart Radiator Valves. After completing this introductory procedure, you can start exploring the application and its settings. The design of the application is successful and the user gets acquainted with it in a few moments. Right on the introductory screen there is an overview of individual thermostats, or rooms in which they are located, in the form of some widgets. You can see not only on these widgets the set temperature on the thermostat, but also the current temperaturein the room. At the bottom of this home screen you will also find quick switches for selecting heating modes.
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The left pull-down menu then offers access to setting your own heating plan, heating charts, setting the functions of smart heads and the possibility of adding another household member or guest. It’s a little It is a pity that offsets cannot be set in the application for temperatures – the head placed on the radiator logically measures a slightly higher temperature than the actual room temperature. We measured differences in the measurement of the head and the room thermometer in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 ° C depending on the room. The absence of this function is not fundamental, but we would still welcome it.
