Domoticz

I am considering 2 solutions for making my heating solution smarter, including zone heating:

- First option is easy, tado. 2 drawbacks for me personally, i'm completely dependant on their cloud, and the smart radiator valves needs regular change of batteries.

- Second solution i could think of, is using an OTGW at the boiler, motorized valves at my collector, temperature sensors in each room (can be esp8266 based sensors) and scripting in domoticz. Drawbacks here are less 'learning' capabilities (i don't have the same knowledge), more time consuming (unless someone did allready some scripting in lua, i had a look on some scripts in the forum). Also, this diy solution could lead to more discussions with a professional installer in case of repair works at my boiler.

I'm interested in some opinions on the 2 solutions. Other solutions are also appreciated. I've read allready a lot, but didn't find so much diy solutions written out completely.

I had exactly the same consideration. At the end I went for the Tado solution, although I agree with you that you're dependend of their cloud (which I also don't like). I don't agree that you need to change the batteries often: they already run for more than 1 year without changing them. You can also consider to buy rechargeable batteries (e.g. eneloop batteries, which are one of the best rechargable batteries in the market).

The biggest advantage I see of Tado is that it's Modulating termostat (i.e. it can define how much % of heating capacity your boiler has to provide, instead of simply switching ON and OFF the boiler). This is far more efficient, as most boilers don't run efficiently when you turn them ON at 100% capacity and then turn OFF when the desired temperature is reached. If you want to program something like that in LUA, I think it's quite a complex algorithm.

With Tado I have seen a significant drop in gas consumption, so I'm quite satisfied. It's not perfect though. Sometimes the connection with one of the valves is lost and you can only operate it manually. However, 95% of the time it works fine. The service (telephone support) is very poor, at least here in The Netherlands. Several times I had to wait half an hour (saying "all operators are busy") and then the connection is broken. I had bought some valves second hand and the support did not want to switch the account from the old owner to myself. Very strange, as is my opinion it's not their business who owns the valve (that's clearly the disadvantage of depending on their cloud!). I do like the design of the valves: simple and elegant, with a LED display that is very nicely integrated in the button. The software is easy to use as well.