In this guide we have got a chance to review Netatmo Smart Valves. Although the temperatures are starting to rise, we still cannot trust ourselves. As the saying goes, until May 40, do not take off your coat. Still some rooms in the house, those that do not get much light, can stay cold and we will need to put the heating if we are going to spend time in them and we want to be comfortable.
There are different ways to heat a home and, luckily, a gadget for each of them. This time we will focus on Netatmo’s smart valve starter pack, designed to control the temperature in homes with central heating.
In housing blocks with central heating there is a single boiler for the entire block and in each house the user has his own thermostat to regulate the temperature. Due to this system, most smart thermostats cannot be used with a central heating system as they cannot communicate with the boiler. On the other hand, with an intelligent valve system like the Netatmo starter pack we will have an intelligent heating that we can control from the mobile.
Netatmo’s smart valve starter pack consists of two smart valves, a relay, three radiator adapters, four valve stacks, and two rulers to mediate the valves of home radiators.
The operation is simple, the relay is in charge of “communicating” to the valves the temperature that we have indicated from the Netatmo “Energy” application and they are in charge of adjusting the flow of hot water until it reaches the indicated temperature.
Installation of Netatmo Smart Valves
Installation is very simple, no mechanical knowledge is required and no tools are required.
We first recommend installing the Netatmo «Energy» application on our smartphone. We connect the relay to the valves, it is recommended that it be in a central position between the valves so that it can send information to them.
Then we put the batteries in the smart valves, when they are in place a radio signal will blink on the screen along with the number 1 and the number two, this indicates the number of each valve. The application will ask us which valve we want to configure, we choose the number and specify what type of room it is, we have different options to choose from and we can create one if none is adjusted. We will also have to assign a name to the valve, which will help us to differentiate it in the event that we have several in the same room. It is important to note that if for any case we have to change mobile or close the session in the «Energy» application, we will have to reconfigure the smart valves.
The box also includes eight colored adhesive rings to put on the valves, so that the ones in a room are the same color.
Before recommending this pack, we recommend checking the compatibility of your radiator with Netatmo smart valves. On their page you can do it easily and they are compatible with most brands of radiator valves.
In the installation video we see that they remove the valve simply by screw, but in my case I had to use a wrench, at least for the first round. Once loosened, it comes out easily, then we choose the adapter that our radiator needs, we will do it with the ruler that measures the area of the radiator outlet. The adapter is also threaded and we screw the Netatmo smart valve onto it. It is recommended that we adjust it with the indication screen facing outward so that we can easily see the room temperature when necessary.
Utilization
We can vary the desired temperature in two ways, from the smart valve itself by turning it to the right or left if we want to increase or decrease the temperature, or we can do it from the Netatmo Energy application.
It is very important that for the valves to fulfill their function, the heating is turned on from the central thermostat.
The application allows us to configure different programs for each day with a different temperature depending on the activity or the presence of people in the house, so we will not have to wait to adjust the temperature and we will only have to do it at specific times.
Likewise, if our activity is very inconsistent and we do not have predefined schedules, controlling the valves from the mobile is very convenient, we can also configure it from outside the home, for example, if we have been out all day and we want it to be warm when we arrive.
For when we do not have a forecast of whether we are going to be at home and what we are going to do when we are, the “Energy” application provides us with a temperature graph that can help us get an idea of what time we need a higher temperature.
When we are going to be away from home for a long time, we can also tell him that we are not going to be, in this way the valves will not over-operate the radiator. Of course, if the heating is on or programmed to turn on from the central thermostat, it will start anyway.
From the application we can also indicate when the summer has started, so that you know that the radiators will no longer be used.
Conclusions
Improving the air conditioning of our home with devices has great advantages in terms of cost savings and energy savings. It seems like good news to me every time there is innovation in this aspect, in addition to that traditional thermostats have always seemed like a headache to get to program them.
Netatmo’s smart valves make you forget about traditional thermostats and pass control to your mobile. They also give central heating systems a chance, which until now did not have intelligent control devices.
The point against is that if we want to control all the rooms we will need to buy as many valves as radiators we want to control. In my case I have only installed them in the bedroom and in the office, since in the living room the thermostat itself.
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