Tado launches cloud-based, weather-controlled smart heating system
Watch out, Nest and British Gas – there’s another clever web-connected thermostat looking to eat your lunch
German company Tado is the latest company to launch a smart home heating system in the UK – and it offers some features you won’t find on rival systems like those from British Gas and Nest.
Tado, says its makers, is designed primarily to save you money by preventing wasteful energy use: leave the house and it’ll automatically turn down the heating; if the sun is shining, it’ll again turn down the heating. Apparently, features like this can result in your heating bills being snipped by an average of 27 percent.
Automatic for the people
The system works partly by keeping track of residents’ smartphones (it works with iOS and Android), which communicate with the Tado thermostat through the cloud. When it detects the last registered smartphone leaving the house, the heating goes down. And when it detects one of them starting to return home from work or the supermarket, it’ll crank the temperature back up. You can also control the system manually through the app.
The Tado Connector Kit costs a one-off fee of £250 (which gives you “life membership” of the system), or can be rented for £7 a month. It’ll be available from early November and Tado says it’s so easy to install that 97 percent of its existing German customers put it in themselves. You can reserve a kit at Tado’s website now.
Sam Kieldsen
Contributor 
