As Ofgem's latest price cap came into force on October 1, households on standard variable tariffs face higher energy costs this winter. The cap has risen by 4%, taking the illustrative annual bill for a typical dual-fuel household paying by Direct Debit from £1,663 to £1,723, according to Ofgem - an increase of around £60 a year, although actual bills depend on how much energy a household uses.
With many households looking for ways to take greater control of their heating, tado° Smart Radiator Thermostats X are available for £59.99 down from £74.99 at Amazon. The devices allow individual rooms to be managed separately rather than heating every space to the same temperature.
Energy savings up to 28%
The system also offers information about household energy consumption and costs, a tool for billpayers to help cut spending. tado° says users can see energy savings of up to 28%, although actual savings will depend on the property, heating habits and existing setup.
The thermostats use the Matter smart-home standard and require a tado° Bridge to connect. Shoppers with an existing tado° V3+ system should note that the X range isn't compatible with it.
Other smart heating options
Another option is the Tapo P110 4-Pack Smart Wi-Fi Plugs - Energy Usage Monitoring for £31.99 at Argos. This one can be managed through voice commands like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant and is for indoor use.
At Amazon, there is the Google Nest Learning Thermostat 3rd Generation for £269.99. This one has been used, but it has auto-schedule features, home and away assist and can be remotely controlled.
Shopper reviews
The Tado Smart Radiator Thermostat has received an overall average rating of 4.2 out of five stars from more than 840 reviews. One shopper said: "Love them, they are the most integral part of our life during the cold winter... they will pay for themselves in about two to three years. I think it will be even quicker."
"I have eight of these, and they have made life so much easier and saved a lot of money, as they allow you to isolate rooms that we don't need to heat. The app is absolutely amazing," a second person said.
A third added: "These allow you to control the temperature of an individual radiator - either via a programmable schedule, through the app or directly on the unit. They are expensive but great."
While a fourth commented: "So good, our heating was either hot or cold, now it's perfect. We got the wall-mount thermostats for our underfloor heating, too. Perfect for when you need to change the heating in a room or turn off the heating. No running around the house to the stats, just do it on your phone. Definitely recommend."
Minor criticisms
Others left some feedback, with one saying: "Very good product, makes life much easier. The only issue is, I can't, for some reason, link with Alexa after multiple attempts."
Another person commented: "Easy to install, connected to Wi-Fi easily. I connected to my Samsung smart things hub, but this meant it won't connect to Tado... this was annoying as I should be able to connect to both."
The Tado Smart Radiator Thermostat is available from Amazon.
