TRV manual + smart

Hi Folks,

I’m looking into adding TRV to my home/openhab setup. (Currently setting up several zigbee devices as they seemed cheaper than Z-wave so would make sense to add Zigbee TRVs).

I have an unusually criteria where I like all my smart devices to also work dumb devices ie for me smart lights should work with a physical light switch as well as via apps and not apps instead of physical switches.

I was curious if most TRVs have this functionality? My concern is I’ve seen several folk comment on somewhat poor battery life. If the TRV runs out of battery are they manually adjustable by hand? Or when they advertise manual adjustment do they mean via onboard buttons ie still need power via battery to use those features?

I imagine this isn’t a feature but wanted to confirm before I sink money into them.

I have changed all my TRV to shelly WiFi devices. They are rechargeable via Micro-USB connector.
The first one operating here since Ferbruary is still at 76% batterylevel.

All TRVs won’t work without electrical power as the valve is motorised. What the TRV’s normally do, is open the valve completely before power loss.

Personally I use Tado TRV’s and highly recommend them

Actually, it’s highly recommended for you to be able to turn things on and off when openHAB (or any other automation solution) is offline. However, I would normally frame this in terms of “works when openHAB/Internet is offline” instead of “works without power”.

Note that a physical light switch still requires electrical power to be of any use. Otherwise you’re just pressing the switch and nothing’s happening. I think you’re suggesting more along the lines of an automated door lock, which absolutely must be usable without power.

The question I would have is if a TRV can report its battery status to OH (I assume that most/all of them can do this). Then it’s just a matter of keeping extra batteries handy and changing them before they die.

Whatever the case, it’s definitely good to be concerned about this scenario.

Thanks Fellas,

Those options were pricier than I’d hoped, however I am a fan of shelly devices. I might get a cheap one see how the battery manages.

Thanks for confirming, I was hoping there’d be a model that allowed manual hand turning + motor. However it seems smart models can only be adjusted via the motor either via remote connection or buttons on the device so reliant on batteries.

Was hoping to avoid the situation of batteries going and not being able to turn radiator on or off until I get them, but sounds like it’s not as much of a nuisance as I imagine given there’s no product to overcome it yet. I suppose I could go the mains route but feel overkill then.

Thanks for the feedback, was useful!

Have you had similar success with the rest of the Shelly TRV’s? That’s an incredible life - almost 10 months!

Not really, as I have changed the other thermostats only a month ago. Wanted to test battery life bevor such an investment (10 radiators alltogether). But as far as I know, I am not the only one with this experience.
I just checked and the second TRV installed a month ago is still at 99%, even it has to move the valve a bit more since heating season started. But hiho, it only needs a powerbank connected to the TRV for several hours to recharge it.