Sandy Beach Smart Trv, Smart Heating Radiator – Smart Radiator Valve, Smart Radiator Thermostat Valve with Zigbee TRV Radiator Valve Gateway Connecting to Amazon Alexa (Gateway + Thermostat)

Independant, room heating with remote/ voice control using SandyBeach HY368 Smart TRV actuator.
TIP* Don’t initiate setup before fully installed on TRV!Updated ** 25/03/22…I started with the older model HY367 which I found had a few issues for me. In resolving these, I can’t praise Sandy Beach enough for their after sales support answering questions etc.I now have 7 of their HY368 models. (+1 Ketotek). This review is about the HY368 Actuator only.Smart TRVs by their nature are very difficult to make well at a decent price point and require a technical appreciation to install as a DIY project. They can also be vulnerable to misuse and damage by human activity!There is also the problem having a variety of TRVs around on which to mount the actuator, not all will be suitable and may require plumbing work to replace them. (I have at least 3 different threaded types in my house. One would not accept the actuator and had to be replaced)My rating is relative to my experience with similar Tuya based valve actuators: Overall 5 out of 5 includes: Support from Sandy Beach (5), Value at £33 (5), instructions as supplied with valve (4.5*), the build quality (5), usability (5) Programmability (5), Google and Alexa integration (5).*The instructions need a little more on matching actuators with different TRVs.** Battery use: still on first batteries at 4 months.This review will be updated if I make further observations and is measured against my requirements…Previous situation: I have a Combi boiler controlled by a Google Nest thermostat in the hallway and 8 radiators and 2 bathrooms with heated towel rails. Most have standard TRVs until now…Problem: The Nest, whilst excellent in its eco control, has no way, on its own, of controlling TRVs or receiving signals from them.Requirement: since there are occasions when my hallway has reached a comfortable temperature but other rooms have not, I need to be able to fire up the boiler, limit the heat to some rooms and also to heat one room without wasting heat elsewhere.Perceived solution: find a Smart switch that can be triggered by Smart TRVs when any of them open for hot water:I now have a Zigbee based switch that can start the boiler and work with Tuya, Alexa, Google etc. The Nest Heat link switches to this when it’s normal operation is finished. The details are another subject on their own…A note regarding the nest: it learns how to most economically heat the house based on the thermostat location which should remain fixed. The learning will be based on how quickly the location heats or cools down relative to environmental data. This learning is influenced by levels of insulation and additional heat sources like body warmth, cooking or additional heaters. So any heating applied that the Nest hasn’t asked for will affect the way it works and may effect its normal operation. So I fitted a Smart TRVs to the Hallway to prevent heating that area when the Nest hasn’t commanded it. (I have open towel rails elsewhere)The TRVs I require to be capable of signalling to Tuya that it needs the boiler to supply hot water when the valve opens. The HY368 can do this! (not HY367)Enter the 2022 model Sandy Beach HY368 Thermostatic Radiator Valve Actuator (on its own, its not a TRV):This connects to the Tuya/Smart Life App which is probably the best supported system with best app based home automation that I already use to control switches and lighting. The HY368 depends on a ZigBee hub. I already had one: Tuya model No JMWZG1 which works well with it.Zigbee is a mesh LAN system, meaning that the control signals extend effective Range by jumping through powered zigbee devices like zigbee light switches. (but not battery devices like trv actuators)Appearance/design: plain white (or a choice of Black I believe). Not a work of art but functionally well thought out and I love the intuitive rotating top ring for manual heat adjustments and programming.The top of the device also features a control display with 3 finger sensor pads to operate it and a host of icons. These are only visible, when powered and if a sensor is touched, they light up.Build quality: All plastic, the weakest part, as ever, is the mount. A kick could easily break it! Otherwise fairly sturdy.Set up… The Instructions are clear but must be carefully understood.The procedure is straightforward and fairly quick. Keep the instructions for ever! It’s an impossible job without them. Make sure that the initial setup reports the model number expected (ie HY368. Return any HY367s)Must be installed on a TRV before initiating the set up. This will allow it to setup and identify the best range of movement for the paired valve.Otherwise I suggest a factory reset as I describe below. You won’t find this information elsewhere.Once set up, connecting the Individual thermostats to the gateway is easy, no issues at all. Controllers on radiators in range had very reliable connections. The furthest radiator was 3 brick walls, 12m away but had a weak connection which dropped occasionally. Improved when installing a closer Zigbee light switch (or any powered zigbee device) to mesh the signal.It is then simple to to set up parameters for each valve from within Tuya/Smart Life, including scheduled heating program, manual, eco, holiday mode etc.A manual adjustment during an automatic program counts as a temporary manual until the next program time setting change. It is also easy to set automatic logic operations for temperature, mode and key lock. So, for example, Tuya/smart life can automate “If outside temperature is is greater than 18c then set LoungeHY368 to eco (or AutoShedule, manual etc)” or “on Saturdays set key lock on” to prevent the grand children making adjustments!One could “mirror” the boiler program to each TRV device. Each TRV has to be programmed individually no “copy to” function available and you can also have individual programs for different on off times and temperature ie the bedrooms set to a lower temperature.Some parameters can only be set using the advanced installation keys on the valve the most notable of which is to be able to change the control algorithm which may improve the performance of the valve. I’m still reviewing this.If installing HY368s in a system where interactive boiler control is not possible, the actuator does a great job in controlling radiators while your boiler is running. Remember if the boiler is not on then obviously the radiators will not heat. This is what they are designed for!If installing HY368s in a system where interactive boiler control IS possible, as I have, the valve can do a good job in controlling radiators, both while my Nest has control and when the Nest is cycled off, the Tuya system can run the logic: “when HY368 open > than 9% then boiler switch on” and “when HY368 open <10% then boiler switch off"This requires a lot of thought and diy logic programming in Tuya/SmartLife.I intend fitting Sandy Beach 2022 model HY368 TRV actuators on on all my radiators except in the bathrooms and one little-used room.Voice commands, Google or Alexa integration seems to be good with usual voice and shedule commands available.Summary: I should soon be able to...Set programs for each room which will be heated when that room becomes cooler than the Nest programme.Set set a voice command to boost an individual room for a few minutes.Set a voice command for boiler on for a few minutes with all radiators closed except those with analogue or no valve. This will warm up just my bathrooms, airing cupboard heater and box room to the level on the analogue trv.Of course anytime my Nest or the the controllers start the heating, the towel rails etc would be on all the time.I can recommend these valves especially in terms of value for money compared to some other brands on the market some of which require a subscription for some more advanced control elements.To fully reset the HY368 TRV to remove all memory traces:1) Select the TRV controller to manual, Max hot and wait for the motor to retract the drive pin to the maximum hot position.2) Factory reset from within the smart life app. (select "Remove Device")3) reset the valve controller from the advanced options on its controls.4) Remove the batteries before the controller drives away from full hot.*A note on ALL TRVs and installation conditions*:*TRVs themselves all suffer from overheating. The valves then suffer from leaking water, and the plastic mounts of the control heads embrittle. Even the expansion capsules of analogue actuators leak. I would recommend replacing older TRVs before fitting digital actuators.Common plumbing practise involve installing TRVs on the the flow side: hot water inlet to the radiator and setting boiler temperature to 70 degrees. This adds up to disaster for Smart TRVs. (I'll give it 6 months like that! )*Move all (bi-directional) TRVs to the return side of the radiator where the water heat has already been extracted. The valve will be cooler. And...*My energy suppler, (Octopus) suggest "If you have a combi boiler, we recommend setting your flow temperature to 50c for heating and 55c for hot water – it’ll take a little longer to heat up, but the gas and CO2 savings make it more than worthwhile!"This should improve the life expectancy of the components.

Rich functionality with some caveats
Bought 7 of these to automate the heating in my home.Bought 2 initially to try out and after overcoming some installation difficulties, I was very impressed by the amount of control it gave me versus traditional TRVs. It can be controlled at the TRV itself and can work without Smart Life integration – so if you network is down, you can still change your radiator temperature by using the unit’s dial and buttons.Its Smart Life integration is great and easy to use. It offers many operating modes: holiday/auto/eco/comfort/manual/boost/temporary-override. Programming allow days grouped as 7, 5+2, or 6+1 with 6 periods per day. It temperature setting can be manually calibrated from -9 to +9 to compensate for the TRV position in the room. It shows the current valve open status as a percentage. It offers many useful status as automation triggers, eg valve status, current temp, set temp, mode, etc. Actions that automation can perform are setting the temperature and changing the operating mode.Boost let you temporarily fully open the valve to heat a room quickly for a fixed time and then return back to the mode before. The different modes are handy for easily changing the radiators to predefined temperatures – eg when going out the house, or when having guests in, etc.There are a few advanced controls for those that are keen – eg switching between adaptive PID and simple ramp control algorithm. Though I found ramp to work better (as in more predictably and less overshoot) than PID in all my cases.Then I bought another 5 and that is when I started noticing problems. The retailer is very responsive and helpful in trying to my issues resolved concerning functionality and model versions.My TRVs do not need any of the adapters, and can be screwed on the existing TRV after removing the inner disc. Installation was very difficult:- The threaded ring does not catch on easily, often angled or not at all- Tightening the ring does not tighten the fitting and the TRV can still freely rotate- Tightening the ring too much will cause it to pop off either immediately or during calibrationAfter many painful attempts I have found a way to install it with a higher rate of success:- If you are re-installing, make sure you change the mode to Boost and wait for the pin pusher to fully retract before taking the battery out* Install with the battery out* Hold the unit still and spin the ring until it has caught on properly* Then spin BOTH the unit and the ring together until tight but not forceably tight* Insert the battery (if this is a reinstall the unit remembers its settings and time after a few seconds)* Wait for the calibration (AD 1 and 2) to complete – watch that the unit does not wiggle during calibration and afterwards try gently moving and turning it. It should not move it the installation is good.This flimsy fitting at the end was the deal breaker for me.- Constant worry that a child or a piece of furniture gives it a knock and it pops off- In certain rooms, after a day use, the valve no longer controls the heating any more, ie valve status of 0% which should mean closed still let hot water into the radiator. This caused the room to overheat. This may be because the room is closer to the pump… No matter how much reinstallation or calibration I did this problem remained.Summary:+ Good set of features and Smart Life integration- Let down by the poor quality connector

Die Installation war nicht sehr einfach, denke für leihen eher schwierig und leider musste ich diese wieder zurück schicken da das Ventil in Badezimmer ständig auf war und die Heizung durchgehend geheizt hat. Im Wohnzimmer hatte ich das Problem nicht ! Ansonsten ist die App auf deutsch und die Steuerung über App war relativ einfach

Pas de prise française