Smart radiator valve buying guide
Updated: October 2026
A spare bedroom that stays hot while the living room is only just warm is a common reason to look at a motorised radiator head. You want the shelf price to mean the head you will fit, and you want to know which extra box still has to be bought. This guide runs five checks: the valve body, the system you already own, whether anything can start the boiler, the full price, and the review count. The [smart radiator valve comparison](/hub/thermostats/smart-radiator-valve) holds the seven amazon.co.uk listings compared on 16 October 2026. Products Compared did not laboratory-test these heads. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
A spare bedroom that stays hot while the living room is only just warm is a common reason to look at a motorised radiator head.
A spare bedroom that stays hot while the living room is only just warm is a common reason to look at a motorised radiator head. You want the shelf price to mean the head you will fit, and you want to know which extra box still has to be bought. This guide runs five checks: the valve body, the system you already own, whether anything can start the boiler, the full price, and the review count. The smart radiator valve comparison holds the seven amazon.co.uk listings compared on 16 October 2026. Products Compared did not laboratory-test these heads. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Hub | Adaptors | Boiler link | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Hive Hive smart radiator valve | Required, not included | M30 and Danfoss RA | Not in this box | 8.4 | about £55.30 | View offer |
 tado tado X starter kit with Bridge X | Bridge X in the box | Adapter sets for both heads | No boiler receiver in the box | 8.4 | about £207.15 | View offer | |
| Preis-Tipp |  SONOFF SONOFF TRVZB Zigbee head | Zigbee coordinator required | M30 × 1.5 mm plus named rings | Not stated | 8.2 | about £22.30 | View offer |
On this page
What you are actually buying
A smart radiator valve in this set is a powered head on an existing thermostatic radiator valve on a wet system. It turns the pin so one radiator follows a schedule in degrees, instead of a 1 to 5 dial. Hive’s listing says the head can be used without Hive Active Heating. It remains a head. The room thermostat, the programmer, and the receiver that tells a boiler to fire are different objects. Electric radiators are outside the job: Hive’s shop says its valve is not for electric heating. A wheelhead with no thermostatic insert means a new valve body, which is plumbing, on the how to fit a smart radiator valve page.
Five checks before you compare prices
Photograph the collar before you order. SONOFF claims M30 × 1.5 mm and packs adaptors marked CAL, RAVL, RAV, M28, and GIA. Hive includes M30 and Danfoss RA, and reviews say an M28 adaptor is a separate request. The KE100 includes one RA adaptor. Both WILAWELS listings say most standard valves and do not name a thread. Then match the system you own. tado X does not share a Home with tado V3+ or older. Hive radiator valves need the current Hive Hub or Hub 360, not Hub 1. The KE100 requires a Kasa Hub KH100. SONOFF’s eWeLink path needs a SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 hub. A Wi-Fi line is not proof the head talks to the router alone. That split is the smart radiator valve hub page. None of the seven boxes includes a boiler receiver. Add the hub, batteries, adaptors, and any plan. tado lists AI Assist at £3.99 a month or £29.99 a year. SONOFF does not include three AA cells. Hive shows 4.2 from 2,283 reviews and the tado X starter 4.2 from 1,165. The WILAWELS pages show 5.0 from three and from five reviews, and one puts TRV601W in the name and TRV706W in the model-number field.
What the rules ask for in England
Boiler Plus applies to a gas combi installed in an existing English home. A radiator head is not the additional measure in the BEIS factsheet, so buying one of these ASINs does not complete it. When a boiler is replaced, BEAMA reads Part L as thermostatic room controls in each room, often a room thermostat in one room and TRVs elsewhere. The room with the thermostat should not rely on a TRV as its only control. The dates in that note are 15 June 2022 for England and 23 November 2022 for Wales. Do not copy them onto Scotland or Northern Ireland. EN 215 is the mechanical TRV standard, and none of these smart listings claim it.
Which type fits which check
Starting tado X, with the bridge in the carton, is two heads plus Bridge X at about £207.15. Skip it for a V3+ house, if you need a boiler receiver inside that price, or if open-window control must be included rather than billed as AI Assist. A current Hive hub matches the about £55.30 head. Skip Hub 1, an M28 body until the adaptor arrives, and any hope that this carton fires the boiler. A KH100 already installed matches the KE100 at about £26.99. The three-pack at about £80.97 is the same price a head, and its 463 reviews match the single listing. A Zigbee coordinator matches the SONOFF TRVZB at about £22.30, and you still buy three AA batteries. The WILAWELS Wi-Fi heads claim no gateway and fail the review-count check for a whole house. A mechanical TRV is the buy when you only want a 1 to 5 dial, the radiator is electric, or you will not add a hub.
Common questions
Is a smart radiator valve the same as a smart thermostat?
On these listings the product is a head for one radiator. A smart thermostat, in the usual UK layout, is the control that decides whether the boiler or the zone should be on. Hive’s wording separates the radiator valve from Hive Active Heating, and the tado X starter in this set ships two heads and a Bridge X with no boiler receiver. You can schedule a room and still leave the boiler on its existing thermostat.
Do I still need TRVs if I already have a room thermostat?
You still need something on the other radiators if you want those rooms on a different schedule. BEAMA’s reading of the boiler-replacement rules is a room thermostat in one room and thermostatic control elsewhere. A single wall thermostat does not close a spare-bedroom radiator on its own. Avoid treating a TRV in the thermostat’s own room as the only control for that room. The wall stat and the head would then fight over the same space.
Will any smart head fit a Danfoss valve?
Only if the box contains the matching adaptor, or the body is already the thread the head claims. Hive includes a Danfoss RA adaptor. The KE100 add-on includes one RA adaptor. SONOFF lists RAV and RAVL among its adaptors and claims M30 × 1.5 mm. The WILAWELS pages do not name Danfoss. If your collar is M28, Hive reviews say that piece is ordered from Hive and is not in the about £55.30 box.
What should I add to the £22 price before I compare it with Hive?
Add the coordinator or hub, the batteries, and any adaptor that is not in the photo of your valve. SONOFF at about £22.30 still needs three AA cells and a Zigbee hub for eWeLink, unless you already have a coordinator and use the Zigbee2MQTT claim. Hive at about £55.30 includes M30 and RA adaptors and, on the components line, two AA cells, and it still needs a current Hive Hub if you do not own one. A £22 head plus a new hub can pass the Hive head on the day you pay.
Does this purchase satisfy Boiler Plus on its own?
It does not, on the BEIS factsheet. Boiler Plus, for a gas combi in an existing English home, asks for one extra measure: flue-gas heat recovery, weather compensation, load compensation, or a smart control with both automation and optimisation. A radiator head is not listed there as that measure. Treat this purchase as room-by-room hardware.
Can I add a tado X head to tado V3+?
tado’s help page says tado X products are not compatible with tado V3+ or older, and the amazon.co.uk listing repeats that they do not share a Home. Buying the X starter does not extend a V3+ house. If you already own V3+ heads, stay on that generation or plan a separate X system. The bridge in the X box does not convert the older heads.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources for Boiler Plus in England and for room controls when a boiler is replaced. Listings are the amazon.co.uk captures for these seven ASINs on 16 October 2026, not a live reload. Prices on amazon.co.uk move. Manufacturer saving percentages are not a result from this comparison.
- Boiler Plus factsheet (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Boiler Plus clarification (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- BEAMA Part L heating controls (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- BEAMA TRV installer factsheet (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- tado Bridge X (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- tado X and older lines (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- TP-Link KE100 FAQ (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Hive radiator valves (retrieved 16 October 2026)