There are five current controls in Vaillant's UK lineup, two internet gateways, two different apps, and three ways to wire them up. None of which is on the box. No jargon, no upsell — just what each one does, who it's for, and the wiring detail underneath.
Which one do you need?
Simple single-zone home, no app wanted? sensoROOM pure. Want a proper programmable with weekly schedules? sensoHOME. Got a heat pump, underfloor heating, more than one zone, or a complex system? sensoCOMFORT. Want any of the above controlled from your phone? Add the myVAILLANT connect gateway.
Most installs fall into one of those four. What follows is everything else.
Vaillant make some of the best-modulating combi boilers and heat pumps on the UK market. The controls range that goes with them has quietly become a maze. The old VRT and VRC numbers are still floating around, the senso range has overlapping options, and there are two completely different apps depending on which gateway you pick. It's a lovely product family. It just doesn't introduce itself very well.
This guide is written for homeowners first, with a clearly-marked installer notes box at each step so the trade can skim straight to the wiring detail. Everything below covers Vaillant's current UK lineup — we've left the legacy VRT 350/380 and vSMART stuff out, because if you're buying today you're not buying those new (and if you've already got one, it's still working, so leave it alone).
The five controls in the current senso range
Vaillant sells five thermostats and system controls in the UK today. They sit on a scale from "basic room stat with a dial" to "full system manager for a heat pump with three zones." In order of complexity, smallest to largest:
1 · sensoROOM pure
VRT 51 / VRT 51fThe simple one. A dial. A button. Done.
Vaillant's entry-level room thermostat. Wired (VRT 51) or wireless (VRT 51f). You get a dial to set the temperature and a "Quick Veto" button to boost the heating for an hour when you want it warmer. That's the whole interface. There's no built-in programmer, no schedule, no screen full of menus to get lost in. It speaks eBUS, so even though it looks basic, it's still modulating the boiler properly underneath (more on that below).
2 · sensoROOM
VRT 380 (in some literature)The awkward middle child. More on the display, still single-zone.
A step up from the pure: same single-zone, same eBUS modulating control, but with a fuller digital display showing room temperature and a more configurable interface. Still no weather compensation as standard. Sits between the bare-minimum sensoROOM pure and the fully-programmable sensoHOME — useful if a customer wants slightly more information at a glance but doesn't need a 7-day schedule built into the thermostat itself.
3 · sensoHOME
VRT 380 / VRT 380fA proper programmable thermostat. Probably the one you want.
This is where most family homes land. sensoHOME has a proper 7-day programmer built in, a touch interface, holiday mode, and load compensation as standard. Add a £30-ish outdoor sensor and you get full weather compensation too. Wired or wireless RF. Single zone out of the box, but it'll happily do two if you add a VR66/2 wiring centre and a VR92 remote thermostat for the second room.
4 · sensoCOMFORT
VRC 720 / VRC 720fThe flagship. Weather compensation as standard. Heat-pump fluent.
If anything in the system is more complicated than "one combi, one zone," this is the control you want. 3.5-inch touch display, six touch buttons, a touch slider, and an interface that has clearly looked at a tablet and taken notes. Weather compensation is built in (with the supplied outdoor sensor). The wired version runs up to five heating circuits; the wireless RF version handles three. Apple HomeKit integrates directly when paired with the myVAILLANT connect gateway.
5 · VRC 700
VRC 700/6The older sibling. Still in the range, mostly for service swaps.
VRC 700 predates the senso aesthetic, but Vaillant still list it. It's a weather-compensating system controller that handles multi-zone systems, works with the current ecoTEC plus range, and supports Vaillant heat pumps. It's compatible with myVAILLANT connect, so app control is still on the table. For new specs, sensoCOMFORT is the obvious choice. But if you're replacing a faulty VRC 700 in a system that's already plumbed and wired for it, like-for-like is usually the path of least resistance and least head-scratching.
- VR 66/2 — single zone + DHW for sensoHOME, or 2-zone with a VR 92 remote
- VR 70 — adds capacity for additional zones with sensoCOMFORT
- VR 71 — first three heating circuits on a sensoCOMFORT system
- VRA 42 — eBUS adaptor for retrofitting senso controls onto older Vaillant eBUS boilers (2006 onwards)
- VR 92 / VR 92f — remote room thermostat / second-zone control, wired or RF
The gateways: myVAILLANT connect vs sensoNET
None of the controls above talk to your phone on their own. To get app control, you add a small internet gateway that plugs into the boiler and the home network. There are two of them in the wild, and this is where most of the confusion lives.
Code: VR 940f. The new gateway. Used with the myVAILLANT app. Works with sensoROOM pure, sensoROOM, sensoHOME, sensoCOMFORT and VRC 700. Integrates with Apple HomeKit and Amazon Alexa. With a new ecoTEC plus it plugs into the CIM port with a single cable — no separate power supply needed. Free Smart Home subscription included.
Code: VR 921. The older gateway. Used with the sensoAPP (different app to myVAILLANT). Still compatible with sensoHOME and sensoCOMFORT. Needed if you want to use Vaillant ambiSENSE smart TRVs — ambiSENSE is not compatible with myVAILLANT connect, so for 20-zone per-radiator setups, sensoNET remains the gateway of choice.
If you're starting from scratch in 2026, myVAILLANT connect is the one to fit. The only reason to specify sensoNET now is if the project needs ambiSENSE smart radiator valves for per-room zoning — typically HMOs, light commercial buildings, or larger homes where the customer wants per-radiator scheduling.
- myVAILLANT connect (VR 940f) → myVAILLANT app
- sensoNET (VR 921) → sensoAPP
- vSMART (legacy, pre-2020) → vSMART app — still works, still bitter about being replaced
eBUS, OpenTherm, and on/off — the protocol question
Why does Vaillant insist on you using their thermostats when there's a perfectly good Nest sitting in the cupboard left over from the old house? Because of the protocol — the wire between thermostat and boiler isn't just "on or off" any more. Modern boilers can modulate, and the smarter the conversation between stat and boiler, the more efficient the system runs. Three ways the conversation can go:
Vaillant's proprietary modulating protocol. Allows full two-way communication — the boiler knows exactly what flow temperature to run, and modulates down rather than firing flat-out then cycling. The entire senso range uses eBUS. If you want maximum efficiency from a Vaillant boiler, this is the only correct answer.
An open modulating standard used by Nest, Tado, Honeywell Evohome and Heatmiser Neo. Excellent in principle — but Vaillant UK boilers don't support OpenTherm natively. A VR33 adaptor exists for European markets, but it's not UK-approved and using it can invalidate your Vaillant warranty.
The traditional "thermostat clicks the boiler on and off" wiring. Works with anything — Hive, Drayton, Honeywell T6, even a manual dial stat from 1995. Reliable as a brick. But the boiler can't modulate, so it short-cycles and burns more gas than it needs to. The RT terminals on a Vaillant boiler accept this if you really must.
The short version: if you've got a Vaillant boiler, fit a Vaillant control. Anything else throws away the modulating efficiency you paid extra for.
Heat pumps: the rules are different
If the appliance is an aroTHERM plus or any other Vaillant heat pump, you're not really choosing a thermostat — you're choosing a system controller. sensoCOMFORT is effectively mandatory.
Heat pumps need weather compensation to run efficiently. They work best when flow temperature tracks the outside conditions — colder outside, slightly warmer flow; milder day, lower flow. A simple "boost-when-cold" room stat will hammer a heat pump's COP into the floor. Weather comp keeps the flow temperature low and steady, which is exactly how you get the 3.5+ SCOP figures the manufacturer claims.
sensoCOMFORT is the only control in the current range with weather compensation as standard, and it speaks fluent heat pump — controlling defrost cycles, DHW priority, immersion backup, and the zone valves on a buffer tank if there is one. Specifiers should write it into the spec by default. Anyone trying to value-engineer it down to a sensoHOME, or worse a third-party on-off stat, is essentially signing up for unhappy heating bills on the customer's behalf.
Boiler Plus: what counts
Since April 2018, every new combi boiler installed in England has had to include at least one efficiency-improving measure on top of a programmable thermostat. The four valid options are: weather compensation, load compensation, a smart control with automation and optimisation features, or flue gas heat recovery (FGHR).
The good news is that every control in the senso range satisfies Boiler Plus on its own. sensoROOM, sensoROOM pure and sensoHOME deliver load compensation; sensoCOMFORT delivers both load and weather compensation. No additional kit needed for compliance.
Which one should you fit?
Still not sure which one to specify? Work down this list. It's roughly how we'd handle the question over the trade counter:
FAQs
Can I use a Nest, Hive or Tado with my Vaillant boiler?
Physically, yes — wire them to the RT (volt-free) terminals on the boiler and they'll switch it on and off all day long. But you lose the eBUS modulation that makes Vaillant boilers efficient in the first place, and on a brand-new install you may run into Boiler Plus compliance issues. Best of the third-party options is Tado on OpenTherm wiring, but Vaillant UK boilers don't natively speak OpenTherm without an unapproved VR33 module. Our honest take: if you've got Vaillant, fit Vaillant. The kit was designed to talk to itself for a reason.
What's the difference between the myVAILLANT app and sensoAPP?
Two completely separate apps, unhelpfully. myVAILLANT goes with the newer myVAILLANT connect (VR 940f) gateway. sensoAPP goes with the older sensoNET (VR 921) gateway. They're not interchangeable, no matter how much they look like they should be. If you're starting fresh, fit myVAILLANT connect and use the myVAILLANT app. The only reason to stick with sensoNET/sensoAPP is if you're running ambiSENSE smart TRVs, which still only talk to the older gateway.
Do I need the outdoor sensor?
For sensoHOME — optional, and it unlocks weather compensation on top of the load compensation you already have. Worth fitting if you care about efficiency. For sensoCOMFORT — it's in the box, you fit it, weather comp is the whole point of the control. For sensoROOM pure or sensoROOM — not supported, these are load-comp only.
Will the senso controls work on my older Vaillant boiler?
Vaillant eBUS appliances from 2006 onwards are compatible, but pre-2018 boilers usually need the VRA 42 eBUS adaptor to plug a senso control in cleanly. Anything with the newest ecoTEC plus uses the CIM port and a single cable instead. Your installer will sort the right adaptor.
What does "Boiler Plus" actually require?
Since April 2018, new combi installs in England need a programmable room stat plus one of: weather compensation, load compensation, a smart control with auto-optimisation, or flue gas heat recovery. Every control in Vaillant's senso range satisfies this on its own — sensoHOME and below via load compensation, sensoCOMFORT via both load and weather compensation.
Can I add app control to my existing Vaillant control later?
Yes — and it's one of the better thought-out things about the range. The myVAILLANT connect (VR 940f) is a £150-ish gateway that retrofits to any senso control or VRC 700. It even retrofits to sensoROOM pure, turning the dial-only thermostat into an app-controlled one. So you can fit a budget control today and upgrade to phone control whenever the family decides they want it, without ripping the stat back off the wall.
Does sensoCOMFORT work with Apple HomeKit?
Yes — but you need the myVAILLANT connect gateway. The sensoCOMFORT alone doesn't speak HomeKit; the gateway is what bridges it into the Apple ecosystem. Amazon Alexa works through the same gateway.
Final thought
The senso range is well thought-out kit — both the hardware and the way it scales from a one-button dial to a five-zone touchscreen. The trick is matching the control to the property and the user, not over-specifying because the customer might want app control one day. That's what myVAILLANT connect is for: fit the right stat for the system, add the gateway when they're ready.
If you're standing at the trade counter not quite sure what to buy, ask us. We stock the full senso range and the wiring centres that go with them, and we'd rather sort it on the phone than have you fitting the wrong control twice.
Need a hand picking the right control?
Trade counter, phone, or email — we'll spec it with you, no judgement if you've already bought the wrong one.
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