Smart Heating Controls

Thermostatic radiator valves (TRV's) do not control the boiler, they control the flow of hot water through the radiator by sensing the air temperature around them. Therefore if the room temperature is warmer than that which is set on the TRV tehn the valve will begin to close reducing the flow of hat water through the radiator. Likewise, if the room temepature is colder than that which is set on the TRV, then the valve will open therfore inceasing the flow of central heating water through the radiator.

Covering the TRV with curtains or blocking the air flow aound the sensor with furniture can prevent an accurate temperature reading so careful thought has to be given when choosing this form of heating control. If you are not using a room then a TRV can be turned fully off or maintain a temperature just warm enough to prevent damp.

In the past hot water cylinders were "always on" whenever the central heating was on. Therefore, if you don't already have one, adding a hot water cylinder thermostat could make a big impact on the amount of energy you use to heat hot water.

Once the water in the cylinder has reached temperature the thermostat prevents the water temperature getting hotter than it needs to be by turning the boiler off. It is important to be aware that by increasing the temperature setting on the thermostat will not enable the water in the cylinder to heat up any faster.

The temperature seetings are recomended to be ste between 60C - 65C which is hot enough to kill harmful bacteria but caution should be used as this temperature is hot enough to scald. The use of a thermostatically controlled shower mixer and/or thermostatic bath mixer should be considered if neccessary.

Each boiler is fitted with its own thermostat which control the water temperature which flow through the central heating circuit and heats up the radiators. Cooler water then returns to the boiler (the return temperature) 

Reducing the flow temperature also reduces the return temperature which can make the boiler perform more efficently and this will save you energy and money. However, you need to ensure that this does not impact on your level of comfort especially if you have someone who is vulnerable living in your home.

It is also impotant to know that the higher the flow temperature the quicker the home will heat up and this may be important and more noticeable during cold weather periods. On a combi boiler you will notice two thermostats on the appliance. One for central heating and the other for hot water. You can turn down the central heating flow temperature to maximise efficiency without affecting the temperature or availability of your hot water.

AS we havementioned earlier, a lower boiler flow temperature reduces the amount of energy used thereby saving money and reducing carbon emmissions. However, you may find the need to adjust the boiler thermostat in line with fluctuations in the weather inconvenient and this is when you may find the benefits of a weather compensator useful. A weather compensator automates the ajustment of the flow temperature by measuring the outside temperature and adjusting the boiler thermostat temperature accordingly.

First thing in the morining and before the heating switches on the house may be very cold. To heat your home quickly the boiler thermostat needs to be set to high as the hotter radiators will heat the rooms more quickly.

Later the rooms in your home may already be warm because a number of factors. Cooking, solar gain, etc. and you may only require to raise thetemperatures by a few degrees. A load compensator measures the difference bewteen the internal air temperature against that which is set at your room thermostat - adjust the boiler thermostat to prevent ovewrheating and saving energy and money.

If you have a system or regular boiler with hot water cylinder, then you should have a programmer, room thermostat and cylinder thermostat. These controls should be connected to create a ‘boiler interlock’, which means the boiler switches off if the heating and hot water thermostats have reached their set temperatures. Without an interlock, the boiler can continue to run even if the heat is not required. Building regulations require all new and replacement systems to be interlocked.

It is common for most households to regulate the temperatures of individual rooms by using thermostatic radiator valves (TRV's). Each vale has to be set individually and manually, hence it is not unusual for this to be carried only during significant fluctions in weather conditions.

Zone control cariies out this process automatically using seperate heating circuits. Each circuit has its own time programmer for different parts of the home. Usually this would be a different zone for each floor of the building. BUt you can have more zones and this is typically the case when underfloor heating is installed and each room on that floor is fitted with its own room stat - effectively making each room a zone.

If you are fitting a new heating system then you may wish to consider zoning in order to reduc heating costs and save money. If you your home is of a certain size then you may well be required to zone the building in order to comply with building reulations. If you are not fitting a new system and it is not practibable to zone the system then you could consider using programmable TRV's (see below).

These are similar to a standard TRV but with added ability to control the time that the radiator is on. They allow each radiator in the home to come on at different times. Some models can be connected via your Wi-Fi network allowing the creation of a new zone for each room.