TRV valves on radiators

Zola. · 5 October 2016 at 5:00PM

All the radiators in my house are pretty old, they dont have any of these dials on them:

^ Are these TRV valves? If so, does that relate to the heat indicator etc, or what exactly makes up a TRV ?

Should all my radiators have this function added on to them?

Or should all my radiators be upgraded to modern ones?

They all work, but just want to modernise the house a little throughout.

flashg67 · 5 October 2016 at 5:22PM

Yes, this is a TRV. If you have non now, then adding them will give more control over each room & potentially save money on heating bills but you have to factor the cost of fitting them - £10-£20 each plus a plumber o drain, fit & refill the system

Zola. · 5 October 2016 at 5:23PM

is it a job that can be easily done by me?

I have taken the radiators on and off before.

Grenage · 5 October 2016 at 5:25PM

Yes, it's a simple job to fit them. The Drayton TVR4 is a one I've used a fair few times.

Jonesya · 5 October 2016 at 6:44PM

One thing - if you do fit them yourself you need to make sure there's always a path for the water to flow around the system.

So you either need to check there's a pressure controlled by-pass valve fitted to the system, or that you leave one of the radiators without a TRV - typically the bathroom.

Otherwise once the house gets upto temperature all the TRVs might shut stopping flow around the system, potentially damaging the boiler and the pump.

tacpot12 · 5 October 2016 at 9:01PM

You should fit these to all your radiators if possible, but as Jonesya stated you need to ensure that your boiler is suitable for this. Give the manufacturer a call. If your house has a radiator and thermostat in the coldest room in the house, then don't fit a TRV in that room, fit them everywhere else. If your room has a radiator and a thermostat in a room that is NOT the coldest room in the house, fit a TRV in that room and leave the rad in bathroom without one -set the TRV to prevent that room getting too warm, and set the thermostat high enough that all the other rooms are warm enough, their TVRs will shut down their radiators when the room is comfortable.

The important thing to understand about TRVs is that they work by shutting off the hot water when the air around them is at the temperature set on the dial. If the temperature of the air drops, they water into the radiator. That is all they do, if the boiler isn't on and the pump isn't circulating hot water, they can't affect the temperature of the room.

As has been stated they are not marked in degrees but rather with numbers. So you set them (once) to what is comfortable and never touch them again. They should all have a lock on them as far as I'm concerned!

I hate the UK for its penny-pinching heating controls. Really, every radiator should have a remote thermostat controlling the radiator valve and be linked to the boiler to tell it where there is heating demand., and have a boost feature so that you can up the temperature by a couple of degrees for an hour. And a display to tell you the set point temperature and the sensed temperature. And be capable of accurate control of the radiator.

{Rant over}

stator · 6 October 2016 at 12:11AM

Since moving from a non-TRV house to a TRV house I am very impressed. They do a good job in keeping the temperature in individual rooms within a certain range. Would definitely recommend. It will save you a bit of money in the long term but the main feature is that they make rooms comfortable and you can't put a price on that

southcoastrgi · 6 October 2016 at 9:47AM

Jonesya wrote: »

One thing - if you do fit them yourself you need to make sure there's always a path for the water to flow around the system.

So you either need to check there's a pressure controlled by-pass valve fitted to the system, or that you leave one of the radiators without a TRV - typically the bathroom.

Otherwise once the house gets upto temperature all the TRVs might shut stopping flow around the system, potentially damaging the boiler and the pump.

Good advice except it doesn't have to be the bathroom & normally wouldn't be, it should be the rad where the room stat is normally the hall

SplanK · 6 October 2016 at 12:31PM

tacpot12 wrote: »

Really, every radiator should have a remote thermostat controlling the radiator valve and be linked to the boiler to tell it where there is heating demand., and have a boost feature so that you can up the temperature by a couple of degrees for an hour. And a display to tell you the set point temperature and the sensed temperature. And be capable of accurate control of the radiator.

However its the cost factor.... a significant factor

For hardware alone, to fully TRV my house from scratch would probably cost around £100-150....

Honeywell Evohome (which I have just fitted) has cost me so far £950, so almost 10x the cost!

Whilst Evohome has solve a couple of niggles and does seem to hold the temperature of the room much better, 'mechanical' TRV's and a well timed boiler is much better at the job than just using standard manual control heads in both cost and comfort.

BernardM · 16 October 2016 at 12:39AM

Anyone read/agree with these articles, I think they are bit of a waste of time and money fitting them in most houses.

Try keeping your whole home warm and dry this winter with this approach. Timer on Constant setting and just main stat down to 18 or 16 celsius at night.

Hence my advice that in cold weather, rather than run your central heating for two hours in the morning and six in the evening, it is better to keep it on the “24 hour” setting, but running at a low boiler temperature. Turn all your thermostatic radiator valves to the highest number, or “max”, and turn the boiler thermostat down to 1, or “min”. The room thermostat can be at whatever temperature you find comfortable – I’d suggest 19C or 20C during the day, and perhaps down to 16C at night, but you can make your own choices. This advice is offered for its guiding principles, not as rigid instructions.

Norman_Castle · 16 October 2016 at 9:20AM

BernardM wrote: »

Anyone read/agree with these articles, I think they are bit of a waste of time and money fitting them in most houses.

Try keeping your whole home warm and dry this winter with this approach. Timer on Constant setting and just main stat down to 18 or 16 celsius at night.

Hence my advice that in cold weather, rather than run your central heating for two hours in the morning and six in the evening, it is better to keep it on the “24 hour” setting, but running at a low boiler temperature. Turn all your thermostatic radiator valves to the highest number, or “max”, and turn the boiler thermostat down to 1, or “min”. The room thermostat can be at whatever temperature you find comfortable – I’d suggest 19C or 20C during the day, and perhaps down to 16C at night, but you can make your own choices. This advice is offered for its guiding principles, not as rigid instructions.

If the thermostat is set to a low temperature there is no reason to set the TRVs to maximum.

Set the TRVs to halfway, which is normally 70 degrees and adjust up or down in small amounts to avoid overheating that room. This is how they are designed to be used.

TRV valves on radiators

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