Best way to operate the gas central heating radiators ??

g4fne

Hi Folks.

I'm looking for some advice on running the gas central heating. After last winter fuel bill i have reduced the temperature from 21deg to 19deg on the thermostat. We live in the bungalow & the lounge & dining room at the back of the property is of reasonable temperature, but the bedrooms & study at the front (north facing) are absolutely freezing. All the radiators have individual thermostats which are all on maximum.
If i were to increase the overall thermostat temperature to around 22deg, but reduce the individual radiators thermostats at the back of the property, will this balance out the cost ??

I hope that makes sense ??

st999

What is the temperature of the water running round the radiators?
It should be about 80 deg C
Not the temperature of your hot water coming out of the taps.
Set the temperature valves on the radiators in the bedrooms so that they turn off the radiators at the temperature that you want but in the room where the thermostat is the radiator should have no thermostatic valve or set to maximum.

You will of course get loads of conflicting advice but it all boils down to comfort.

I grudge paying what I pay for my gas but I would rather pay it and be comfortable than sit in a freezing house with loads of money in the bank.


Stan

John_3:16

Lots of questions that you need to answer.

Where is you room thermostat? How hot do you want your rooms? If you just want to keep things the same then you will use the same fuel. If you want it hotter you will use more. I suspect you room stat turns the heating off before all areas get warm.

Cardew

Presumably your wall thermostat is in a living room?

Your problem is that as soon as your living room reaches 19C it switches off the pump and so no hot water is being sent to the front rooms.

Increasing the temp to 22C(or higher) will help as the pump will be running for much longer. Indeed if you have a TRV on the radiator(s) in the living room(many systems don't have a TRV in the room with the thermosat) and turn it down sufficiently then the pump will run contiuously as the room will never reach 22C.

I have my pump running all the time the heating is switched on(I set my thermostat very high) and control the temperature in all rooms with the TRVs.

As for balancing out costs? who knows!

The above is assuming that all radiators in the property are correctly balanced, and the radiators at the front of the house are not full of sludge. Do they get fully hot all over at any time?

Turning up the CH water temperature will also help.

g4fne

Thanks for your responses.

The main thermostat is in the hall which has a radiator with the TVR on maximum.

I have since turned up the CH heating water temperature to maximum & all rads are blasting out heat.

I would like to maintain this kind of heat in the front rooms of the property , but i dont need this kind of heat at the rear. I understand that is what the TVR's are for, but wondered by turning the TVR's down on the rear rooms does this save any cost ??

molerat

The TRV's regulate the temperature of the room. Turning them down will reduce the heat input into the room hence reduce the cost. Put a digital thermometer in the room and gradually adjust the TRV until the room reaches the temp you want. This may take several days to get right.

Cardew

g4fne wrote: »

but wondered by turning the TVR's down on the rear rooms does this save any cost ??

Yes it will save cost.

When the room reaches the temperature set by the TRVs they shut off HW water to the radiator.

Thus the boiler has less Hot water in the CH system to heat. Rather in the same way as it takes less energy to boil a half full kettle than a full kettle.

moonrakerz

If you have TRVs on all rads you don't need a room stat.

Bleed all the rads.
Turn to boiler up to Hi. Turn the room stat (doesn't matter which room it is in) to 25 deg C.
Then spend a day with portable thermometer going round the house adjusting the TRVs to get the temp you require in each room. If you have locking collars on the TRVs - use them - people fiddle, thinking it will heat up quicker - it won't, it just unbalances everything.
Leave one (small) rad on full - landing, hall, bathroom.
If you have (say) a spare bedroom, you can set the temp in there quite low, if granny comes to stay it only takes an hour or so to set the TRV to have a nice warm room.

Finally:- make a note of all your settings !

My last house had no room stat and 15 rads all with TRVs, took a couple of days to set up, then no problems. When winter came all I had to do was turn up the boiler temp and check the rads for bleeding.

Cardew

Totally agree with the post above, however it is now mandatory for room stats to be fitted on new systems.

I do exactly as suggested. As by turning the room stat up high you are, in effect, taking the room stat out of the equation. The minor(for me) disadvantage is the pump will be running all the time the heating is switched on.

The siting of a room stat is always a compromise and sited in a living room or cold draughty hall, the temperature of that room will control the heating system.(if you try to use the stat.)

I have TRVs on every radiator and don't need to leave one on full(they can all be off) as I have an Automatic Bypass Valve(ABV) which I suspect is fitted to many CH systems

Automatic Bypass Valve
What is an automatic by-pass valve?
An automatic by-pass valve is designed for use in domestic central heating systems. Its purpose is to maintain constant pump pressure within the system.
Back to top
What are the advantages of an automatic by-pass valve?
An automatic by-pass valve ensures minimum water flow rates through the boiler. It reduces system noise associated with high pressure pumps. It eliminates the need to fit an uncontrolled radiator to act as a system by-pass and it also increases system efficiency. The automatic by-pass valve also aids the operation of thermostatic radiator valves.

g4fne

Thanks again ... some very useful tips which i will give a go :beer:

moonrakerz

Cardew wrote: »

however it is now mandatory for room stats to be fitted on new systems.

Ta ! wasn't aware of that - what is the "logic" behind that ? if any !

To me, that just seems a sure way to confuse people, who, like the OP, are unaware that the thermostat is the "master" controller and is overriding the room TRVs without the commanded room temperature ever being achieved.