Help with room stat conundrum

dannymccann

Hi

First off, I understand how the stat and my TRVs work, and its all fine when just the 2 of us are here. But over Christmas we are going to have a minimum of 4 extra people at any one time over a period of a week.

Most of these 'bodies' will be kicking around the living room. This is my problem, the living room houses the wall stat and also a radiator with no TRV (i.e. always on).

My thoughts are the rest of the house is going to get chilly over this period because the bodies in the room will push the temp up, and if i turn the stat up it will become unbearably hot in there just to make sure the rest of the house warms up.

Can I get around this somehow, without making any permanent / semi-permanent alterations to the heating system?

Leon_W

Can't you just shut the valve on the lounge radiator thus turning it off ?

dannymccann

Does that not unbalance the system though? I'm pretty useless with tools and really don't want to break anything! :rotfl:

Leon_W

Count how many turns it takes to shut one of the valves (either end, you don't need to do both) then just put it back to the same position when finished.

Usually on a system there is one rad that doesn't have a TVR, so if your lounge is the only one without you'll just have to open up one of the other TVR's to max. This is so the water still circulates even if all the TVRs throttle down.

dannymccann

So does 5 on a TRV (I've got analogue 'Terrier' ones) mean it will never close off, no matter what the ambient air temp is? Struggling to find any solid information on google about them and what relative temperature all the numbers mean

Cardew

There is no solution to your conundrum!

There will always be an unsatisfactory situation when a wall thermostat in one location, determines when the heating switches off/on, when other rooms are in use.

When a supplementary heater(i.e. log burner/open fire/gas fire) is used the problem is worse.

My solution, which is a compromise, is to turn my wall thermostat up to maximum and control the temperature of all rooms by the TRVs.

The obvious downside of this arrangement is that the pump runs all the time CH is switched on, and the boiler firing is dependant on the set water temperature.

Don't forget that many older CH systems never had a wall thermostat(they are now mandatory) so that was effectively 'my' system.

There was considerable discussion on just this 'conundrum' on a plumbers forum I was reading, and several posters said they do exactly as myself.

I have been in my present house for over 25 years, I still have my original boiler and have just fitted my third pump(so each lasted 12 years)

Leon_W

As far as I'm aware, 5 on a TVR is fully open and unaffected by temperature. You can detach the thermostat from the valve by unscrewing it at the base and this will also leave the valve fully open.

MillicentBystander

Look on the bright side - at least your thermostat is in the right place. Plumbers normally put them in the most ridiculous places that will have a very damaging effect on your finances - drafty halls etc.

I would just explain the 'problem' to your guests when they arrive. It's not like they are going to die if they go to the loo and it's a few degrees colder than the living room, is it? But if they are well known wusses maybe consider getting one of these?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-X-WC-Warmer-Toilet-Washable-Cloth-Soft-Seat-Lid-Cover-Pads-Bathroom-HOT/331067785276?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D19103%26meid%3D2816677225655498968%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D8669%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D160996282527%26

dannymccann

Thanks Cardew, although I think I will go with the turning the radiator off solution for the week they are here, I have an Ideal combi which are not exactly renowned for their longevity!

MB - I know, it is very much a 'first world problem', and the house they are coming from has a coal fire, so when it's on, it's like a furnace, so they are used to the heat, but we certainly aren't. My main concern about keeping the rest of the house warm is because we will have (hopefully anyway!) our 1+day old new baby as well, so would be good to moderate the temperature upstairs where he/she will be sleeping

Having said that, our cloakroom loo on the ground floor, with it's hole in the wall for an extractor fan (why???) gets arctic cold when the wind starts blowing, even when I block it off

MillicentBystander

dannymccann wrote: »

Thanks Cardew, although I think I will go with the turning the radiator off solution for the week they are here, I have an Ideal combi which are not exactly renowned for their longevity!

MB - I know, it is very much a 'first world problem', and the house they are coming from has a coal fire, so when it's on, it's like a furnace, so they are used to the heat, but we certainly aren't. My main concern about keeping the rest of the house warm is because we will have (hopefully anyway!) our 1+day old new baby as well, so would be good to moderate the temperature upstairs where he/she will be sleeping

Having said that, our cloakroom loo on the ground floor, with it's hole in the wall for an extractor fan (why???) gets arctic cold when the wind starts blowing, even when I block it off

Aah, in that case take back my 'advice' Or maybe a very small, thermostatically controlled, oil fired radiator in the little one's room?

PS Good luck with the impending arrival, hope everything goes well. I think this is one of the few times I agreed with anything Tony Blair said:

'Kids drive you mad but keep you sane'

dannymccann

Yea it's a possibility, but for the other 51 weeks of the year I've then got to store another 'large' piece of furniture in a new build completely devoid of storage space as it is, let alone with the inevitable influx of baby stuff as the months go by :rotfl:

Got plenty of blankets, it doesn't get cold enough inside like in the 'good ol days' anyway, so I'm hardly chancing anything

Thanks all for the suggestions