Smart radiator valve?

waqasahmed

Hi,

I've installed some radflek stuff behind the radiators in order to save money, but I were wondering if smart radiator valves are actually worth the money? I've seen plenty of sites saying "They could save money? I've not seen a single site which details how long it takes to pay back.

The other thing is, honestly, despite working with heavily with enterprise techwin my actual job, I like to keep things simple because technology can, and does fail. There's no point in installing something say that pays back in 10 years if it breaks down in five... I'm using arbitrary figures here. There is of course then the installation cost too

Any advice would be appreciated

Doozergirl

I have a Nest system to control the heating. That's handy.

I rarely touch my radiator valves. I'm not interested in them being smart.

waqasahmed

Thanks, but really I were looking for a cost benefit analysis? I'm not sure what the MTBF is on these things, and if they'd actually save me money in the long run.

Doozergirl

I know what you're looking for.

And I'm questioning what the cost benefit of a radiator valve even is, when you've got balanced radiators and you've set your TRVs once to a sensible level for the room's usage.

£200 buys a Nest thermostat that controls the boiler which is the thing that actually burns the money. The fact that it works out if I'm home is great, as is being able to check if the boiler is on. It saves money.

There's loads of rubbish out there that saves nothing. Starting at £40 a room, I don't see the point. If you're not home, you want the boiler off, not the rooms functioning separately. If you're home and desperate to turn a rad off, go turn it off. Costs nothing.

akira181

If it's a flat with the thermostat located centrally, that would suffice for the whole house. If your thermostat is fixed in a useless location, like mine in a utility cupboard next to the washer/dryer, it's constantly giving false readings when the dryer is on and turning the boiler off. My plan is to install a Nest at some point and move it to a more sensible location, which should save me money once I get the TRV's dialled in correctly as Doozergirl suggests.

Having smart TRV's would allow different temperatures to be set for each room that would not be affected by variations where the main thermostat is located. It's a cheaper way to get multi-zone heating for a large house and/or achieve a consistent and stable temperature for each room when desired (like caring for elderly or such). It would probably cost more money than it saves though.

stator

I managed to get some electronic timer TRVs for about £8 each. I think they will pay for themselves. I am suspicious about the £40 bluetooth models.


I doubt you will find a cost benefit analysis. It depends entirely on your house and your usage of the house.


The ones I have got seem to be decent quality, I am confident they will last a few years.



If you have lots of rooms that are being heated for parts of the day they don't need to be, then go ahead and get some.

HogMan

We had our central heating upgraded and TRVs fitted, I asked the installer how often we would need to adjust the valves. He replied when he installed his own he adjusted them a little for the first week and then never touched them again. I found I did exactly the same and never touched them again after week 1.

SplanK

I have Honeywell Evohome which have battery operated TRV's

Never going to get the money back that In invested into it, however its made the house much more comfortable to live in rather than using a single stat in the hall way!

getmore4less

Controllable TVR just give more zones and convenience.

Like
have a guest room off unless occupied.
Bedrooms warmed up just before bed and the morning.
Bathroom extra warm when you fancy a bath.

Most houses can get most of the savings from a simple programmable thermostat with holiday/away boost modes.

If you have a very variable lifestyle more control can be very convenient especially from a mobile device.

Heating systems used to be lifetime, a standalone will still be that, there is a risk with the newer connected stuff stops working or becomes a service(paid).

OWL have gone paid service which will put them out of business.

The big names should be safer.