Elderly parents with no room thermostat, only radiator valves. How best to control it just now.

jem16

Apodemus said:

jem16 said:

Apodemus said:

Depending on the type of programmer that they have for the boiler, it might be a very quick and easy DIY job to fit a modern wireless Thermostatic controller such as Hive/Nest/Drayton etc.  Certainly worth investigating in the short-term.

It’s just the basic analogue type timer on the boiler itself. You move the pins in or out to select on/off times. 

Ah, sorry! I see that I missed that in your earlier post.  That makes it slightly trickier.  Possibly still just about DIY-able if it is an oil boiler, but since the boiler cover would be coming off I don't think you would be allowed to do it yourself if it is gas.  

It’s a gas boiler and not something I would tackle myself. 

FreeBear

jem16 said:

Apodemus said:

Depending on the type of programmer that they have for the boiler, it might be a very quick and easy DIY job to fit a modern wireless Thermostatic controller such as Hive/Nest/Drayton etc.  Certainly worth investigating in the short-term.

It’s just the basic analogue type timer on the boiler itself. You move the pins in or out to select on/off times. 

Check the installation manual for boiler - There may well be a couple of accessible terminals that an external thermostat can be wired in to. If so, a basic wired thermostat can be had for less than £20. Something a bit more advanced (wireless & programmable) will be around £100.

[Deleted User]

A word of caution. Smart wireless thermostats; eTRVs etc are great when they work AND there is someone in the home to resolve the inevitable problems.

In my previous home, I installed Evohome. It became an ongoing project as issues arose. My wife and are both in our 70s, and it quickly became evident to me that if I wasn’t around to resolve issues, my wife would struggle.

In our present home, I have replaced 2 wired thermostats with TADO wired smart thermostats. My wife knows that if it ever became too difficult for her, it is a 10 minute job to replace TADO with standard thermostats. For older people, the KISS principle applies. That said, 3 years on, TADO has been fault free and my wife is happy that she can change batteries as needed.