Quote for installing TRVs

fiish

House I just bought in SE London has 11 radiators and no TRVs. Was thinking to get some installed to help save some energy in winter.

Got a quote for £700 to fit them, including the cost of Drayton TRVs. Does this seem reasonable?

BUFF

Which Drayton TRVs (RT212, TRV4 etc.)? Quite a difference in price so it might be reasonable or it might be overpriced depending upon what they are using.

fiish

They didn't specify the exact model, they just asked if I wanted to quote with Drayton or 'standard' TRVs. Quote was simply "11x Drayton TRV+lockshield, drain down, fill back up and test".

Looked on Screwfix and it looks like there's about £8 difference between the TRV4 and RT212, which adds up when this many rads are involved.

FreeBear

Another question to ask - Do you know how old the radiators are ?

If they are really old (mid 1970s or older), the threads may not be compatible with modern fittings. As part of metrification, quite a few plumbing bits underwent some subtle changes. Found that out myself when fitting a TRV to a radiator dating from around 1972.

One more thing to add - When the system is refilled, a corrosion inhibitor must be added (Fernox F1 or similar). Might also be worth running the heating system for a few hours with a cleaning agent added (Fernox F3 perhaps). Once flushed, get the plumber to fit a magnetic filter to the return pipe just before the boiler.

fiish

I am not sure how old every radiator is, but comments from other trades who’ve visited the house suggest they’re not very old. The newest is less than 5 years. Even the older ones appear to be traditional style modern designs, rather than actual old designs. 

There’s already a magnetic filter on the plumbing at the boiler, two in fact (looks like one is for the DHW)

FreeBear

Newish radiators should mean there are no nasty surprises.

The filter on the DHW is probably a scale reducer/inhibitor, so in combination with the magnetic filter, you shouldn't have too much trouble with your boiler.

If you haven't already got one, it would be as well to fit a programmable thermostat - This enables you to set different temperatures throughout the day. If you get one of these "smart" ones, you can get an app to set it up and turn the heating on/off remotely.

fiish

The boiler already has a wireless programmable thermostat fitted. One of the decisions we need to make is which room to leave the thermostat in, so we don't put a TRV on that room's radiator.

osc89er

I was charged £45 each I think for changing valves to TRV maybe 3 years back.

I supplied the TRVs.  El cheapo TRVs were a tenner and feel like it. The novel looking ones or the higher quality white ones ran £20-30 retail.

Smart TRV heads that go on top of the rest of the TRV are about an extra £45-60 these days I think but only an option on top of compatible with your thermostat.