Check Your Room Thermostats

Conor_3

So, for a while now in Conor Towers, we've been thinking it feels a bit warm and the central heating seems to have been on a fair bit even though it was only set to 17 degrees. Anyhow, eventually I decided to check the room temperature to see how warm it was and was shocked to find it was 25 degrees. _pale_ It would appear that the room thermostat which must be over 20 years old by now was way out.

So off I popped to B&Q and spent £30 on a fancy programmable one. Came home, rewired the central heating to use thats timer instead of the old clunky one and set it all up. Upshot is that despite setting it to run at 21 degrees from teatime and then 18 degrees from 11pm-7am and 21 degrees from 7-9 then 18 from 9-4, it didn't come on at all last night and only fired up early this morning for a bit. It's still not come on since about half eight this morning.

I hate to think how much gas we've needlessly used all because of a duff room thermostat.

If your thermostat is the old twisty knob variety, it may be worth getting something to check what the real room temperature is compared to what the thermostat thinks it is. It just may save you a few quid.

mute_posting

A good start Conor

I would imagine though, that the fancy stat (like the old one) is only measuring the temperature in one spot?

You (and others) could probably save more money in the long run by fitting thermostatic rad valves to each radiator and setting these to suit what you find comfortable. There is a big psychological effect with setting the thermostat that can be a big energy waster

I work in Building Control Systems, we often "disable" the thermostats in offices because psycologically when people arrive in the morning and "it is a bit cold" they whack the stat up and 5 minutes later they are happy, but no more energy has been consumed than if they hadn't touched it.

Often people will rely too heavily on the thermostat in the hallway, whilst the radiator in the spare/dining room is belching out heat into a room that isn't being used (this applies to any room that may not be in daily occupation)

espresso

Agreed, it doesn't really matter what the dial on the 'old twisty knob variety of thermostat' actually says, it's comfort that counts.

mute_posting

espresso wrote: »

Agreed, it doesn't really matter what the dial on the 'old twisty knob variety of thermostat' actually says, it's comfort that counts.

I'd go even further than that, I'd say it doesn't matter what any wall stat says (twisty knob or otherwise) full stop, they are renowned for being in-accurate over a range of tempertaures (they may read spot on at 21 degrees, but be a merry mile out a couple of degrees either side of that point)

Always go on what feels right, if it feels "warm" (and assuming you don't have TRV's that you can turn down) drop the stat setting by a degree or so.

MP

penrhyn

The human body is a very poor judge of temperature, there is no substitute for an accurate thermometer.

Cardew

I simply put my wall(room) thermostat situated in the hall to 25C or so and control the temperature in each room by a TRV.

Canucklehead

Good afternoon: My OH installs programmable roomstats and TRVs (if required) whenever he installs a boiler...makes him a bit more expensive than some CORGIs but what the heck! Good advice on heating (and hot water) here.... http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/home_improvements/heating_and_hot_water

HTH

Canucklehead

mute_posting

penrhyn wrote: »

The human body is a very poor judge of temperature, there is no substitute for an accurate thermometer.

Exactly :-) I wasn't suggesting that what the room temperature felt like was a more accurate way of measuring - like you say, if you are botherd what the "precise" temperture is, you are better off with a glass thermometor or a PRT probe.

The point I'm trying to make is that people shouldn't blindly go around with the room temperature must = 21 dec C (come hell or high water) and set their stat to match

Many people would be perfectly comfortable in a room at 17 degrees - but they wouldn't be able to say if it was actually 17 degrees or 21 degrees

I'm basically trying to say what cadrew has posted - only he managed it in a sentence and it has taken me 3 posts lol:rotfl:

Conor_3

mute_posting wrote: »

A good start Conor

I would imagine though, that the fancy stat (like the old one) is only measuring the temperature in one spot?

You (and others) could probably save more money in the long run by fitting thermostatic rad valves to each radiator and setting these to suit what you find comfortable.

How would this save us money? I understand that it would result in a more even temperature throughout the house but I can't see how that results in money saving or at least in our circumstances. We have the thermostat in the room that sees the most usage - it's only a small house so basically downstairs is a large living room/diner (where the thermostat is), a kitchen and conservatory. Upstairs is always warmer than downstairs thanks to the massive amount of insulation Warmfront put in so there's no need for a thermostat on the stairs/upstairs to bring the temp up.:D

I must be missing something massively obvious because everyone says the thermostatic rad valves save you money. I can see how it would end up with a more even heat in our house by cutting off the upstairs rads but I can't see where the savings are made.

Errata

Why are thermostats always sited in the hall? I like my rooms warmer than my hall as they're where I spend my time.

Cardew

Conor wrote: »

How would this save us money? I understand that it would result in a more even temperature throughout the house but I can't see how that results in money saving or at least in our circumstances. We have the thermostat in the room that sees the most usage - it's only a small house so basically downstairs is a large living room/diner (where the thermostat is), a kitchen and conservatory. Upstairs is always warmer than downstairs thanks to the massive amount of insulation Warmfront put in so there's no need for a thermostat on the stairs/upstairs to bring the temp up.:D

I must be missing something massively obvious because everyone says the thermostatic rad valves save you money. I can see how it would end up with a more even heat in our house by cutting off the upstairs rads but I can't see where the savings are made.

What you are missing is that wherever a room thermostat is fitted, it is a compromise.

It is not satisfactory for the temperature of the living room or hall to determine the temperature in every other room in the house.

In your case why should the temperature in your living room determine the temperature of the bathroom, bedrooms etc.

With a TRV you can set the temperature of each room individually. For instance regardless of the temperature in my lounge, I can have a bedroom set to off right up to max heat(26C or so)

In fact TRVs are so important that I believe it is mandatory to fit them on all new CH installations.