Central heating n00b!

Prophet

Prophet

Prophet

Soldato
Joined
5 Oct 2004
Posts
7,395
Location
Notts
Yes, I've only just had central heating fitted at home!

My next task is to get it configured so it works as I want it too. I have TRV's fitted to all but one radiator and know they control the temperature of the radiator. However, I'm unsure what is the best way to figure out what they should be set to. Is it a matter of setting them all to max then turning them down?

How do you know what to turn them down to? Is it process that takes years of precise measurements lol?!?!?

Help!
 
New everything.

5 Rads in total, one chrome towel raid rad. (Living room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms and bathroom. The landing is too small to need one)

They removed my old gas fire and re-plastered the wall etc plus removed the storage heater.

Wireless thermostat and TRV's on 4 rads.

£2000 all in.
 
Last edited:
Orange Peel said:
New everything.

5 Rads in total, one chrome towel raid rad. (Living room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms and bathroom. The landing is too small to need one)

They removed my old gas fire and re-plastered the wall etc plus removed the storage heater.

Wireless thermostat and TRV's on 4 rads.

£2000 all in.
Click to expand...

that sounds quite a decent price
 
I installed central heating in my maissonnet with TRV'S on the rad's. The main rooms I have them on full, ie the bathroom and living room, the bedroom I have it turned down to 3 ~.

It's going to be trial and error when the cold session is here.
 
RJC said:
I installed central heating in my maissonnet with TRV'S on the rad's. The main rooms I have them on full, ie the bathroom and living room, the bedroom I have it turned down to 3 ~.

It's going to be trial and error when the cold session is here.
Click to expand...

That's good to know.

It's not cold at the moment really but I was bored and wanted to try it out lol.
 
Check if they've been balanced properly. Put the heating on, open all the thermostats and make sure all the rads get hot. If you have a couple that don't heat up so well the system hasn't been balanced. Basically if the radiators are flowing too quickly the system will dump all the heat in the first 2-3 radiators, the 4-5th will be slightly warm and the last one will be cold. If you slow down the flow through the first couple of rads there is more heat left in the water to heat the rest of the house.

http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/balancingcentralheatingsystems.htm <- first google link for the job, piece of urine to do.

Will take you less than 2 hours to get everything sorted. (if you don't use a thermometer just do it by hand using the "chilly, lukewarm, f' me that's hot" method.
 
If the system has been balanced properly, settings on the Thermostatic valves are purely a matter of personal preference. The valve at the other end of the rad from the TRV is used to balance the system. Each number on the TRV dial corresponds to a higher temperature, 1 being luke warm and 5 being very hot.
You can turn the heat down in any rooms you dont go in very often to save some money on your heating bills. Or turn them up if you feel a bit cold. If you turn them to the ********* symbol, the radiator should only come on if the temperature goes below freezing, this prevents burst pipes.
The radiator with no valves on is called a bypass, and exists to prevent damage to your boiler pump if all of the valves were to be closed at the same time.
 
SB118 said:
Check if they've been balanced properly. Put the heating on, open all the thermostats and make sure all the rads get hot. If you have a couple that don't heat up so well the system hasn't been balanced. Basically if the radiators are flowing too quickly the system will dump all the heat in the first 2-3 radiators, the 4-5th will be slightly warm and the last one will be cold. If you slow down the flow through the first couple of rads there is more heat left in the water to heat the rest of the house.

http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/balancingcentralheatingsystems.htm <- first google link for the job, piece of urine to do.

Will take you less than 2 hours to get everything sorted. (if you don't use a thermometer just do it by hand using the "chilly, lukewarm, f' me that's hot" method.
Click to expand...

I've just tested all the rads. All of them get toasty when the valves are open fully so it's looking good.


DrewBrees said:
If the system has been balanced properly, settings on the Thermostatic valves are purely a matter of personal preference. The valve at the other end of the rad from the TRV is used to balance the system. Each number on the TRV dial corresponds to a higher temperature, 1 being luke warm and 5 being very hot.
You can turn the heat down in any rooms you dont go in very often to save some money on your heating bills. Or turn them up if you feel a bit cold. If you turn them to the ********* symbol, the radiator should only come on if the temperature goes below freezing, this prevents burst pipes.
The radiator with no valves on is called a bypass, and exists to prevent damage to your boiler pump if all of the valves were to be closed at the same time.
Click to expand...

We agreed on the Kitchen red not having the TRV for that reason. Thanks for the info on the valve settings. I was wondering about the *********.

I'm going to leave them all on 5 and then adjust them next time it's cold enough for the heating to have a full test.
 
TRV's control room temperature NOT radiator temperature: Wax capsule expands and contracts with air temperature.

Boiler thermostat controls radiator temperature: Dial/setting on front of your new boiler.

Building regs state that the room which has the room thermostat, that radiator should not be fitted with a TRV.

Only some of the cheaper budget boilers require a radiator as a bypass (or a proper bypass valve), most decent boilers do not require one.

Balancing radiators is a task that ensures all radiators heat up at a similar rate, as long as the TRV's arent having an effect.

Have fun
Mick
 
if you have a thermostatic valve, is there a awy to set the numbers properly, , i think on of mine have been twisted too much so the numbers are out of synce,

how do i get it right??
 
To be honest, you could probably get away with all of the radiators having TRV's on most combi boiler installations, I can't think of many (any?) without an internal bypass these days. Usually the only time you don't put a TRV on a rad is in the room with the main thermostat in it. I'd have said the kitchen is a bad choice as they are generally very warm anyway when cooking etc :( . Unfortunately you don't have a hall way radiator, that's usually the best choice as the room thermostat is usually there too!

No boiler pump will struggle to get the water round 5 radiators, no matter how good/bad they are balanced. They could either be all left fully open or your mate will probably have just guessed and restricted the furthest away ones down a little for good measure (that's what I'd probably have done). Either way, nothing for you to worry about. Keep in mind how the TRV's work... they restrict the radiator based on the AIR TEMPERATURE around them, not on the temperature of the water in the radiator, so if the radiator is still mega hot despite being on a lower setting yet there is a radiator in a different room on a higher setting that is cold... the room is probably colder. It seems simple, but some people get really confused if they've never had them before (especially since you're new to central heating).

As a very basic rule of thumb, turn the bedroom radiators down to about setting 3, the main living areas left on full and bathroom on 4... then adjust as you feel necessary. I can almost guarantee you won't want the bedroom rad's on full whack all the time.

Edit: damn you FlyingFish, I was typing all this out before you replied :p .
 
No probs :)

TRV's arent that accurate and dont work instantly, thats why manufacturers give them numbers and not temperatures. Also if you hide them behind curtains/furniture etc they wont do their job properly.

Similar situation with radiators, they are actually convectors that draw cool air from floor level and convect the heat out the top, so hiding them behind curtains and furniture is not very efficient.

If a TRV head turns round and doesnt do much controlling then get it replaced.

Mick
 
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