I need control over the heating!

Vidar

Vidar

Vidar

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Joined
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Liverpool
I've just moved house to a 30 year old 3 bedroom bungalow with an energy efficiency rating of C. The combi boiler is a 14 year old valiant with a Honeywell wireless thermostat that's driving me mental.

Either the place is hotter and sweatier than a demons scrotum or it's cold, I've tried googling it but it seems as if the thermostat is trying to murder us all while we sleep. It seems to work fine during the day but at night the temperature shoots up well above the 21c I've got it set at.

I want direct control over the temps in each room, master bedroom is easily the hottest while my youngest daughters room is the coldest.

I'm looking for the most cost effective simplest smart home solution that isn't going to kill me off debt wise?
 
For all room control Drayton Wiser is pretty cheap. You can start with controller and some TRV and then add more. It will also still work if your internet or their servers are now unlike some others.
 
Do you have trvs fitted? If your budget allows you can get smart trvs but just regular trvs will give you control of each room.

If you want to replace the thermostat then google nest is what I’d buy today
 
You don't need a smart solution.

You just need to turn the thermostat temperature down for the night. You probably want it at 16-18 degrees. The problem is that it's colder during the night than the day, so if you have the thermostat at 21 overnight, the central heating system is staying on longer (because colder wherever thermostat located, kitchen?) but the bedrooms are already hot enough.

You should also consider trying to balance your radiators by adjusting the lockshield valves with a spanner. This will allow adjustment of distribution of heat from the boiler by adjusting how much flow each radiator gets.
 
Vidar said:
I want direct control over the temps in each room, master bedroom is easily the hottest while my youngest daughters room is the coldest.

I'm looking for the most cost effective simplest smart home solution that isn't going to kill me off debt wise?
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Have you balanced the radiators? The rads nearest the boiler will always get hottest quickest. You need to divert that heat to the other rads first.

As @radderfire is saying, you just need to get it under control with TRVs and appropriate settings.

Smart TRVs won't necessarily fix your problem.
 
All good comments already.

No mention of a system controller, the type that sets heating and hot water periods for each day of the week. This could be badly programmed or the previous owner's attempt at killing you. Any smart system like Hive will remove this antiquated contraption for one that's a lot more easier to program.
 
dlockers said:
21 degrees over night is nuts lol.
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It’s t shirt weather when it’s 21c outside. So lying in a big duvet is bound to make you hot and sweaty lol :eek: How can anyone afford the heating on at night anyway? A few hours a day is bad enough these days!
 
I'm just going by what the landlords gas engineer said when they did the turn on and test, to get it to turn on at all.

The boiler has the standard controls on the front but the damn thing doesn't seem to do anything other than the actual switch off. The timer function doesn't seem to work either. I'm pushing for a new boiler. The other two engineers who've been out say it needs replacing.

Rads have all been balanced, them getting hot quickly isn't a problem. I just want some actual control over the thing other than on or off
 
Whack a photo of your boiler controls and your programmer up, prob just need to configure it all soundly. This includes moving the thermostat or controller to somewhere sensible as mentioned above.
 
LuckyBenski said:
Whack a photo of your boiler controls and your programmer up, prob just need to configure it all soundly. This includes moving the thermostat or controller to somewhere sensible as mentioned above.
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I'll get on that in the morning, the thermostat has been put in the youngest kids room out of reach and away from the radiator as it's by far the coldest room in the house. I'll take any suggestions to get it all functioning sensibly
 
Vidar said:
I'll get on that in the morning, the thermostat has been put in the youngest kids room out of reach and away from the radiator as it's by far the coldest room in the house. I'll take any suggestions to get it all functioning sensibly
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Well that's not going to help as the thermostat will be trying to get the coldest room in the house to 21 degrees whilst the rest of the house roasts.

As it's a rented property it's doubtful you will get a new boiler unless it's condemned and the landlord will likely get as many people round as possible till one says the boilers is fine. It doesn't sound like there is anything wrong with the boiler just either the stat needs programming or replace it for a newer type.

Set all the trvs in the house at number 3 this should keep the rest of the house from overheating while you try get the little ones room upto temp.

For the new heating controls you want the wiser is the most cost effective and easiest to use. But in all honesty there isn't any need for it, just use the existing trvs and move the wireless stat to where you need it.
 
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Vidar said:
I'll get on that in the morning, the thermostat has been put in the youngest kids room out of reach and away from the radiator as it's by far the coldest room in the house. I'll take any suggestions to get it all functioning sensibly
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One easy way to improve room temperature is to decrease heat loss from the window by improving the window covering. You can find lightweight fleece material that is sold as sofa throws, and you can drape these over the closed curtains and it will improve heat retention because it covers the window better. More expensive options are thermal curtains (but these can still have air gaps) or blinds (most effective if they completely cover the window).

Also how hot does the radiator in your child's bedroom get relative to the other bedrooms? If it is not getting as hot, then this would be a case for attempting to rebalance it.
 
radderfire said:
One easy way to improve room temperature is to decrease heat loss from the window by improving the window covering. You can find lightweight fleece material that is sold as sofa throws, and you can drape these over the closed curtains and it will improve heat retention because it covers the window better. More expensive options are thermal curtains (but these can still have air gaps) or blinds (most effective if they completely cover the window).

Also how hot does the radiator in your child's bedroom get relative to the other bedrooms? If it is not getting as hot, then this would be a case for attempting to rebalance it.
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Thanks for the advice. Every radiator in the house gets blisteringly hot, including my youngest daughters. What I have noticed is that when the heating goes off her radiator becomes very cold very quickly where the rest gradually cool/retain their heat much longer.
 
Balancing serves two purposes: to ensure that each rad gets the correct amount of heat, but also ensure that all rads roughly heat up at the same speed. It sounds like your system is skewed towards particular radiators probably closest to the boilers.

Blisteringly hot rads aren't necessarily a good thing btw. Running at lower temps for longer may be more efficient.
 
So yeah, randomly the landlord sent someone out to do a survey on the boiler and it is faulty. Something was mentioned about the heat exchanger but they also discovered that the bloody thermostat is somehow turning itself up. It was set at 18c and it turned itself up to 24c and just staying on
 
Vidar said:
So yeah, randomly the landlord sent someone out to do a survey on the boiler and it is faulty. Something was mentioned about the heat exchanger but they also discovered that the bloody thermostat is somehow turning itself up. It was set at 18c and it turned itself up to 24c and just staying on
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Sounds like it'll either be repaired or replaced then!
 
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