Smart TRV vs Smart Thermostat Setup - Which device has overall control to the boiler?
Hi Community,
I had a technical question around my setup:
I have a hallway radiator with a cover on it. Due to the cover, a Smart TRV confuses it as the temperature is being circulated in an enclosed space. Instead, I have no TRV installed on this radiator. I simply have the valve exposed and set to fully open.
To control the temperature in the hallway, i have installed a Smart Thermostat on the wall.
The question I has was what would happen in this scenario:
Hallway being controlled by Smart Thermostat is set to 21 degrees on a schedule.
Living Room being controlled by Smart TRV is set to 21 degrees on a schedule.
Kitchen being controlled by Smart TRV is set to 21 degrees on a schedule.
Bedroom 1 being controlled by Smart TRV is set to 21 degrees on a schedule.
Bedroom 2 being controlled by Smart TRV is set to 21 degrees on a schedule.
Bedroom 3 being controlled by Smart TRV is set to 21 degrees on a schedule.
Two questions:
- If any area/radiator with a smart TRV reaches its set temperature of 21 degrees, does the boiler continue pumping heat to all the other radiators that are yet to reach 21 degrees?
- If the hallway being controlled by the Thermostat reaches 21 degrees before all the other areas controlled by a Smart TRV reach the desired temperature, will the boiler turn off or will the hallway radiator simply stop pumping heat and the rest of the house (kitchen and bedrooms 1-3) continue to warm up with the boiler on until the desired temp is reached in those areas?
I guess i am trying to learn if one device (thermostat or trv) has precedence over the other when it comes to turning ON/OFF the boiler?
Answers
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If the wall thermostat is able to switch the boiler on and off then it is defined as a Zone Controller.
- If you associate each TRV with the zone controller the answer to this question is yes, due to each device demanding the zone controller to start the boiler. If you don’t associate a TRV with the zone controller the radiator may not reach its target temperature - depends if another device is demanding heat.
- If the hallway reaches 21° first the devices linked to the zone controller will continue to demand heat and the hallway will overheat because the radiator is uncontrolled. If none of the TRVs are linked to the zone controller all rooms will stop heating when the hallway reaches 21°.
In this situation you could put the smart TRV back on the hallway radiator, but define the wall thermostat as its temperature sensor. This will give you proper control over the hallway temperature.
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So the good thing is the hallway is the coldest of all areas and therefore takes the longest to warm up to the set temperature. Remember the thermostat is monitoring the hallway area.
This means all other areas equipped with a smart TRV reach their set temperature much faster and thus stop providing heat/water to the said radiators.
As the hallway radiator has no TRV but has a smart thermostat, it continues to demand heat until the set temp on the hallway is hit. I assume the thermostat then tells the boiler to turn off.
Interestingly, I have learned that when the temp in one of the rooms with a TRV drops below set temp, the radiator calls for heat and the boiler turns on. Im slightly confused by this because when the TRV calls for the boiler, why doesn't the hallway thermostat intercept and say - "NO. I am in control"
In this situation you could put the smart TRV back on the hallway radiator, but define the wall thermostat as its temperature sensor. This will give you proper control over the hallway temperature.
How do you do that AND what happens to the sensor in the TRV?
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“Interestingly, I have learned that when the temp in one of the rooms with a TRV drops below set temp, the radiator calls for heat and the boiler turns on. Im slightly confused by this because when the TRV calls for the boiler, why doesn't the hallway thermostat intercept and say - "NO. I am in control"
That’s because it’s using a zone controller, like I described above. Change the TRV to independent if you want the hallway thermostat to have priority.
Changing sensor. In the app move the wall thermostat and TRV into the same room and follow these instructions to select the wall thermostat as the measuring device and disable the sensor in the TRV.
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