How can I stop my boiler firing all the time?
Two zones: underfloor heating wired thermostat; regular radiators wireless thermostat
Got this set up working well with the zones independent of each other. Happy!
Condenser boiler.
Decided to add some TRVs to control some rooms on Monday. And I’m less happy!
1x study only used in the day so set at low temp in evenings/overnight
1x living room only used when family are home so set for low temp other than evenings and weekends. Note that wireless thermostat is also in this room but could be moved.
1x main bedroom set to low temp in daytime, higher in evening, low temp overnight
1x spare bedroom set to low temp generally unless a guest is here
Without a smart TRV but with a regular TRV: 2x kids’ bedrooms, 2 in the kitchen, 3x bathrooms/wc, 1x utility.
No TRV: 2x hallway
The boiler seems to be firing up a lot and the hallway is the hottest place in the house! My gas usage is definitely up as I’ve checked the smart meter utility app.
I’ve ordered another 4 smart TRVs. Intending them for 2x kids’ bedrooms and 2x kitchen.
Is there a better way to organise this??
So wireless thermostat plus 8 TRVs.
Rooms I would like to control: 4 bedrooms, kitchen (2 radiators), living room and study.
Bathrooms and utility can be set low with regular TRVs.
Hallway doesn’t have TRV.
All old TRVs kept so can change any rooms!
[Underfloor heating is in an extension and working well and independent of the rest of the house. House radiators do not heat up when the underfloor calls for heat (this was an issue at first but Tado sorted it somehow!).]
Any advice is appreciated!
Comments
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Just came back to add that the wireless and wired zones set up was working well but I was aware we were hearing some rooms at the wrong times so it was wasteful. Like the study that I work in during the day being heating in the evening and the other way round for bedrooms. I hoped the smart TRVs would reduce the heating not cost me more in gas!0
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If each and every TRV can call for heat your boiler is going to run 24/7 and that's "normal". The trick is to allow a couple of rooms to be actually able to fire off the boiler and leave the rest in dumb mode. For example, i have 9 smart TRVs + 2 wireless sensors. Only the rooms with sensors are allowed to call for heat, the living room and the main bedroom. The rest is set as independant. So basically, when the rest of the house requires heat the TRVs open the radiators and wait till one of the allowed rooms calls for heat. In my case it works really well, since i just leave everything at the same temp.
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Thanks for your reply. How do I make them independent? I can’t see that option in the app. And if they can’t call for heat then is there any point in having these expensive TRVs or should I stick with the old ones?0
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Traditional TRVs can't follow a schedule which the tados can even when set to ind.
You go to "rooms and devices" "room" and then choose "no zone controller.
NB I am also trying this to see the effect on gas consumption . . .
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Ah okay! Found it. I think this is how Tado sorted the two zones originally. Great.
I think I need to understand this independent thing better. I’ve set the study to independent. But does it mean it won’t heat up tomorrow unless I’ve got another device calling for heat? Is there a help file on this somewhere?0 -
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I think you have to play around which rooms you want to control your boiler with and settle on what works best. My example works well for me, but my heating is running 24/7. An independent TRV would follow schedules and try to maintain target temperatures but just as any dumb trv it would do so by opening and closing the valve, without turning the boiler on.
In my case my living room is the room that gets colder the fastest and it is allowed to call for heat. This way any independent radiator doesn't have to wait for long before hot water gets to it. If i have someone over, i just allow the TRV in that room to fire up the boiler and voilà.
Try with just your study and the living room for starters and leave the rest independent and see which room gets too cold and adjust.
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Thinking about it further, it would be useful if the zone controller / non zone controller switch could be made a feature of the schedule. There are times here when I’d like to heat a room individually (because no other rooms are on then and it needs to be able to call for heat) but for all it’s other “sessions” the rest of the house is being heated so the more economical alternative would be for the room to be independent. I might put this in as a suggestion but, even if I do, I don’t suppose it’ll ever happen . . .0
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HugBilly that sounds sensible!
Monday update.
I made the study TRV independent. It’s 15.2 in here and I’ve set it to 17.5. I heard the valve open when I did that. It says ‘heating’ on the app but the boiler isn’t firing so no heat coming. The rest of the sensors and TRVs are not calling for heat. This means the study will only heat if I also want to heat a room with a non-independent one. So it’s not giving me the control I would like. Hmmm.
I have 4 new TRVs being delivered today. Do I bother with them or just return them? See my original post for current and planned set up of TRVs and sensors.
One other Q I have is around the living room.
Currently there’s a wireless sensor and a TRV in there. Would either of these be better used elsewhere?0 -
Set up your study and living room trvs to be able to call for heat and set the rest to independent. See which independent room gets the coldest when you are using it and allow it to call for heat. The wireless sensor is great when you are trying to have a whole room properly heated up by setting it further from the radiator.
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Excellent advice and thank you as I've found it very useful for our particular setup..
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