Heating control keeps your home comfortably warm without overheating or wasting energy. The practical installation and use of heating controls can save you money on your heating bills and reduce your CO2 emissions.
- What is heating control?
- Which heating control do you need?
- How do I use the heating control?
- How to adjust heating controls to reduce energy consumption
- Efficient use of boiler heating
- Why You Can Trust Our Data
What is heating control?
Heating control is a broad term that includes timers, thermostats, plumbing, and electronic components that help control when the heating is turned on and the temperature of the room.
Heater controls range from traditional mechanical styles manually set to web-connected controls that learn your habits and automatically adjust settings.
Heating controls are constantly being improved to help you control the heat in your home. However, research shows that few people understand their controls, and many don’t use them.
AC thermostat not reaching set temperature
HVAC thermostats are one of the most important components of your heating system. They control the temperature of your home, and also help to boost energy efficiency.
Heat-control devices are used in a building’s heating and air conditioning (HVAC) system in order to maintain an acceptable temperature range. They provide control by regulating the flow of heat into and out of a building with a supply or exhaust fan, or through convection or radiant heating and cooling.
If you find that your HVAC system does not reach the set thermostat temperature, it could be for one of these reasons:
- The air filter may need to be replaced.
- The air ducts may need cleaning.
- You may have a leak in your duct work which needs repair or replacement of parts.
- Your outside unit’s engine could be dirty, have a bad fuel mix or have an electrical problem which requires service.
Which heating control do you need?
Central heating systems such as boilers and heat pumps must include at least one programmer (timer), at least one room thermostat, and a thermostatic radiator valve (TRV) if a radiator is present. Systems with hot water storage tanks also require a storage tank thermostat.
In addition to these core elements, many additional control functions can be incorporated into modern heating systems to facilitate effective and efficient operation.
Heating controls can be upgraded or installed without replacing the boiler. The programmer should consider a thermostat in one room or a new heater in his control if he doesn’t have a radiator in his TRV. For example, modern room thermostats have more accurate temperature sensors, and many smart controllers include additional energy-saving features.
How do I use the heating control?
There are many different types of heating controls, so it’s a good idea to ask your installer for specific advice or check the manufacturer’s manual. If you don’t have a copy of the manual, you can often find it by searching the manufacturer’s name online. Below we have listed some common features.
Programmer (time control)
You can control the heating and hot water on and off with a timer or programmer.
This is convenient because you can program the central heating to suit how you use your home. If you’re not home at night or don’t need the heating, you can program the heating to turn off during these times.
Older programmers are simple timers that only work once daily, but modern programmers offer options to control multiple on/off periods. Now, more sophisticated programmers, known as smart heating controls, provide greater comfort and energy savings. Depending on how the central heating system is installed, the programmer will either:
Single channel – for combi boilers. Hot water is provided on demand, so this only controls central heating.
Dual-channel – for systems or regular boilers that control heating with a single zone and domestic hot water, or combi-boilers that control two separate heating zones (e.g., upstairs/downstairs).
Three channels – system or normal boilers, control of hot water, and two independent heating zones.
How to set the programmer to save power
Your schedule depends on your heating needs, but here are some tips if you want to save energy. plan ahead
The less heating and hot water you need, the more money you save. Consider when you need heat during the day and when you don’t. For example, the heating may be turned off when everyone in the house is away from work or school. Some programmers allow different programs to be set for different days to adjust the program to fit your schedule.
Incorporate warm-up and cool-down times into the program
It takes time for the house to warm up after turning on the heating and for it to cool down after turning off the heating. In general, it takes about 30 minutes to heat or cool an average home, but it varies from home to home.
To determine your home’s “warm-up” and “cool-down” times, choose cold nights and the time it takes for your home to warm up to a comfortable temperature. This is the warm-up time. Then turn the heating off completely and measure how long it takes for the house to become uncomfortably cold. This is the cool-down time.
Programmers can now be configured, including warm-up and cool-down times. For example, the heating can be started during the warm-up period before waking up and switched off before leaving the house. Insulating your home will help you save money on your utility bills by heating it faster and cooling it down slower. Don’t forget the hot water.
Set to heat water only when needed. If your hot water tank or tank is well insulated, your hot water supply will stay hot enough in the morning and may even be usable in the evening.
Room thermostat
These will keep your home from getting hotter than it needs to be. Turn the heating on until the room reaches the set temperature, and turn it off until it cools down.
Room thermostats require free air flow to sense temperature, so they should not be blocked by curtains or furniture or placed near heat sources that can give false readings. The room thermostat should be set to the lowest comfortable temperature. This is mostly between 18°C and 21°C. If you only have one room thermostat for your entire house, your heating costs will increase by about 10% each time you raise the temperature.
No need to turn up the thermostat when it’s cold outside. The house will still heat to the set temperature. Cold days can take a little longer, so it’s a good idea to turn the heating on early in the winter.
Programmable room thermostat
A programmable room thermostat combines time and temperature control into one device, allowing you to set different temperatures at different times of the day. Some heating systems may use two programmable thermostats (top and bottom) instead of one whole-house programmer.
Thermostatic radiator valve
The thermostatic radiator valve (TRV) does not control the boiler. They control the flow of hot water through the radiator they are attached to. They work by measuring the ambient air temperature. If the room is warmer than his TRV’s setting, the valve closes slightly, reducing the amount of hot water entering the radiator. If the room temperature is lower than the TRV setting, the valve will open, increasing hot water flow to the radiator.
A radiator cover may prevent the TRV from reading an accurate temperature. Warm air heated by the radiator can get trapped under the cover, and the TRV can read this and think the room is warmer than it is. If possible, radiator covers are not recommended.
The TRV can be adjusted to different settings by turning it clockwise or counterclockwise. They are usually marked on a scale of 0 to 6, where zero (0) is off, and six (6) is fully open. Aim for the lowest setting that keeps the room at the desired temperature. A lower setting uses less hot water, less energy, and saves money. When the room is not in use, the TRV can turn the radiators off completely or even maintain a minimum temperature to keep the room warm enough to avoid humidity.
Smart heating control
Many companies offer more advanced central heating control systems known as smart heating controls. Use a programmer (timer) to control the heating on/off and a thermostat to control the heat in your home. But intelligent controllers are connected to the internet and offer more features.
Some of the more sophisticated features they can offer are:
- Simple, easy-to-use time and temperature controls and a user-friendly interface make checking and changing your heating and hot water on/off times easy.
- So you can turn the system on/off or change the temperature with your smartphone even when you are not at home.
- Know your habits and adjust your controls. For example, turn the thermostat up when you are relaxing in the evening, find an open window (if the temperature drops sharply), turn the thermostat down, turn off the heating, and most likely have hot water while showering or bathing.
- It tracks your smartphone’s location, known as “geofencing.” When I get home from work, the heater turns on and heats the house and hot water in time for me to get home – other pre-control features such as load compensation and weather compensation.
- Even if you don’t think you’ll use features like geofencing, once the system is set up, it will be able to learn your habits and adjust your time to minimize energy usage, depending on your input.
Whether smart heating controls can save you money depends on your lifestyle and how you currently control your heating. Research shows that it can save you money, but the upfront costs can be so high that it can take a long time to pay off the upfront costs.
A smart thermostat does the thinking you don’t want to do. It can learn your schedule, turn itself down when nobody is home, and balance temperatures around your home to make you comfier while using less energy (talk about win-win). Our extensive testing shows that the Google Nest Learning Thermostat is the best smart thermostat because it manages your home with the least amount of input, it’s simple to use, and it has the best design of all the thermostats we’ve tested.
Hot water thermostat (heat storage type thermostat)
Traditionally, hot water cylinders were heated when the heater was on, with no time or temperature control. If you don’t already have one, adding a hot water cylinder thermostat can significantly reduce your energy usage for heating hot water.
A thermostat prevents the cylinder from getting too hot. As soon as the water reaches the set temperature, the heat supply from the boiler is switched off. Turning up the thermostat doesn’t mean the water will heat up faster.
Cylinder thermostats are usually mounted between one-fourth and one-third of the height of the cylinder. They have marked temperature scales. It must be set between 60°C and 65°C. This is just enough heat to kill harmful bacteria in the water, but it’s also hot enough to burn you, so be careful.
Boiler thermostat
The boiler will be fitted with its thermostat. This thermostat is usually a dial on the boiler unit itself, marked with a number or from minimum (min) to maximum (max). This sets the temperature of the water pumped through the radiator by the boiler. The higher this is set, the faster your home will heat up. If you don’t set it high enough when the outside temperature is very cold, your home may not reach the desired temperature. Condensing boilers work best when the water returning to the boiler is below 55°C, so setting the temperature as low as possible without affecting comfort is recommended.
If you have an installation with a separate hot water tank or a regular boiler, the boiler thermostat should be set to a higher temperature than the tank thermostat. If you have a combi boiler, he probably has two dials. The one with the radiator icon controls the power to the radiator. You can set this temperature without affecting the temperature of the hot water.
Weather compensation
A lower boiler thermostat temperature reduces the energy used, saving you money and lowering your carbon emissions. You could turn the boiler thermostat down when the weather is mild and still be warm enough. However, when it gets colder, the boiler thermostat may need to be increased again to ensure your home can get warm enough. A weather compensator does this for you automatically by measuring the outside temperature and adjusting the boiler thermostat temperature as required.
Load compensation
Before your heating turns on, the house may be very cold. To heat your home quickly, the boiler thermostat can be set high so the water temperature sent to your radiators is higher. A hotter radiator heats the room more quickly than a cooler radiator.
Later in the day, your home may already be warm, and you may only need to raise the temperature by a couple of degrees. With the boiler thermostat still set high, the radiators will still be very hot, and you could risk overheating the home as you heat the room too quickly. A load compensator measures the difference between the internal air temperature and what has been set on your room thermostat, adjusting the boiler thermostat to prevent overheating.
Boiler lock
If you have an installation with a hot water tank or a regular boiler, you will need a programmer, a room thermostat, and a tank thermostat. You need to connect these controls to create a “boiler lockout.” That means the boiler will shut down when the heating and hot water thermostats reach the set temperature. Without an interlock, the boiler can continue to run even when heat is not needed. Building regulations require that all new and replacement systems work together.
Zone control
Most households want to heat different rooms at different times of the day. You can do this by using a TRV to turn individual radiators on and off at different times, but many people haven’t gotten to that.
Zone Control does this automatically by providing separate heating circuits for different house parts, each with its timer program. Typically, this contains one zone at the top and another at the bottom, but it can also contain more zones. For example, an apartment with underfloor heating may have an in-room thermostat in each room. So each room has its zone.
Consider zone control to avoid unused heating rooms and reduce heating costs when installing a new heating system. Zone control may be required to meet building codes if your home is large enough.
Unless you install a new system, it is impractical to rebuild the existing piping. In that case, a programmable TRV should be considered.
Programmable TRVs
These are individual radiator temperature controllers like the standard TRV but also have time control. Each radiator can be turned on at different times and scheduled to heat each room only when needed. Some models can connect to smart heating controls via Wi-Fi so that you can create new zones for each room. How to adjust heating controls to reduce energy consumption
Use your room thermostat and radiator TRV in the most energy-efficient way to reduce your carbon footprint and save money on your utility bills.
Efficient use of boiler heating
Use it properly to make sure you get the most out of your boiler heating system.