Smart radiator valves

[Markymark]

We’re replacing all our radiators and thinking of buying these smart radiator vavles. They appear to mean you can control each room independently and can setup profiles and zones, eg home during the day, away on holiday etc etc

Anyone any experience and advice as to the best type?

 

[I like Skol]

Can't the butler be relied on to turn things down when you are not there and then warm up the required rooms in advance when he knows you are coming?

 

[Markymark]

Not got the valves but do have NEST, its brilliant, suits my irregular pattern perfectly so saves a fortune.

Nest seems quite brute force for the whole house. The beauty of these is that it’s room by room. So I can work from hone for the day and not waste heating the whole house.

 

[Markymark]

Can't the butler be relied on to turn things down when you are not there and then warm up the required rooms in advance when he knows you are coming?

If you’d speak to my wife you’d get a clearer idea of who the butler is in our house.

 

[Levo-Lon]

While you have it all in bits it makes sense to future it.

In this high cost world you may well pay for it in no time.

 

[Piemaster]

We've had a honeywell evohome for 3 - 4 years now. Generally works well apart from the human bits involved, instead of fighting over the room temps I now find myself getting irritated about doors being left open. Individual room control doesn't work when they are open - I don't care if the cat can't get everywhere it might want to.
Very handy to be able to adjust stuff via the app when out. And absolutely hilarious to do it when I'm in a completely different country and my wife is in the house. Well I thought it was funny anyway.

 

[I like Skol]

If you’d speak to my wife you’d get a clearer idea of who the butler is in our house.

Oh, I see, had to cut back on the staff have you. Never mind old chap, hard times can befall any one of us and I believe D.I.Y is very popular......

 

[mjr]

I've got an old one (a Honeywell Rondostat) because one room has never been used at certain times of the week, so now it doesn't get heated on those days.

Top tip would be to put eneloops in it and check it regularly. At least on mine, the window of time between the display showing "BATT" and it stopping working is only a few days and it's rather annoying to either waste heat or enter a cold room.

If you have a smart heating controller, if you want thermostats that it can control, check what's compatible. Mine predates getting one, so is a dumb controller.

 

[mjr]

Nest seems quite brute force for the whole house. The beauty of these is that it’s room by room. So I can work from hone for the day and not waste heating the whole house.

Is it better to run the central heating for one room than to use an electric heater?

Also, I think you're advised to heat the zone with the main thermostat and not have it independently controlled, else the boiler may never shut off.

 

[Markymark]

Is it better to run the central heating for one room than to use an electric heater?

Also, I think you're advised to heat the zone with the main thermostat and not have it independently controlled, else the boiler may never shut off.

If working form home I would want a study, kitchen and a couple of back rooms heated up. At the minute I'm heating the whole house. The boiler won't be on any more hours, just many radiators not on.

 

[mjr]

If working form home I would want a study, kitchen and a couple of back rooms heated up. At the minute I'm heating the whole house. The boiler won't be on any more hours, just many radiators not on.

I realise. I was suggesting an independent heater if it was only for the study. Do you really want those other rooms heated except for lunchtime?

 

[alicat]

Am I missing something? I just turn the ordinary valve on each radiator according to how hot I want the room to be in general and then turn it up if I happen to be spending a lot of time there.

 

[mjr]

Am I missing something? I just turn the ordinary valve on each radiator according to how hot I want the room to be in general and then turn it up if I happen to be spending a lot of time there.

Yep. If the control valves are not at least thermostatic, many of the valves basically depend on each other - closing one valve will increase the available flow for others; and if they're not timed, then you will always either be heating rooms with no-one in and/or walking into cold rooms. It's 2018 and we can do better than that.

 

[Markymark]

Am I missing something? I just turn the ordinary valve on each radiator according to how hot I want the room to be in general and then turn it up if I happen to be spending a lot of time there.

Yes but this automates it, the idea being it will eventually use less. During the morning we will heat up most of the house. If working from home I could go to all rooms and turn them down, but the idea is a button is pressed and it does that for you. Apparently if the heating was due to be on, if they sense nobody is at home, it turns the heating off for you.

 

[BrumJim]

We have some fitted. Love walking into a cold bedroom during the day, thinking "glad I'm not heating this room". Or indeed the kitchen after supper. Can be tricky getting everthing set right. If the house is warm, but you want to heat up a room you need to tweak the house thermostat up a degree to get the boiler to kick in.