heating control upgrade cost

confusedeire

hey i have a 4 bed simi house and its 10 years old.i only recently moved in and only realised that the central heating and hotwater is only controlled by a timer so if i want hotwater i get the rads heating to. and theres no thermostats in the house what so ever. i was looking at getting the controls uograded. the heating is fed from maifolds one for upstairs and one for downstairs and another feed to the cylinder for hot water. how much would it cost to upgrade the system to 3 zone controls? is it worth going the grant option which gives me a 500 euro grant or buy the equipment and do it myself?

kerryplumbing

I would probably suggest that if you are confident in installing and wiring the motorised valves to the heating circuit you could have a go at doing it yourself. If you have the knowledge and ability you will save yourself money.

confusedeire

i'm can do the electrics myself just need a plumber to fit the valves. how much would the equipment be all together? as in the 3 zone controller, 2 room stats, cylinder stat and 3 motorized valves. and where could i buy them. i'm from cork.

kerryplumbing

You would probably be looking at around €300 for all the valves and stats. Considering you would then have to pay a labour charge to your plumber it would actually make some sense in that case to go down the grant road. You would however require a registered SEAI plumber who would be happy to let you go out the wiring!

DoneDL

:cool:Well worth doing under seai. Make sure you get grant approval before buying any controls, ask any seai contractor in your area for advice or recommendation which most will be happy to provide. The seai are now asking that the installer of the controls has a relevant qualification that allows them to complete the electrical side of things.

confusedeire

DoneDL wrote: »

:cool:Well worth doing under seai. Make sure you get grant approval before buying any controls, ask any seai contractor in your area for advice or recommendation which most will be happy to provide. The seai are now asking that the installer of the controls has a relevant qualification that allows them to complete the electrical side of things.

ya i'm a qualified electrician but i'm not seai regestered electrician. dont think it would be right for me to pay an electrician to do sumthing i can do myself just because seai say so.

confusedeire

one other thing sumone was telling me i need a pressurised system to do zoning. is that correct?

DoneDL

Why not get the seai approved plumber to do the wet side and then you can do the wiring, the only requirement for the grant is that the work is done and approved by someone on the registered contractors list. Open vented systems can be zoned

bren11

Check out Krugmann wireless controllers.
http://www.rvr.ie/Advice/Homeowners/Wireless_Central_Heating_Controls/

Receivers can be installed next to motorised valves. Thermostats can be located where convenient in room in zone, or at hot water tank for DHW.

Joey the lips

confusedeire wrote: »

one other thing sumone was telling me i need a pressurised system to do zoning. is that correct?

Generally yes.... but not if you use manual zones.

JohnnieK

confusedeire wrote: »

one other thing sumone was telling me i need a pressurised system to do zoning. is that correct?

It doesn't matter as long as there is a bypass fitted between the flow and return before all the zone valves. A pressurized system is better though for life expectancy of the system (less chance of corrosion if installed correctly).