Zoning house

mrcheez

I've recently fitted a new boiler and rads to my house, and decided I'd throw in the zoning controls while the SEAI grant is still available.

The electrician is coming over to set up the thermostats but I thought it would be a good idea to have some idea of what zones I'd like to set up before he comes.

The house is fairly small with:
- Dining/Living room downstairs (2 rads)
- Hallway with stairway up to 2nd floor (a door separates the hallway from the living room) (1 rad)
- 2 bedrooms and 1 toilet upstairs (4 rads)
(the kitchen is part of an extension and won't be zoned)

The plan was originally to have 2 zones and my plumber suggested putting the downstairs thermostat in the hallway as it would be the coldest area.

My problem with this is that it would take a while to heat up the hallway as it's open-plan and the heat will all rise upstairs anyway. I thought it would be better in the living room.

Should I get 3 zones instead of 2?

flyguy

No expert on any of this but one of many things that surprise me with Irish houses is the thermostat in the hall (same in my house). I'm not from Ireland, I've lived in a few other counties and never seen the thermostat in the hall. Yes it might be the coldest area, but how is that a good arguement?
It's not the space that's lived in, you'd want to control the temp in an area that you spend most of your time in, that's where the temp should be comfortable. Who cares if the hall is a bit colder when you pass through?
So my choice for thermostat location would be the living room.

Edit-
If you have thermostatic valves on all your rads you could place it in the hall. Once living areas are at the desired temp the valves will close so only the hall will be heated, but I still wouldn't see the point of that and think its just wasting energy.

muffler

I'll move this over to the Plumbing & Heating forum.

K.Flyer

The most common set up is...

Zone 1 Hot Water. Stat on cylinder
Zone 2 Bedrooms. Stat in bedroom
Zone 3 All Other Areas. Stat in hall or living room.

Or

Zone 1 Hot Water. Stat on cylinder
Zone 2 Upstairs Area. Stat in bedroom or landing.
Zone 3 Downstairs Area. Stat in hall or living room.

All zones must be able to operate independently of each other as and when required.

shane0007

Just remember all of the works must be carried out by a registered contractor with the SEAI in order to obtain the grant. You will also need a BER survey & cert following completion of grant works. Make sure you apply for & receive grant approval before any works commence. This can be done on-line & approval is instant.

3 zones is always best but can cost a bit more.

Regarding the location of the thermostat, they are located in the hall not because it is the coldest location but because it is more closer to an average heated area.
Living rooms can be hotter due to fires, gathering of many people so can be warmer and turn off the heat to other areas within the zone prematurely. Kitchens are poor locations because of cooking, etc. Bathrooms are poor for obvious reasons. The hall is best because it is a more "passing trade" heat giving a more accurate average. Keep it to 1.5m high, away from radiators, windows, external doors, etc.
For the upstairs zone, the best location for the stat is the master bedroom. If on the landing it can get a false reading from heat rising from the downstairs zone. The master bedroom is best as this will be the average heated area for the rest of the zone and bedrooms are usually heated to 18C rather than living area zones to 20C. 22C for bathrooms. Add a degree or two for elderly people.

Also note that the hw cylinder needs a stat also, set to 60C. A simple S Plan wiring diagram is best practice.

mrcheez

Thanks for all responses. Yep i got the grant before works started and am working with an seai registered plumber.

I've done away with the hot water cylinder as I got a combi boiler installed.

So, back to the zones... The living room/dining room essentially takes up 80% of the downstairs space, hence my thinking that it would be a more important location to monitor. Remember it only has 2 rads so may take a little longer to heat than the relatively small hallway. Would this not be a valid reason to choose the living room over the hallway?

Regarding bedrooms, the "bigger" of the two bedrooms would be considered the master, but I want to use this as an office/storage area and I'd use the smaller one as the main bedroom.
Would it still be better to put the thermostat in the larger room?
(I'd have to consider later on that if i sold the house the larger room would likely become the master bedroom)

shane0007

Yes, of course, you are correct. If there is no radiator in the hall, then it will not react as a true average for the zone so the living room would probably be the best location in your situation.
Just keep in kind other heat sources, such as an open fire or gas fire for that room, but with such a small zone it should not really matter.

mrcheez

shane0007 wrote: »

Yes, of course, you are correct. If there is no radiator in the hall, then it will not react as a true average for the zone so the living room would probably be the best location in your situation.

There is a rad in the hallway as well. 2 rads in large living room, 1 rad in hallway that opens to 2nd floor via open plan staircase.

Tht's why i was thinking the hallway would need its own zone.

I think the hallway would take ages to heat anyway as all heat is just going to go up the stairs.

What do you think about which bedroom to monitor, or does it matter?

shane0007

mrcheez wrote: »

There is a rad in the hallway as well. 2 rads in large living room, 1 rad in hallway that opens to 2nd floor via open plan staircase.

Tht's why i was thinking the hallway would need its own zone.

I think the hallway would take ages to heat anyway as all heat is just going to go up the stairs.

What do you think about which bedroom to monitor, or does it matter?

If the rad in the hall is sized correctly for the space that it is heating then it will heat at the same rate as another correctly sized rad in another room.
If all is correct, then I would install in the hall but as I said if you really prefer the living room and there is no other way source in that room, that would be fine also.

Which bedroom would not matter. It is always generally the master bedroom but in your case which room is most use would be the best location.

TPM

mrcheez wrote: »

I've recently fitted a new boiler and rads to my house, and decided I'd throw in the zoning controls while the SEAI grant is still available.

The electrician is coming over to set up the thermostats but I thought it would be a good idea to have some idea of what zones I'd like to set up before he comes.

The house is fairly small with:
- Dining/Living room downstairs (2 rads)
- Hallway with stairway up to 2nd floor (a door separates the hallway from the living room) (1 rad)
- 2 bedrooms and 1 toilet upstairs (4 rads)
(the kitchen is part of an extension and won't be zoned)

The plan was originally to have 2 zones and my plumber suggested putting the downstairs thermostat in the hallway as it would be the coldest area.

My problem with this is that it would take a while to heat up the hallway as it's open-plan and the heat will all rise upstairs anyway. I thought it would be better in the living room.

Should I get 3 zones instead of 2?

Will the kitchen not being zoned be a problem with getting the grant paid?

mrcheez

Dunno, I guess we'll find out

EDIT: Kitchen doesn't have a rad, and is only a small 4x4 extension, so probably doesn't need to be zoned anyway. I assume zoning is to regulate the rads.