Smart Radiator Valve

eoinymc

Hi,

Any experts out there that can help me?

I have a Climote installed in my house and it works fine. I have one small issue with the heating:

We have a box room where my baby sleeps and because it’s so small and there is a big enough radiator in the room (just got the house done up and the plumber put in the correct rad for the room size), it gets hot in there very quickly when the heating is on.

The upstairs thermostat is on the landing so obviously it’s colder there than in the room so the heating doesn’t go off when the box room goes above the temp I set it to.

I’m wondering is there a simple radiator valve I can get that basically works with the Climote and my current set up, but monitors the temperature of the room and turns the rad off if it gets over 20c or something like that.

I don’t want to break the bank and get a new system in to do every rad. This is the only problem child room!

Would really appreciate any help you guys can give me.

Cheers,

E

K.Flyer

Just get a thermostatic radiator valve fitted and that should sort out your problem.

eoinymc

I have one of these:

https://www.ie.screwfix.com/15mm-angled-trv-white-chrome.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=Shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQiAjO_QBRC4ARIsAD2FsXOfCA-NsydQbw1E6CswZTYZvBdslf7v4G2SEIlkVWsDBiqIik1HoSIaAkUpEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

but it doesn't seem to control the temperature very well...it's either too hot or too cold. That's why I was wondering if there was one that automatically switches off when it reaches a certain temperature.

Thanks!

Dardania

eoinymc wrote: »

I have one of these:

https://www.ie.screwfix.com/15mm-angled-trv-white-chrome.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=Shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQiAjO_QBRC4ARIsAD2FsXOfCA-NsydQbw1E6CswZTYZvBdslf7v4G2SEIlkVWsDBiqIik1HoSIaAkUpEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

but it doesn't seem to control the temperature very well...it's either too hot or too cold. That's why I was wondering if there was one that automatically switches off when it reaches a certain temperature.

Thanks!

That's the exact job it is meant to do - open or close when the temp in the room is satisfied.

What do you have the rad set to? If it's graduated up to 5, 2 or so should be suitable for a bedroom.
Seeing its an unbranded model might imply it's not a very reactive valve...e.g. other ones in the market are twice the price...

Also, to state something which I made a mistake with too when I first used TRVs: their job isn't to control the surface temp of the radiator - their job is to control the room temp. So you should only judge if the room is too hot or not, not whether the rad surface is too hot or not.

TBi

Good TRV's are brilliant. They will keep the room at a very steady temperature.

Cheap TRV's are like anything else that's cheap, it won't work well and you won't be happy. As Dardania said the one you linked too is very cheap.

eoinymc

Thanks guys...the one I linked to was not the actual one I have, but it looks very similar.

I got the house done up late last year and got all the rooms insulated and new rads, etc... so it was a new radiator, but not sure if it is actually a good radiator!!!

TBi

eoinymc wrote: »

Thanks guys...the one I linked to was not the actual one I have, but it looks very similar.

I got the house done up late last year and got all the rooms insulated and new rads, etc... so it was a new radiator, but not sure if it is actually a good radiator!!!

For a TRV i find it best to set it to 3 (mid way) then leave the heating on for 2-3 hours to leave it settle. See how warm the room gets. If it's too warm then adjust down to 2.5, too cold up to 3.5. Keep adjusting in 0.5 steps (or less) with a good bit of time in between to reach the optimum setting.

Then... never touch it again!

Dardania

TBi wrote: »

eoinymc wrote: »

Thanks guys...the one I linked to was not the actual one I have, but it looks very similar.

I got the house done up late last year and got all the rooms insulated and new rads, etc... so it was a new radiator, but not sure if it is actually a good radiator!!!

For a TRV i find it best to set it to 3 (mid way) then leave the heating on for 2-3 hours to leave it settle. See how warm the room gets. If it's too warm then adjust down to 2.5, too cold up to 3.5. Keep adjusting in 0.5 steps (or less) with a good bit of time in between to reach the optimum setting.

Then... never touch it again!

Totally agree with your approach for getting it right and making small tweaks- only thing to mention is it’s sometime good, every few months, to fully open / close the valve, to make sure the stem doesn’t seize up and stick

Calahonda52

Curtains and other stuff draped around the TRV head don't allow the TRV to work as well as it should.
Since its the temp in the cot that is what you want right, i recommend getting a garden thermometer from Woodies or similar and put it in the cot, sans the child of course and do as suggested above with the incremental changes.

TBi

You can also get “remote” trv’s which screw in place of the original one. If curtains are an issue.

eoinymc

Thanks guys...there is no curtain and I have a baby monitor in the room which keeps track of the temperature.

I fiddled with the trv last night and it seems that it only has two settings: hot (regardless whether it's on between 2-5) and off (when I have it between 0-2)!!!

So, to go back to the original question, is there a smart one that will turn off itself when it reaches a certain temperature? I understand that it may cost a little more if there is one...I know I could probably invest in a better manual trv and see if that works, but for the incremental cost, I think I'd like to go for one that turns the rad off itself if there is such a thing.

Thanks

Dardania

Sounds like a poor response indeed...

These are the super smart ones: https://www.apple.com/ie/shop/product/HLMF2ZM/A/tado%C2%B0-smart-radiator-thermostat-horizontal-mounting?fnode=1fbaad55361aa9d667c074a8da55bc7d2b5177ba37da3691abbeae612765009281a516455a9de8c4fa80deb80fb5b65c3681d6b59de5e4d8e5d7f489443a42257aea49131bea16132946b098cbb317d0d008087986facf18c7ae6ae8b11d3451

or then there are the less smart, but still high IQ ones: https://www.heatingcontrolsonline.co.uk/radiator-valves-c-28.html/programmable-radiator-controls-c-28_66.html/pegler-terrier-itemp-i30-vertical-programmable-trv-p-672.html

there are others out there - I seem to recall Lidl had one at some stage?

eoinymc

Thanks Dardania!

That Pegler Terrier I-Temp one is perfect - cheap and does what I need!

Would you recommend a plumber to install or would someone who is good at watching YouTube videos on doing stuff be ok to do it!!

Cheers again!

Dardania

eoinymc wrote: »

Thanks Dardania!

That Pegler Terrier I-Temp one is perfect - cheap and does what I need!

Would you recommend a plumber to install or would someone who is good at watching YouTube videos on doing stuff be ok to do it!!

Cheers again!

Good good - just to be clear I've never used them, but I've seen Pegler manual valves used alot on the continent, so they must be okay...
Regarding fitting, This is where it gets tricky. There are two parts to the valve - the body and the actuator (head).
In a perfect world, you can replace the head onto the existing body without any issue - someone handy at watching a youtube vid can do it - it is completely dry work.
However in your case, the issue has a small possibility of being related to the valve body. Not much. But possible. E.g. the stem ticking etc.
So, you could probably change the head easy enough, but might need a plumber if the problem in fact is the valve body.
Non plumbers can replace valve bodies too - it just takes more planning, time, tools, and learning new skills. I did it in my own house - nerve racking to do, but possible for an amateur to do nonetheless.

Also, with the head, you need to see if it fits your existing body - that supplier gives a list of bodies it should work with, or if not, to send a photo of your current valve. So be sure to make use of their expertise there. If there's an incompatibility, they can supply a collar to adapt usually.

Wearb

eoinymc wrote: »

Thanks guys...there is no curtain and I have a baby monitor in the room which keeps track of the temperature.

I fiddled with the trv last night and it seems that it only has two settings: hot (regardless whether it's on between 2-5) and off (when I have it between 0-2)!!!

So, to go back to the original question, is there a smart one that will turn off itself when it reaches a certain temperature? I understand that it may cost a little more if there is one...I know I could probably invest in a better manual trv and see if that works, but for the incremental cost, I think I'd like to go for one that turns the rad off itself if there is such a thing.

Thanks

Do you have something to measure the room temperature? It is rare for a trv to not do what it was designed for.
Just to explain a little about how they work.
If you have a room that is presently at (let's say) 1C and you turn your trv to say 1; in a few minutes (depending on reaction time of trv) the rad will be piping hot and will remain that way until the room (not the rad) warms up to the temperature that the number 1 represents on the trv (lets say e.g. 12C)

All the above is also depending on there being a call for heat on your boiler from somewhere. The trv cannot tell the boiler to turn on.

Perhaps you understand all that already, but I come across so many that don't.

bk

Wearb wrote: »

All the above is also depending on there being a call for heat on your boiler from somewhere. The trv cannot tell the boiler to turn on.

Great info, but just a FYI, smart TRV's from the likes of Tado, Netatmo, Evohome can call for heat from the boiler if you also have their thermostats installed.

But that would likely be overkill for the OP's issue.

TBi

eoinymc wrote: »

I fiddled with the trv last night and it seems that it only has two settings: hot (regardless whether it's on between 2-5) and off (when I have it between 0-2)!!!

How much time did you leave? A TRV will turn the radiator on full blast until the room comes up to temperature and then will slowly start lowering the temperature. You really have to leave it for over an hour, or more. It's a slow and gradual change on the radiator.

So tonight, set it to 3. Then leave it alone and check the temperature every 30 minutes on the baby monitor. The room should get to a temperature and stay there, ignore the temperature of the radiator.