I have been told I'll save money by turning off the upstairs radiators but I don't know why . I have a remote thermostat in my living room and the temperature will never rise above 20 degrees, the boiler is set at maximum of 75 degrees. I think its due to the fact the house was renovated and the vertical wall rads aren't big enough to heat the room even though building control passed it. The upstairs is warm. How will turning off/down the upstairs rads save me money as the boiler is always on as the thermostat is calling for heat?? Thank you
Why turn off upstairs radiators
- Thread starter ajs123
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Because the gas consumption is directly related to the amount of heat the boiler is required to produce.
If no heat is required upstairs, then the amount of heat required to keep downstairs at 20 degrees remains (broadly, see below) the same, but no heat is required upstairs.
However, as heat rises it will tend to drift upstairs, requiring more heat input to downstairs to cater for the "loss". So the savings will not be as great as a crude calculation might suggest.
If you leave the upstairs cold you run the risk of increased condensation.
A better way to regulate / minimise heating load is to fit thermostatic radiator valves to all radiators (except the one in the room with the wall thermostat). Set the downstairs ones to around 4 (which roughly equates to 20 degrees) and the upstairs to setting 3, which is about 18.
If no heat is required upstairs, then the amount of heat required to keep downstairs at 20 degrees remains (broadly, see below) the same, but no heat is required upstairs.
However, as heat rises it will tend to drift upstairs, requiring more heat input to downstairs to cater for the "loss". So the savings will not be as great as a crude calculation might suggest.
If you leave the upstairs cold you run the risk of increased condensation.
A better way to regulate / minimise heating load is to fit thermostatic radiator valves to all radiators (except the one in the room with the wall thermostat). Set the downstairs ones to around 4 (which roughly equates to 20 degrees) and the upstairs to setting 3, which is about 18.
if you put less heat energy into your home, your energy bill will be lower and your home will be colder
warm air rises so it is normal for heat from downstairs to warm the upstairs rooms somewhat. Closing the internal doors will reduce this.
If your downstairs rooms have bare floorboards, cold air will enter through the gaps, making the downstairs rooms colder, and warm air will rise.
warm air rises so it is normal for heat from downstairs to warm the upstairs rooms somewhat. Closing the internal doors will reduce this.
If your downstairs rooms have bare floorboards, cold air will enter through the gaps, making the downstairs rooms colder, and warm air will rise.
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All radiators have trvs on them. Upstairs is no problem, it's the fact we just can't heat the living room above 19/20 degrees. Boiler is 2 years old with an optimum wireless thermostat which is in the living room as it's the coldest place.
is the radiator fully hot, all over? bottom, middle, both sides?
The 2 in the living room are, boiling hot all around. 1 upstairs only ever gets luke warm, probably not balanced but shouldn't interfere with the living room. Newly refurbished 1900s house but passed by building inspector, thanks for your help
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