Are my Grundfos pumps configured correctly? Old one pipe system, with 16 radiators powered by a 48kwh regular boiler.My bills are £800 a month.Help.

[Johntheo5]

Can

I do have one. It reads at 65c just before getting to the low loss header, and around 42-46c on the return.

Can you take them again and also the other flow/returns with their zone valves separately open and with both open and identify them.

 

[JonnyH12]

Can

Can you take them again and also the other flow/returns with their zone valves separately open and with both open and identify them.

Sorry, I'm not 100% sure what you mean. What zone valves are you referring to? Do you mean the Radiator TRV's?

 

[Johntheo5]

On the left top of the LLH you have two motorized valves which presumably are feeding the heating/HW side and two pumps on the returns from them?.

 

[JonnyH12]

On the left top of the LLH you have two motorized valves which presumably are feeding the heating/HW side and two pumps on the returns from them?.

Got you.

So the top motorised valve is for the heating, and the bottom motorized valve is for the hot water. They both work independently and are powered by the Honeywell Total connect system.

The pump on the right of the LLH is direct from the boiler. The top pump on the left of the LLH is the heating return. and the pump beneath that feeds the hot water cylinder. That is currently set to constant speed two.

So just to be clear, what temperature reading would be helpful?

 

[Madrab]

OK, well that's 2 areas already.

Column radiators, whilst looking good, are not the best when it comes to space heating efficiency. Column rads heat the space quite differently than convecting radiators and are notorious for take anything up to twice as long to heat a given space properly. That and the larger the space the less effective they are, given the % of heat that they produce being radiant

Grade 2 listed building can also have secondary glazing installed normally without issue. In essence the internal section of the window space is glazed, giving the same benefits as double glazing would.

 

[Johntheo5]

If the CH is on then take the top left temperature after the motorized valve and the temperature after the top (left ) pump, if the HW is on take the other two, and if you can run the system with both systems on take the 4 temperatures, in all cases take the right hand temperatures as well, can see then if any mixing going on.

 

[JonnyH12]

If the CH is on then take the top left temperature after the motorized valve and the temperature after the top (left ) pump, if the HW is on take the other two, and if you can run the system with both systems on take the 4 temperatures, in all cases take the right hand temperatures as well, can see then if any mixing going on.

Sorry this took a few days to reply, i was back in the office.

So I've tried to take the temps, I think. Im not 100% sure what I'm looking for in results though.

So central heating, just after the moterised vale (MV), was 39c without HW running. The return pipe, just before the pump, was a similar number, 35-39.

If I turned the HW I got very similar readings across all the pipes, around 39c. I don't know what to make of that.

 

[ianmcd]

Do you really need all these radiators on at the same time ?

 

[JonnyH12]

Do you really need all these radiators on at the same time ?

No I only have two or three on that are controlled by Honeywell TRVs. The ones in the kitchen and hallways are not smart controlled and are on if the heating is on. That's about 6.

 

[ianmcd]

No I only have two or three on that are controlled by Honeywell TRVs. The ones in the kitchen and hallways are not smart controlled and are on if the heating is on. That's about 6.

well manually close the ones that you dont need to be on

 

[JonnyH12]

well manually close the ones that you dont need to be on

I've tried experimenting with closing off radiators, and the ones that are left on I really need. It's kitchen and bathrooms that are open.

I also only run it for an hour or two a day.

But because of the single pipe and huge boiler, it still costs a fortune anyway. My question was whether my Grundfos pumps are on the right settings.

 

[ianmcd]

I've tried experimenting with closing off radiators, and the ones that are left on I really need. It's kitchen and bathrooms that are open.

I also only run it for an hour or two a day.

But because of the single pipe and huge boiler, it still costs a fortune anyway. My question was whether my Grundfos pumps are on the right settings.

Pump settings will not sort your problem, heat in = heat out, the pumps simply circulate the water , your problem is you have a massively over sized boiler and old out dated radiators, and next to no proper controls

 

[Johntheo5]

Sorry this took a few days to reply, i was back in the office.

So I've tried to take the temps, I think. Im not 100% sure what I'm looking for in results though.

So central heating, just after the moterised vale (MV), was 39c without HW running. The return pipe, just before the pump, was a similar number, 35-39.

If I turned the HW I got very similar readings across all the pipes, around 39c. I don't know what to make of that.

OK, I will try and make it a bit easier, these tests will help tell if the pump(s) are on the correct settings.
Do this test only first, CH only on. and post back your readings.

1 should be the same as the boiler flow temperature, around 65C?
2 should be fairly low ~ 35 to 40C
3 should be similar to 1 but may be lower
4 should also be lowish.

 

[Johntheo5]

No I only have two or three on that are controlled by Honeywell TRVs. The ones in the kitchen and hallways are not smart controlled and are on if the heating is on. That's about 6.

You say your heating costs £800/month, £27/day. At a natgas price of 10p/kwh this means your gas consumption is 270kwh/day, if you have the heating on 24/7 then consumption is 11,25kwh/hr = boiler output of 9.6kw at 85% boiler efficiency.
Don't know the actual temperatures at the LLH but assuming the boiler is running continuously and not cycling on/off due to the Honeywell TRVs (if TPI) then you might expect something like below.

 

[JonnyH12]

You say your heating costs £800/month, £27/day. At a natgas price of 10p/kwh this means your gas consumption is 270kwh/day, if you have the heating on 24/7 then consumption is 11,25kwh/hr = boiler output of 9.6kw at 85% boiler efficiency.
Don't know the actual temperatures at the LLH but assuming the boiler is running continuously and not cycling on/off due to the Honeywell TRVs (if TPI) then you might expect something like below.

View attachment 286856

Sorry I should have clarified. My bills are roughly 800, but that's gas and elec. They are roughly 50/50 in split. I can understand elec being high. We have two washing machines, a dryer and a dishwasher that run quite a lot because of messy children, along with an air pump that heats my home office.
But I'm only running my heating for a couple hours a day max and it's still costing a fortune.

For this week Octopus tells me I have consumed 686kwh of gas so far. That's Monday to Friday. My current gas rate is 10.2p.