Hi,
I live in a modern 4 bedroom, 3 storey town house, with a condensing boiler. The boiler is installed on the top floor in a boiler cupboard
All rad's, except ground floor hall way, have TRV's fitted. This is open with the 2 lockshield valves.
Some TRV's are on the inlet to the rads, while others are on the outlet of the rads. I was told by the plumbers who worked on the building site that it does not matter which way round they are fitted.
The ground floor is an open plan area, heated by 2 radiators. These radiators get luke warm at the best.
I have found that by closing all the TRV's on the upper and middle floors, I can get the ground floor rads to a hot temp, which in turn, heats the open plan area nicely.
So, I know that the pipes are clear to the ground floor, and that the rads on the ground floor can get very hot, and heat the area.
After searching the site, I think I need to balance the radiators, to push heat from the upper floors to the ground floor, while still allowing the upper floors to be warm.
I have read this guide and found it very useful :
http://www.diydata.com/projects/centralheating/balancing/radiator_balancing.php
But, here is where I have a question over the TRV's. Can I balance the Rad's if the TRV's are on the outlet of the Rad's, or, should I change the rad feeds etc so that the TRV's are all on the inlets?
The plumbing is all push fit plastic's, so, swapping rad feed and outlet over etc is straightforward and I'm happy to do this.
If I leave the rad feeds and outlets as they are ie: mixture of TRV's on feeds and outlets.... how do I balance the system??
Do I open the TRV's fully and use the lockshield to balance the rad, then use the TRV to set the overall desired temp in the room?
As the pipework is all push fit plastic, I doubt I can use the clip on pipe thermometers referred to in the "balancing guide". are there other types of thermometers that I can use.
Thanks for any advice.
I live in a modern 4 bedroom, 3 storey town house, with a condensing boiler. The boiler is installed on the top floor in a boiler cupboard
All rad's, except ground floor hall way, have TRV's fitted. This is open with the 2 lockshield valves.
Some TRV's are on the inlet to the rads, while others are on the outlet of the rads. I was told by the plumbers who worked on the building site that it does not matter which way round they are fitted.
The ground floor is an open plan area, heated by 2 radiators. These radiators get luke warm at the best.
I have found that by closing all the TRV's on the upper and middle floors, I can get the ground floor rads to a hot temp, which in turn, heats the open plan area nicely.
So, I know that the pipes are clear to the ground floor, and that the rads on the ground floor can get very hot, and heat the area.
After searching the site, I think I need to balance the radiators, to push heat from the upper floors to the ground floor, while still allowing the upper floors to be warm.
I have read this guide and found it very useful :
http://www.diydata.com/projects/centralheating/balancing/radiator_balancing.php
But, here is where I have a question over the TRV's. Can I balance the Rad's if the TRV's are on the outlet of the Rad's, or, should I change the rad feeds etc so that the TRV's are all on the inlets?
The plumbing is all push fit plastic's, so, swapping rad feed and outlet over etc is straightforward and I'm happy to do this.
If I leave the rad feeds and outlets as they are ie: mixture of TRV's on feeds and outlets.... how do I balance the system??
Do I open the TRV's fully and use the lockshield to balance the rad, then use the TRV to set the overall desired temp in the room?
As the pipework is all push fit plastic, I doubt I can use the clip on pipe thermometers referred to in the "balancing guide". are there other types of thermometers that I can use.
Thanks for any advice.