Can I upgrade my central heating control box?

[Petezzzz]

Hi all,

I have a baxi "back boiler" in my old council house. The system generally heats the radiator and hot water at the same time - full tank, etc etc. Not the most modern or efficient I'm sure!

There is no room thermostat control (other than the ones on the radiators themselves)

Anyway, the little control box in the living room that allows us to program the heating is playing up - many parts of its LCD screen aren't showing, so its pretty impossible to use.

I clearly need to replace it, but my question is: Can I put something newer/better in? Is there a straight-swap option? Is there such a thing as a control box with a built in thermostat so we can stop the living room from becoming a sauna when the heating is on a little long?

The current unit says its a NEWLEC Centaur-Plus NLC27.

What options do I have?

thanks in advance,

Pete

 

[Taylortwocities]

Buy a direct replacement...

http://www.heatingcontrolsonline.co.uk/horstmann-centaurplus-c27-day-programmer-p-301.html

An electrician could add a room stat but that would only control the rads - the rad stats already should be dong that!
The Baxi will still belting out heat - not much you can do about that...

 

[Petezzzz]

thanks for the quick reply.

I do find the functionality of the unit a bit tricky to programmme though - and I wonder if there are other units that offer perhaps a "one hour boost" instead of just the "on all day" or "on 24hrs" options that my current unit offers (other than the 3 daily on/off cycles that are programmable).

Given that its pretty old, aren't there newer "cleverer" units out there now?

thanks again,

Pete

 

[gas4you]

There are many 'cleverer' units available, but to make the most of their 'cleverness' you would need to upgrade your system to fully pumped, either a 'Y' plan, or a 'S' plan.

 

[Steve]

There's plenty of choice out there. Many though, would require some rewiring of your system.

Technically you dont need a room stat if your radiators have TRVs on them - set them right and you'll be fine. See, when the TRVs close, theres less cool water returning for the boiler to heat, therefore it wont be running for as long. You should have one rad with two normal valves though - as a bypass.

There are programmers out there which you input a time and temperature - say, 20 degrees and 7am. The system "learns" how long it will take to reach that temperature, and turns the heating on at the appropriate time, so if it knows it will take an hour, it will come on at 6am. Of course, you can learn this yourself and program the right time

There should be some functionality for the DHW to operate seperate to the CH on your existing programmer. I have just read the instructions online. But you say your existing unit has a faulty display - just replace it with another.

http://www.heatingcontrolsonline.co.uk/instructions/C27-User-Guide.pdf

 

[Click-Sure]

Nothing more to add only that rewiring central heating control systems is not a DIY job, a lot of electricians find it very difficult, unless your doing it often enough.

All central heating control wiring is also notifiable under part P of the building regs.

Replacing the programmer (leaving existing back plate) is your only viable DIY option. Otherwise, consult a plumber.

 

[nozspark]

All central heating control wiring is also notifiable under part P of the building regs.

Just been thinking about this recently.... how does this go with RF stats??

I know the receiver unit is wired in, but <0.5m of flex surface clipped is hardly notifyable is it??