Heating a large Village Hall

[Tristar]

I am a Trustee of our Village Hall, it has an efficient gas CH system supplied from a Vaillant gas boiler to 10 thermostatically controlled radiators. It is a large Hall, 120' by 36'. Our problem is that people keep altering the settings on the radiator valves, effectively just using them as ON/OFF switches, causing the obvious results.

Are there sturdy lockable thermostatic valves available? Or, would it be feasible to do away with the radiator thermostatic valves and fit, say, four room thermostats connected such that they "voted" to control heat demand?

Thanks

 

[mrgas]

Are all your rad heating one space/room?

 

[Agile]

Many TRVs have segments inside which can be used to restrict the available adjustment range.

Of course that might get broken by people trying to force them.

Alternatively you can stop people turning them fully OFF by adding a few washers around the pin to restrict travel!!!

Tony

 

[Tristar]

Yes, all the rads are in the main Hall.

 

[Tristar]

Even if we can fit area thermostats, we will have to make them tamperproof. Talking of which, people also tamper with the boiler timer, are there any made tamper proof, but with a facility to boost for 1 hour?

 

[htgeng]

Are there sturdy lockable thermostatic valves available? Or, would it be feasible to do away with the radiator thermostatic valves and fit, say, four room thermostats connected such that they "voted" to control heat demand?

Thanks

Fit lockshields on all rads and install a BEM5000 weather compensation kit to the boiler. Then you have the benefit that the system temp is adjusted as per the outside temp and not by someone messing around with trvs. Should cost in ballpark of £500, but lockable TRVS are £££ and can still be broken.

Have done a similar system on a community centre with electric boilers and it works well and has probably saved the cost of the system already.

 

[Tristar]

Thanks htgeng, I'll look into that.

Regards

 

[htgeng]

Thanks htgeng, I'll look into that.

Regards

Another idea if you dont want to replace the valves when you use the BEM. Remove all the TRV heads and drill a hole in the plunger part so that it doesn't depress the valve. Then you can put the heads back on and the people who play with the valves will think they are doin something when in fact they aren't

 

[giblets]

Depending on which make of TRV you have it is possible to get anti-tamper covers for them. I have used them many times on radiators in the public spaces of banks.

Honeywell used to/may still do a lockable cover for their timer range that was clear polycarbonate so that one could see but not fiddle.

 

[Tristar]

Thanks a lot guys, much food for thought there, I like the idea of the BEM5000 kit.

Cheers

 

[doitall]

Shouldn't the rads have LST panels over the them, being a public area and all that rubbish

 

[Tristar]

Shouldn't the rads have LST panels over the them, being a public area and all that rubbish

Pass!

 

[doitall]

I would check it out, especially if small children use the hall.

You could then hide the valve head in the panel and use a remote sensor bulb on the wall, which equals nothing to play with.

Could be a cheap fix if you have to fit the panels in the near future

 

[Tristar]

I would check it out, especially if small children use the hall.

You could then hide the valve head in the panel and use a remote sensor bulb on the wall, which equals nothing to play with.

Could be a cheap fix if you have to fit the panels in the near future

Thanks I'll check that also.

 

[doitall]

Find the make of the valves, then look up remote sensors.

Building or Councill will tell you about low surface temperature panels (LST). I though all public building had to have them, certainly Schools and hospitals do