Heating setting and trv query

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Hi there,

we have an old but perfectly working Barlo Blenheim boiler, 7 radiators with trv's fitted and I would like to ask your advice as to whether we are best A) have the heating coming on twice a day (5.45am - 7.30am & 4.30pm -9.30am) going full pelt to heat up the house. B) Leave the heating on constantly but at a low setting?

Which would be a more efficient/cost effective?

As for the TRV query, since they were installed the radiators make some strange noises. ie: when the heating first comes on, it sounds like water is filling up in a particular radiator. In others there's a weird noise that I find hard to describe but it's like water is being forced through a small space! Hope that makes sense. These issues are only on the upstairs radiators. The downstairs ones are fine!?!
 
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This depends on the temperature of the house before the boiler kicks in.

Example:
It may be more efficient to keep boiler on a low heat setting all day rather than heating the house from 3°c to say a desired 25°c.

But on a summers day it may be more costly to keep the burner running rather than heat the house from 15°c to 25°c.

Also depends on your boiler, if you have a modern condensing boiler, I would say running it at a low temperature all day would be more efficient than roaring the burner on to heat it up from 0-3°c to desired temp.

Hope this helps, I'm not the best for explaining things!!
 
Economy wise, it all comes down to heat loss. New boilers are more efficient ticking over on a low temp, but yours isn't.
Therefore it is simply a matter of the greater the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors, the more heat you loose and thus the more gas you use.
Examples:

On all day at 21C with outdoors 0 -> 16 hours of 21C difference and relevant heatloss equaling 16x21 = 336 units (undefined units)

On twice a day for total of 6 hours at 21C and 12 hours at 15C equals (6x21 + 12x15) 306 units. Not a big difference and a lot of people rather have the comfort of a nice continuous warmth for the few bob extra.
But in terms of exact money, turning it down during the day is cheaper.
 
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theres no air in the system is it mate? i had similar problem could hear water treakling through rad, bled them all aint heard it since
 
Possibly valves "wrong way round"
Although most trv's these days are said to be bidirectional, I find the system works a lot better if they are all on the flow side.
Turn the problem rads off for half an hour to cool down. Then open one and feel which pipe gets hot first, trv or other. Make notes and do the same for the other rads after that.
 
new trv's throughout as only 1 rad had one on.

I don't know if this helps but on the downstairs rads, the trv's are on the left as you look at them. Upstairs, the trv's are on the right as you look at them!?!

I've bled the rads today but no jets of are, just gurgling water from 3 out of the 4 upstairs rads. The boiler/pump had been switched off for about an hour before doing this.
 
Turn the problem rads off for half an hour to cool down. Then open one and feel which pipe gets hot first, trv or other. Make notes and do the same for the other rads after that.

Off at TRV only or TRV and Lockshield?
 
Just the on the trv. It's only to let the rad cool down so you can feel which is the flow pipe when you turn it back on.
 
Hi there before I left for work this morning I turned off 2 radiators so that I could check them as soon as I got home this evening.

Bathroom rad - I felt the heat first enter the rad on the RHS which is where the TRV is.

Spare bed rad - I felt the heat first enter the rad on the LHS which is the opposite end to the TRV.

Does this mean that for starters the spare bed TRV needs swapping over? (And maybe more after I check the other 2)
 

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