Should I Keep Doors Closed?

[Gadgee99]

I am in the process of installing a room thermostat which will be mounted half way up the stairs and will supplement the exisiting TRV's which are on all rads.

However, my other half insists on keeping the doors to the 5 rooms upstairs open during the day as she believes that she needs to 'air the rooms'. Only two of these rooms are heated so being a simple soul, it seems to me that the heat from the downstairs hall rad and the rad on the first floor landing will be chucking out heat only for that heat to flow into the unheated rooms through the open doors and simply confuse the new room stat.

I have pointed out to her out that all upstairs rooms have ventilation louvres over the doors as well as ventilation strips on all windows which should provide decent 'airing' for the rooms but I have lost that debate.

Am I correct in trying to convince her to keep all upstairs doors closed during the day to keep the heat in the hall and stairs area?

ANother question - when the new room stat is installed, should I fully open the TRV on the downstairs hall rad as well as the TRV on the rad on the first floor landing?

 

[big-all]

as hot air rises you will be heating the upstairs rooms first with the associated draughts
if you are asking for the hall to heat to say 16 degrees you will need to heat the upstairs to possibly 24 degrees as you get heat in layers rather than even from head to foot
for every metres you loose around 2 degrees in heat so with shoulder height up stairs being about 3m from shoulder height down stairs with the ceiling a further 1m up that's 4m or around 8 degrees difference

if you have an open plan house you heat the upstairs before you can heat the down stairs

 

[Nige F]

Well I agree with your Mrs. keep a house open and keep all the rooms heated - to a low temp - Never had a condensation problem in any house we`ve lived in - yet seen plenty of shut up ones with conden./ mould on the walls You should have got a wireless stat then you could carry it around and put it in any room

 

[D_Hailsham]

However, my other half insists on keeping the doors to the 5 rooms upstairs open during the day as she believes that she needs to 'air the rooms'.

At least she does not insist on having windows open as well! If the rooms are unused, why do they need airing? Possibly open a window once a week for an hour, but continuous airing?

Point out to her that it will you will save money on the fuel bills up if you close the doors on unused rooms with no heating.

when the new room stat is installed, should I fully open the TRV on the downstairs hall rad as well as the TRV on the rad on the first floor landing?

I would open the TRV downstairs to max and set the upstairs one to the required setting. In any case, you could always experiment - as long as at least one of them is fully open - to see which gives the best results.

 

[Agile]

I would suggest that in the unheated rooms you can close the door and open the window slightly.

Alternately just open the doors to the unheated rooms SLIGHTLY.

It seems that you have a particularly difficult and dominant person to deal with!

Tony

 

[ajrobb]

As NigeF says.

Things to consider

• open doors/louvres allow moisture into unheated rooms where it can condense if poorly insulated
  open doors upstairs make insulated bedrooms warmer than downstairs even with radiator off
  open doors upstairs make stairs need more heat
  lowest bills and no condensation probably come from closed doors, low heat and trickle ventilation
  'normal' to have nearest radiator below room thermostat without TRV
  room thermostat should not be directly above a radiator (should it be 1.5m away horizontally?)
  a warm family life is about more than heating

 

[echoes]

 

[Nige F]

echoes - reminds me of my room in the Victorian hospital - funnily enough it had no echo at all

 

[Nige F]

.

It seems that you have a particularly difficult and dominant person to deal with!

Tony

Weeel , they are Scottish, Hen

 

[gregers]

echoes - reminds me of my room in the Victorian hospital - funnily enough it had no echo at all

quack