So... I'm getting lost in some of the terminology... I think I know what things are but want to check.
Firstly what is the difference between a Timeswitch and a Programmer? I know a programmer lets you set the water / CH to come on and off at different times of the day, but in that case what does a timeswitch do??
With regards to programmers is the following true;
- A "24hr Programmer" will let you set n number of On / Off periods through a 24 hour period. That 24hr period is then repeated every day.
- A "5+2 programmer" will let you set Mon-Fri with one set of timings, and Sat-Sun with another set of timings.
- A "7 day programmer" will let you set each of the 7 days to have their own unique on / off periods.
Then there are room thermostats. I am happy with the difference between wired and wireless (
), but then I see that there are programmable thermostats... Is this so that you can have different temperature settings through the day / night, or does it entirely replace the 'HEATING' channel of the programmer / timeswitch?
What I have at the moment is a programmer (?) that I don't particularly like;
It lets me set 3 On/Off periods within a 24hr period, and has the usual settings of "OFF", "ON", "AllDay" (from first ON to last OFF), and "Auto" (switch according to periods), as well as the additional 'buttons' of "+1 Hr" and "Advance".
However there is then just a single rocker switch on the front that lets these settings apply to just Hot water, or hot water and central heating.
If we want to have the heating on late in the evening, or through the night, we also have to 'pay' to heat (and keep hot) the full tank of hot water, despite the fact that it won't be used again until the morning.
What I would like is to be able to control the Heating & Hot water seperately from one another, and have the weekends independant of the weekdays, (I'm not too bothered about full 7day independant control, but if the cost difference is negligable then it's no bad thing).
With regards to the plumbing everything is already in place for a fully controlled system as the heating and hotwater each have their own electronic flow valve, so I believe it is just the "controller" that I would need to replace, (and possibly our room thermostat as that is old and grotty looking!).
So what are my best choices here? I think I need a 5+2 dual channel programmer, and then a room stat. Tempted by a wireless room stat as the current one is permanently fixed to the hall wall just outside the kitchen, which means that whenever someone is cooking the rest of the house goes cool because the thermostat detects the heat of the kitchen - lol.
Any recommendations? Obviously as cheap as chips would be nice, but I also don't want something that will break in just a month or so, and I'd be willing to pay a little bit more for 'nice' features, such as a backlit programmer display etc.
Thanks all
Firstly what is the difference between a Timeswitch and a Programmer? I know a programmer lets you set the water / CH to come on and off at different times of the day, but in that case what does a timeswitch do??
With regards to programmers is the following true;
- A "24hr Programmer" will let you set n number of On / Off periods through a 24 hour period. That 24hr period is then repeated every day.
- A "5+2 programmer" will let you set Mon-Fri with one set of timings, and Sat-Sun with another set of timings.
- A "7 day programmer" will let you set each of the 7 days to have their own unique on / off periods.
Then there are room thermostats. I am happy with the difference between wired and wireless (
), but then I see that there are programmable thermostats... Is this so that you can have different temperature settings through the day / night, or does it entirely replace the 'HEATING' channel of the programmer / timeswitch?What I have at the moment is a programmer (?) that I don't particularly like;
It lets me set 3 On/Off periods within a 24hr period, and has the usual settings of "OFF", "ON", "AllDay" (from first ON to last OFF), and "Auto" (switch according to periods), as well as the additional 'buttons' of "+1 Hr" and "Advance".
However there is then just a single rocker switch on the front that lets these settings apply to just Hot water, or hot water and central heating.
If we want to have the heating on late in the evening, or through the night, we also have to 'pay' to heat (and keep hot) the full tank of hot water, despite the fact that it won't be used again until the morning.
What I would like is to be able to control the Heating & Hot water seperately from one another, and have the weekends independant of the weekdays, (I'm not too bothered about full 7day independant control, but if the cost difference is negligable then it's no bad thing).
With regards to the plumbing everything is already in place for a fully controlled system as the heating and hotwater each have their own electronic flow valve, so I believe it is just the "controller" that I would need to replace, (and possibly our room thermostat as that is old and grotty looking!).
So what are my best choices here? I think I need a 5+2 dual channel programmer, and then a room stat. Tempted by a wireless room stat as the current one is permanently fixed to the hall wall just outside the kitchen, which means that whenever someone is cooking the rest of the house goes cool because the thermostat detects the heat of the kitchen - lol.
Any recommendations? Obviously as cheap as chips would be nice, but I also don't want something that will break in just a month or so, and I'd be willing to pay a little bit more for 'nice' features, such as a backlit programmer display etc.
Thanks all
