Where to put room stat/bypass radiator

[deshg]

Hey everyone,

We are currently renovating our house and have had a new combi system put in and are about to replace all of the radiators. The room stat is (in theory) going in the sitting room/dining room (which used to be two rooms but we've taken down the adjoining wall, so there's now 2 rads in this room)

The plumber has suggested we have the bypass rad (with no TRV, all other rads will have TRVs) in the hallway but from what I've read people generally either have it on the bathroom radiator/towel rail or on the rad in the room with the room stat. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me to have the bypass rad in the hall and the room stat in the sitting room (where there are TRVs)?

Can anyone confirm what the normal practice would be, it makes sense to me to have the towel radiator in the bathroom as the bypass rad as it makes sense to have this on the whole time the heating is on. Would you all agree and, if so, where would you then put the room stat?

On a slightly separate point I think the sparks have forgotten to wire in the room stat anyway so i may buy a wireless one to avoid having to chip out the walls so on this basis it could go anywhere?

I would really appreciate your thoughts on this as want to get it right!!

Thanks so much,

Dave

 

[Armo74]

The room where the room stat is should have 2 lockshields fitted to the rad. I normally fit 2 lockshields on the towel rads aswell.

 

[David937]

The room with the thermostat should have no TRV or the TRV removed or set to max. If your new combi has a built in auto bypass there is no need for a bypass radiator.

 

[stem]

"Bypass radiator" is perhaps a misnomer. It's a radiator without TRV, not specifically there to be a bypass.

If you have TRV's on the rads in a room with a main thermostat, and the TRV's are set lower than the thermostat, then the thermostat will never switch off. The TRV's will turn the room rads off so the room won't reach the temp set on the thermostat, meaning the boiler & pump could be running when not required wasting gas & elec.

So, for this reason, there should be no TRV's on rads in the room where the thermostat is. Having TRV's and leaving them on 'max' is an option as has been suggested, but open to someone who is ignorant of the way the system operates turning them down.

Many use the hall for the thermostat and radiator without TRV. This is because in a lounge, there are often supplementary heating sources such as a fire, TV, people etc., that could raise the temperature in the lounge and turn the main thermostat off when the rest of the house still requires heating.

Also a room that is naturally warmer than the rest of the house because of sun, or sheltered position should not be chosen as a location for the thermostat.

 

[deshg]

So by the sounds of it the most sensible thing to do would be to have the radiator in the hall as the bypass (with no TRV) and have the room stat in the hallway as well? I have been advised to get the Drayton TRV4 Thermostatic Valves (http://www.screwfix.com/p/drayton-trv4-white-chrome-trv-15mm-angled-l-s/34362). Am I right in saying the the bypass radiator should just have 2 lockshield valves on it or do a I need another kind of valve for this one?

I can't seem to find Drayton Lockshield valves without the thermostatic valve (ideally from screwfix), the only one i can find is the Terrier Lockshield Valve (http://www.screwfix.com/p/terrier-lockshield-valve-15mm-x/93129). Am I right in thinking I should get two of these for the bypass rad?

I also need valves for our bathroom stainless steel towel radiator which will be on the main central heating system. I was looking at http://www.screwfix.com/p/danfoss-ras-d-chrome-trv-8-10-15mm-angled-l-s/88443 but wondered if anyone knew of any other ones that the valve is less deep so it protrudes from the wall less?

Thanks so much for all of your help!

Dave

 

[Armo74]

As already stated wherever you choose to have the room stat the rad in that room should have 2 lockshields. It doesn't have to be in the hallway some people nowaday's have the room stat in the living room as this is where they normally want the temperature to be at a more comfortable level as that is where they spend alot of time.

 

[deshg]

As already stated wherever you choose to have the room stat the rad in that room should have 2 lockshields. It doesn't have to be in the hallway some people nowaday's have the room stat in the living room as this is where they normally want the temperature to be at a more comfortable level as that is where they spend alot of time.

Hi Armo i just wanted to be sure about the lockshields before I bought them, so 2 of the Terrier ones I linked to would be okay for the bypass rad? And I was working on the hallway because stem said "This is because in a lounge, there are often supplementary heating sources such as a fire, TV, people etc., that could raise the temperature in the lounge and turn the main thermostat off when the rest of the house still requires heating." which makes sense. Equally it does seem a bit strange to control your heating system basd on the temperature in your hallway I suppose!!

 

[Armo74]

The lockshields will be fine. The statement about the other potential heat sources in the living room is correct. However when designing the system these would be taken into consideration for the location of the room stat. Other factors would also be if the room stat is to be in direct sunlight during the day.

 

[deshg]

The lockshields will be fine. The statement about the other potential heat sources in the living room is correct. However when designing the system these would be taken into consideration for the location of the room stat. Other factors would also be if the room stat is to be in direct sunlight during the day.

So if you were me would you put the room stat and bypass radiator in the hall or the sitting room? Bearing in mind it's a Victorian terraced house and we've removed the wall between the sitting room and dining room so it's now one big room with 2 radiators in it (so presumably if the room stat was in there then you wouldn't have thermostatic valves on either of those rads)?

Cheers!

Dave

 

[Armo74]

If you get a wireless stat you can experiment and then decide which suits you. Personally i have mine in my living room and i am more than satisfied with it's performance. But it all comes down to personal preference which would have been discussed with your installer.

 

[deshg]

If you get a wireless stat you can experiment and then decide which suits you. Personally i have mine in my living room and i am more than satisfied with it's performance. But it all comes down to personal preference which would have been discussed with your installer.

We may as well get a wireless stat as it's not wired in We have an Ideal Logic + 35 Combi, are there any particular ones you would recommend? And you would have thought we would have discussed it properly with our installer but he wanted to put the room stat in the sitting room (with TRVs) and the bypass rad in the hallway which I thought didn't make sense (partly why i'm here!) Thanks for your advice.

 

[stem]

So if you were me would you put the room stat and bypass radiator in the hall or the sitting room?

It's up to you but don't put in in the sitting room if you have a fire or other heat source in there. If you do, when that's used and its warm in the sitting room, it will turn off the heating to the rest of the house which could be cold.

 

[deshg]

So if you were me would you put the room stat and bypass radiator in the hall or the sitting room?

It's up to you but don't put in in the sitting room if you have a fire or other heat source in there. If you do, when that's used and its warm in the sitting room, it will turn off the heating to the rest of the house which could be cold.

That's a very good point, we do indeed have 2 fireplaces in the sitting room so it makes sense not to have it in there. So I guess it makes sense to have it in the hallway then?

Thanks so much for your help,

Dave

 

[Terry lambert]

Stem gives a very good explanation, also when you put the stat in the hall you would not put it too close to a drafty ( right next to the front door) position or too close to the rad. Ideally 1.5 meters high on an internal wall

The stat will have siting instructions with it

 

[deshg]

Stem gives a very good explanation, also when you put the stat in the hall you would not put it too close to a drafty ( right next to the front door) position or too close to the rad. Ideally 1.5 meters high on an internal wall

The stat will have siting instructions with it

I think we will be getting a wireless stat as they forgot to wire it in (!) but it seems like the most sensible place would be on the wall under the stairs which is away from the front door and the radiator.

Thanks so much for all of your help guys, it is massively appreciated!

Dave