TRV's Needed?

[ZedTheRed]

Hi,

I am having my boiler replaced soon with a Vaillant Echo tech 831 and wanted to know what people here thought about TRV's. At the moment I don't have any and manually just turn the valves down in the rooms that get hot.

Can I not just do the same when I get the new boiler rather then have TRV's installed.

I know your suppsed to have them but it would save me money if I didn't have to have them installed.

Also will the basic mechanical timer clock do or should I get a digital one for the Vaillant?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Puddle]

Well you do not have to have trv,s fitted when the boiler is replaced all you need to have is a interlock on heating i.e. room thermostat
However they are highly recommended and you have shown you require them by saying you at present turn manual valves up and down
Two points here, firstly when you turn your manual valves down you are not turning radiator temp down you are only restricting flow through radiator the radiator will still stay the same temp until turned off, people think because + or - on valve therefore lowering increasing temp this is not the case, it is like turning hot tap on sink up and down flow rate goes up and down but temperature of water the same
And secondly manual valves are not made to be turned on and off alot and will start leaking
I would advise you have thermostatic valves fitted, you have shown by having a valiant echo tech fitted you are prepared to spend out for a good boiler and it is false economy to say you will save by not having them fitted, gas is not cheap any more and is set to increase, they will pay for them selves over a few years on saved fuel bills. Also the added comfort you will have by fitting thermostatic valve will be well worth it
With regard to your mechanical timer yes you can keep this no problem if it has a low voltage circuit but again you should be thinking of a programmable room thermostat which will give you different room temperatures though out the day i.e. warmer first thing in morning and in evening when relaxing and cooler in day when moving about, these are not expensive any more and again will pay for it’s self over a period of a few short years

 

[leakylea]

i think it is a minimum requirement to install trv's on all bedroom radiators if the boiler is being exchanged, your engineer will know this and should advise you of this

 

[PLUMB111]

It will save you money in the long run.

And yes you do need them.

Peter

 

[Mike Jackson]

It makes good sense to fit them but it is not a requirement.

Have a look at http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_PTL_DOMHEAT.pdf

Page 16 states the requirements. When just the boiler is swapped you can view the entire house as one zone and retain a single thermostat.

Mike

 

[Bernie2]

I must admit I am not a fan of TRV's, over time far to many pin valves get stuck and make them useless or your constantly having to free the pins and overhaul them.

Also the usual TRV's that get fitted, only work at the temperatures present a few inches away from the radiator itself.

So unless you have the rad stuck up your jumper, most people turn them up full in the Winter anyway.
They may be okay to take the chill off rooms you seldom use or to keep a bedroom cool, that way they help comfort control. Its in the main living areas however where people probably want to control the heat the most and its in these areas they probably sit the furthest away from the rad.

You can however get remote sensor's fitted to TRV's they would probably be better. But they are pricey.

However nearly every Guidance document you read says fit TRV's. I can imagine in future they will be a big feature in the HIPS packs, if they aren't already.

A window fitter told me that in future people may get a discount off their Community charge for fitting energy saving measures. So whether you think they are any good or not, it may be worth fitting them or something similar.

Incidentally if you haven't got the cash now, you can always fit them afterwards.

I hope I haven't put you off fitting TRV's I am just trying to put up some ideas as to their drawbacks. There are plenty of people that love them. Incidentally try and make sure they fit them on the flow side of the rads.

 

[ZedTheRed]

Thank you for all the feedback everyone.

My engineer said it was up to me whether I had TRV's fitted but said he installed them at his house with a new boiler and after initially setting them he hasn't touched them since.

I may just leave it for now and have them installed after the boiler has been replaced.

 

[bunny78]

I'd get them fitted, while the combi's getting done he's got to drain down anyway.
If your going from a convential system to a combi will the old valves cope with the new pressurised system?
I'd imagine it will cost you more to get them done at a later date plus you will have to pay for inhibitor twice.