Anyone know anything about wireless central heating stuff?

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Anyone know anything about wireless central heating stuff?

33 posts & 19 voices | Started 8 months ago by stumpy01 | Latest reply from andyl

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stumpy01 - Member

We moved into a new (to us) house in Feb and want to get the radiators replaced before winter sets in. They are the original radiators from when the system was installed; heavy, slimline things that get bloody hot, but don't seem to radiate particularly well.
My OH's dad is a retired plumber reckons they are long lasting & reliable radiators, but were never particularly effective.He's gonna spec up replacement radiators & fit them for us. He's already got us the dining room one as we've recently re-decorated the room so had the radiator off for that.

Anyway, he mentioned wireless control systems to us, as something we should consider. I think he retired before they were particularly mainstream or popular so knows very little about them though.
I was hoping to work it all out from a bit of online research, but haven't found much to help.
As I understand it we can replace the controller with a wireless thermostat controller, which would be a simple, fairly cheap option. This would work like a normal timed controller, and the thermostat can be put in any room you want and communicates wirelessly.
But, there also seem to be zoned heating control systems where each zone has a thermostat & motorised TRVs that automatically adjust to keep to the set-point of the thermostat. Each zone can have multiple on/off cycles and can be set to different temps.
I also saw mentioned somewhere that if this is linked in with a boiler controller, then when the TRVs aren't requesting heat, the boiler is shut down.

Anyone know if these systems are any good and how simple they are to install? I don't really wanna be ripping walls out and stuff, but presumably this isn't required due to the wireless nature of it all?

How much would we be looking at for a house install? We've got 4 bedrooms & a bathroom upstairs, with kitchen, dining room, living room & loo downstairs all with radiators in, plus there's a radiator downstairs in the hall & upstairs on the landing.

I thought there would be kits that would suit varying house sizes and it would just be a case of finding one that suits, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Any help/links/info would be appreciated!

Posted 8 months ago #
bristolbiker - Member

Get a man who knows to come and have a look - it'll save time and hastle. If it's simply a case a of changing the boiler control module and adding a simple single wireless thermostat, then it's going to be ~£100 or so......after that you are into how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/how much do you want to pay/what is compatible with your existing boiler.

Posted 8 months ago #
mastiles_fanylion - Member

I can't see how they can be zoned if they are all being fed from the same source (but you could fit TRVs to each rad).

But the wireless remotes are very good - much easier to effectively control room temperature.

EDIT:

& motorised TRVs that automatically adjust to keep to the set-point of the thermostat.

I didn't see that bit and have never heard of them - sound a great idea though.

Posted 8 months ago #
CHB - Member

We had a new system installed this year.
I went with a single wireless room stat, which is brilliant and really easy to programme. I then had regular TRV's fitted to each radiator as previously there were none.
I spent the first week or so adjusting the TRV's in each room to get the right temp, since then its just run itself.
I think the more expensive systems are justified in VERY large houses, or in houses where you only want to heat one half of the house one day, but the full house the next. In our house, all the rooms are used every day, so having a consistent temp was desirable.
The room controller for us was about £80-90, and the TRVs about £20 each. (The total cost including new WB Boiler was £1700)

Posted 8 months ago #
geoffj - Member

I installed a wireless stat last year in a system the same as yours. The main advantage for us is that you can have different temps at different times - not just on/off at different times.

Our system is such that we can use the wireless controller or the existing system - confuses the hell out of Mrs J, but it *really* is a simple concept to grasp. Wireless downstairs, traditional stat upstairs.

The main reason I wanted to install it was that the existing wall stat is in the room with the wood burner. By placing the wireless stat in another part of the house, I can turn off most of the rads in the living room but still know that the rest of the house isn't freezing up.

My polish builder/plumber/solar installer friend did the thinking and installation and it works great

One of these

Honeywell CMT927 Wireless 7 Day Programmable Room Thermostat

Comes with Party Mode

Posted 8 months ago #
geordiemick00 - Member

I used to be a Specification Salesman for Honeywell and wireless CH is the dogs danglies! I ~~stole~~, sorry, forgot to give back some samples and zoned my house using CM Zone kit. The frequency honeywell patent is unique to them , FIFO (fast in fast out) and doesn't clash with anything like door bells, WiFi etc and is ultra reliable and used in other products such as CCTV, Security and life critical systems.

The wireless range is pretty strong too, I've tested systems in houses which have huge thick walls and ten bedrooms and managed to locate the transmitter in a place where all TRV's still got good signal. When you buy the kit lay it all out in each room and test before you fit, if it don't work they'll still be saleable, they won't if you fit them to the rads and then discover.

I had a four bed detached house and it meant I could zone the house so in winter only the room I was working in was heated and I wasn't paying to heat the rest of the house. You won't save massive amounts on your bills but the boiler works less to only heat one zone than a whole house.

I'd remove all your radiators, flush them through with hose pipe, but back on and re-fill system with furnox and new TRV's and you'll feel difference.

Posted 8 months ago #
Harry_the_Spider - Member

We had a CMT927 put in last year. Very easy to use.

Approx £100 to buy it and £60 to have it fitted. It paid for itself 3 times over with the fuel rebate that we got*!

*The old system was utter bobbins though.

Posted 8 months ago #
DrRSwank - Member

I've got a single wireless unit and it is great. It's paired with a combi boiler which is then set to be constantly on - just providing demand heating from the thermostat.

It works really well and keeps the house toasty warm.

I've set it with different temperature profiles during the day so the house never gets very cold.

It also has some cool features such as holiday settings where it halves the normal required temps, and also a minimum temp where it kicks in to stop your pipes freezing.

Very easy to use and means all the program controls are in the room with the thermostat rather then having to fiddle with the boiler controls seperately.

TRVs on all the rads (modern units) mean I can control temperature really well in all rooms.

It's saving me around 40% on my gas bills.

Posted 8 months ago #
geordiemick00 - Member

the CMT927 is an excellent bit of kit, has party function so you can temporarily override the temperature for a bit, holiday function to switch everything off for a period of time and then resume normal cycles for you coming back and the unit once fitted learns how to 'ramp up', so for example if you want the room to be 23 degrees at 7am it learns how long the room typically takes to warm up and in due course will set the timer to put the heating on just long enough to get the room to temperature for the selected time.

I used to get a lot of technical calls from people saying the heating came on at 6am when they set it for 7am and it was just the system learning what ramp up times it needed.

Posted 8 months ago #
mastiles_fanylion - Member

It's saving me around 40% on my gas bills.

No idea what ours (as in specifically the remote unit) is saving (as we had a boiler fitted at the same time) but the graph on our account shows a remarkable reduction in gas used even though we now have two young 'uns so keep the house warmer than we did. And our monthly DD has been reduced by about 40% too due to the savings we are making.

Posted 8 months ago #
Flaperon - Member

Would love to properly zone my place but it's rented, so have stuck with thermostatic radiator valves and fitted a Heatmiser wireless thermostat to the boiler. Seems to work fine, and the place doesn't cook like it ran on a traditional timer.

Main advantage is that the temperature can be allowed to fall at night, but can be toasty again in the morning.

Posted 8 months ago #
TheFunkyMonkey - Member

these are supposed to be good, not cheap mind

http://www.bhl.co.uk/product/ETRV_Electronic_Thermostatic_Radiator_Valve

Posted 8 months ago #
Stoner - Member

CMT927

I have two: one controlling underfloor heating downstairs and one upstairs for the rads with TRVs.

just excellent bit of kit.

Posted 8 months ago #
pedalhead - Member

We've just moved into an old house (250 years old) with thick walls. The boiler is meant to be really good, and we have a wireless thermostat. Only problem is, the thermostat can only communicate with the boiler in one room due to the thick walls of the house. Idea, defeated.

Posted 8 months ago #
cinnamon_girl - Member

What a timely thread, literally!

I want to replace and re-site a central heating control unit and was advised in a plumbing merchants that wireless RT's are the way to go. He also said that companies are reducing their range as the RT's are deemed more energy efficient.

I've had TRV's put on everything as not all the rooms in the house will get used.

Have come away feeling totally confused!!

Posted 8 months ago #
ransos - Member

I have the Honeywell stat too - and the optimum start is a really neat feature. I also like being able to set it to come back on the day we return from holiday. It's easy to install yourself, too.

What it can't do is zone the house to have different rooms or floors heated at different times. For example, you might want to have the bedrooms unheated until shortly before you go to bed.

Programmable TRVs would allow you to do this, and save the hassle of having all of your plumbing re-done.

Posted 8 months ago #
SkillWill - Member

Just received my Honeywell 927 in the post about an hour ago following a thread on here last week! I don't currently have any thermostat, just TRVs in every room so the boiler is either on or off. To cool it down I have to change individual TRVs or turn the boiler off, very much looking forward to having this programmable system.

That's assuming I can wire in the relay to the boiler without breaking everything...!

Posted 8 months ago #
pedalhead - Member

Those programmable TRVs look interesting...but, I would guess there's a conflict between the TRVs and the main thermostat for the boiler? Eg, if the thermostat is downstairs and you only want the bedrooms heated at night, presumably the boiler will just keep firing all night or until it can reach the thermostat temp downstairs..?

Posted 8 months ago #
stumpy01 - Member

Blimey - thanks for all the replies.

The Honeywell controller (CMT927) does keep coming up as a good one to go for. I think we will go for that and get new TRVs on all of the other radiators when we replace them. All of them currently are fitted with them (except the one in the bathroom, which I think is correct) but they are all a mish mash of types and we don't know how long they've been on for and how well they work etc.

If at a later date, we wanted to get some motorised TRVs, is this something that the Honeywell controller could handle? I.e. is it something we could buy now that we would then be able to expand on if we deem it necessary to make the system even more configurable in future?
I think standard TRVs will do the job to be honest, but I'd like to get something that can be added to if needed.

geordiemick00 is this the kind of thing you have?
http://www.buyaparcel.com/pageview.php?page=show_product&ecommerce_stockcode=YZ667A1060
I'd need to buy 2 more controllable valves, to get it fully automated. We've got 5 radiators downstairs (2 in living room, 1 in dining room, 1 in hall & 1 in loo) and 5 upstairs (1 per bedroom & 1 on landing), plus the one in the bathroom that we wouldn't run with a TRV on.
Extra radiator controllers look to be about £75 so the full system cost would be £800. Hmmm. That's looking a bit fruity for my liking!

Posted 8 months ago #
Harry_the_Spider - Member

Just received my Honeywell 927 in the post about an hour ago following a thread on here last week! I don't currently have any thermostat, just TRVs in every room so the boiler is either on or off. To cool it down I have to change individual TRVs or turn the boiler off, very much looking forward to having this programmable system.

That's assuming I can wire in the relay to the boiler without breaking everything...!

That was how our system was configured before we got the 927. Are you going to book a week in Ibiza with the money you save?

We got a local plumber to put it in. It took about an hour.

Posted 8 months ago #
stumpy01 - Member

pedalhead - Member
Those programmable TRVs look interesting...but, I would guess there's a conflict between the TRVs and the main thermostat for the boiler? Eg, if the thermostat is downstairs and you only want the bedrooms heated at night, presumably the boiler will just keep firing all night or until it can reach the thermostat temp downstairs..?

I was wondering whether you end up with any conflicts too. With the wireless zone systems do you still have an overall thermostat like you do with the more simple wireless controller systems? I am guessing not, as the programmable TRVs effectively become the thermostats and shut off when the temp for that room is achieved.
EG. in your scenario, I think you would program all the TRVs so at night, the downstairs is set to 16 deg. or so from 11pm-6am, while the bedrooms are set for 20 deg. or so from 10pm until 7am. At the required times, the individual TRVs will control the temp as programmed per room. There will be no overall thermostat causing a conflict....?? Perhaps!?

I saw one system yesterday that also linked in with your boiler, so if there was no demand from any TRV (i.e. all rooms were at set point) the system would turn the boiler off too.
I wondered how this would interfere if you wanted your hot water to be on, but the TRVs were saying they didn't need any heat. Presumably the controller would override the TRV command to shut the boiler off, until the hot water was to temperature?

It all seems pretty straightforward once you know what it is the systems do, but finding the information seems to be a bit hit & miss.

Great input so far though!!

Posted 8 months ago #
SkillWill - Member

Are you going to book a week in Ibiza with the money you save?

We got a local plumber to put it in. It took about an hour.

I shall fritter it on fruity Ukrainian hookers like all my spare cash.

Posted 8 months ago #
pedalhead - Member

stumpy, that would make sense...not having a separate thermostat & leaving the TRVs to do their work. All the rads in our new place already have TRVs so I'm gonna look into this a bit further...

Posted 8 months ago #
cinnamon_girl - Member

Apologies for thread revival but do hope everyone is nice and warm this Winter!

I've had TRVs installed everywhere, apart from two rads in lounge, and central heating programmer is currently situated in the airing cupboard within an upstairs bedroom. Really sensible not!

Am intending to have a new one put in the kitchen, by the boiler, but in the meantime the thermostat in the lounge has now broken. So, thinking about a wireless thermostat, is this a good idea please?

As always, thank you so much.

Posted 4 months ago #
Bear - Member

just put a prog room stat in place of the existing room stat, turn central heating channel onto continuos and leave hot water programmed as normal.

Posted 4 months ago #
cinnamon_girl - Member

Thanks Bear for your reply. Presumably all I need is a basic one as, as much as I like the idea of programming TRVs, it just gets too darn expensive!

Posted 4 months ago #
Bear - Member

where abouts are you CG?

Honeywell CM901 should be around £50. You will pay around £30 for a standard wireless version. The way I suggested is not ideal but a very easy way of upgrading to programmable. you could wire it yourself in place of the existing stat or get a friend to help you.

Posted 4 months ago #
andyl - Member

+1 for the Honeywell CMT927.

Just ha done delivered to go with the WB 30CDI I'm putting in my flat. Shame I will be renting it out and not living with it as the system in the farmhouse I am moving into has lots of leaks and an old heating system

Glad the honeywell is well regarded. Was about 1/2 the price of the comparable WB controller and the party and holiday buttons would be handy for me. Hope the people who live there appreciate it!

Posted 4 months ago #
mark walker - Member

from experience wireless room stats and programmers are ok for a short period,but hard wire one are the best and last fot years ,trust me i fit loads of each but always recommend the hard wire,money well spent .

Posted 4 months ago #
andyl - Member

I would have fitted wired but there didn't seem to be a comparable wired one to the CMT927 or WB optimiser one.

Posted 4 months ago #
Bear - Member

not had any problem with the wireless, likewise fit loads but don't seem to have any problem.

Andy L - don't put a wireless one in a rental, the unit will go walk about.

Now farmhouses and heating systems that sounds like a good project. Pellet boiler?

Posted 4 months ago #
totalshell - Member

fit two or three to new systems every week have only fitted a couple as retro fits though. there simples to fit no wires!! wiring into the control board from the mains can sometimes be a faff but all done in less than an hour no mater how much of a faff.
i exclusively quote for the salus 7 day programmable wireless thermostat they cost 42 quid trade plus vat ( ish off the top of my head) you ll need about a foot of 5 core cable and fuse spur to take your power from.. easy..( 5 amp fuse only req in the fuse spur dont put any bigger in or the pcb fuse will go first..)

Posted 4 months ago #
andyl - Member

Rental farmhouse unfortunately

Wireless one will be gripfilled to the wall! The honeywell controller luckly has a simple front flap behind the main one for the batteries so no need to remove the front or the whole unit to replace them. And it keeps the memory with the batteries out.

Friend of mine recently moved into a flat with a newish Valliant boiler and matching wireless controller. She couldn't work out why the controller wasn't working so I suspected the previous tenant had removed the batteries and yup after carefully removing the whole facia there was none.

Posted 4 months ago #

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