Do I need TRV’s on my radiators?

Having my boiler replaced next week and the plumber doing the work has said he can fit TRV’s to my radiators at the same time if I want. This will add about £200 to the bill and I just wondered what benefit they’ll bring so I can decide if to have them or not.

Any help appreciated.

I’d say not

We have them, PIA and they go wrong (they fail to “off” so no heat) it’s a big ongoing expense to drain the system down to replace them. Ours tend to be used either off or on, we don’t use the intermediate settings so you can achieve the same thing with a normal radiator valve.

Probably not. Just use the supplied knob 🙂

But you do need Radiators on your TVR though.

They’ll help control the heat in every room, rather than relying on the main thermostat(s) that control the whole house (but don’t have TRVs in the same room as the main thermostat).

I think they’re worth having, the return on investment is pretty good I’m not suggesting to get these ones, but it highlights what the return could be

Thanks.

Why shouldn’t we have them in room where thermostat is? I ask as our thermostat is in our lounge which is open plan with the dining room and stairs, have 3 rads in that space.

if the TRVs are set to shut down the radiators at a temperature lower than what the thermostat is set to turn on the heating, your heating will never get switched off ( timer aside ). if they are set higher then the system will get switched off and on as the temperature in the room varies between the ‘on’ setting on the thermostat and the ‘off’ setting on the TRVs.
simplifying a bit, but basically your main living space determines whether the heating is on or not, then tune other rooms down from there. bedrooms tend to be run cooler than the living room etc.

i think. 🙂

They help in certain circumstances like mine. Thermostat is in hallway which is a lot colder than main rooms. Rooms like second bedroom doesn’t need as much heat as say lounge or main bedroom so you can control individually and more sensibly.

What Taff said, I ran my living room on ‘5’ (out of 5), the rest of the house on ‘3’. That way the living room is controlled by the main thermostat/timer which talks to the boiler, as it clicks off before the radiator valve. The rest of the house was regulated by the valves.

Otherwise the heating stayed on untill the living room was warm, which being downstairs by the front door was usualy a long time, by which point all the heat had risen upstairs which was roasting and you had to open a window before going to bed!

.. official answer.. the ‘plumber’ should declare to the manufacturer ( via the warranty/ benchmark document) that he has installed the boiler in accordance with the regs. in doing so he will register it via gas safe as been appropriately installed. so technically the answer is yes..

technically the trvs perform a function that will technically improve your control of the heat in the home.

practically.. do what you want from an informed position.. will you save more than the 200 quid cost.. at todays prices over a ten year period you might just..

How many radiators have you got? They’re about £10 each IIRC
If you have an adjustable spanner and can undo a nut, you can fit ’em yourself. Piece of cake. I certainly wouldn’t pay someone to do it.

They are a good thing.

When in the living room I really don’t give a crap how warm it is in the hallway.

When in the living room I really don’t give a crap how warm it is in the hallway.

Well, if its too warm you’re wasting heat and money….. 😉

thisisnotaspoon – that’s what happens to us now

PeterPoddy – we have 10 radiators but 3 of those are in the living area so presumably I would need 7 TRV’s. Been quoted £16 +VAT per TRV

to be fair 16 quid fitted per trv is CHEAP.. every rad needs one regardless of how many there ae in a romm.. excluding the rad/ rads that are in the same room as the thermostat..as they should definately NOt have trvs on them..

When in the living room I really don’t give a crap how warm it is in the hallway

so turn it off with a normal valve, you don’t need a TRV for that. I only have one fitted and that’s in the bedroom but I’ve since decided I prefer no heating on in there anyway so it’s permanently on off

Regarding “cheap”, upfront perhaps but as I posted when they fail they fail off so the radiator stops working. To replace them you have to drain the whole system, pay the call out charge etc etc.

so turn it off with a normal valve

Good idea. I could go round and adjust all the rooms as the outside temperature varies and the activity within the room changes. That way I could maintain temperature in each room.

Or, better still, I could devise a simple cheap device to do it for me. I think I would call it a thermostatic radiator valve, or TRV for short.

To replace them you have to drain the whole system, pay the call out charge etc etc.

Call out charge to drain the system? Are you on drugs? If you can fit a hose to a tap and turn it on and off, you can drain, and refill, a system. It really is that easy. 🙂

Pick your price. How much do you wanna pay?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p3872.m570.l1313&_nkw=trv&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Freezer kit is the way forward

Snatching is the way forward 😉

Snatching is the way forward

Yup, fast and slick, the only way to go.

(Not for first timers though 🙂 )

Do I need to add inhibitor too if I drain it down an refill it?

My bathroom rad has a slight weep that won’t nip up. Drain below bathroom level then ptfe it?

when i drain down

i fully close all the TRVs except that which im working on.

Yes you need to add inhibitor if you drain down as youll just be filling with tap water again.