Hi all, first timer here, just bought a house and trying to fathom stuff out and fix bits. Previous owners seemed to have either bodged stuff or had no idea how it worked, so its been an interesting few weeks. I have a adopted a potterton boiler (model tbc as I haven't got the details on me right now), it is in the loft with the gravity fed system. There is the classic honeywell timer control in the lounge that I have programmed and seems to light up when expected. There is an HP510n digital programmable thermo in the hall and a basic thermo in the conservatory. All but the hall rads have TRV's. The problem is that the heating comes on and off as and when it deems fit, despite the honeywell control and anything I do to the digital thermostat. I tried programming the digital thermo and it won't hold any programs. I would have thought the honeywell control would override the electronic thermo but it doesn't seem to do it. I can switch the digital stat off and this seems to stop it coming on but other than that it will come on and off at will throughout the day and night and I just got my first gas bill...It wasn't good reading. Any tips on what I need to look at or what test i can do to find the issue? I have tried to call a heating guy but they are all busy for a week and it's driving me nuts. Will have to wait if necessary but wanted to seek some advice here.
Central Heating with mind of its own..
- Thread starter FX123XF
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Newboy
If the thermostat is programmable (in terms of temperature and time) then the central heating at the programmer should be set to constant - the thermostat will control timings and temperature. If the thermostat won't hold any programmes it may be time for a battery change? The conservatory should be on a separate heating zone - be aware that if you want to throw money away then heating a conservatory to a usable temperature in winter is a good way to start!
Post back with a few more details of what equipment you have.
Post back with a few more details of what equipment you have.
Thanks newboy. I changed the battery in the thermostat control. I think the conservatory is managed by the TRV's rather than stat on wall as it looks ancient and hard to even turn. Not an unexpected set up and the norm. The conservatory is definitely being mothballed for now, just had the novelty of it first few weeks as it's a nice space. I'm thinking the electronic thermostat is a dud due to programming issue. I will crawl over the system later and note some more info for posting, to see if that can help. Tried googling the electronic thermostat but no info out there.
Ok, short delay whilst I got round to it but I had a last ditch attempt at working out the electronic thermostat and somehow stumbled across a guide online for another model that had similar buttons/icons to mine. I managed to then successfully program the control and it works now! I do have one more question. Bearing in mind newboy's assistance, I want to get the controls working right. I have set the conservatory TRV's to just take the edge off the cold and will not be using this space for the cold period, I have set the honeywell timer for the heating to permanently on as advised and I will be controlling the heating from the timer on the electronic thermostat. I just want to check the best way to manage the TRV's with the electronic thermostat. Should I have the TRV's at mid point around 3-ish and set the temperature on the thermostat control or have the TRV's higher/lower? Potentially a simple question for many but I just want to do the best for my heat/energy usage until I get the system improved as a whole when we get working on the house.
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Adjusting thermostats and TRVs is a regular question.
The room thermostat has overall control; when it reaches temperature it turns the boiler off, even if a room with a TRV has not reached temperature. So you need to make sure the room with the thermostat is the last to reach temperature. Of course, if the rads have been correctly sized, all rooms should get up to temperature at the same time.
Set the thermostat to, say 21C and the TRVs so the rooms with TRVs are at the temperature you require, this is normally about 4 but it does vary, so some experimentation is required. If you find the thermostat turns the boiler off too early, close down, a bit at a time, the wheel valve on the rad near the thermostat (this rad should not have a TRV). This reduces the output from that rad, so the area heats up slower. Do this until you achieve a balance.
The room thermostat has overall control; when it reaches temperature it turns the boiler off, even if a room with a TRV has not reached temperature. So you need to make sure the room with the thermostat is the last to reach temperature. Of course, if the rads have been correctly sized, all rooms should get up to temperature at the same time.
Set the thermostat to, say 21C and the TRVs so the rooms with TRVs are at the temperature you require, this is normally about 4 but it does vary, so some experimentation is required. If you find the thermostat turns the boiler off too early, close down, a bit at a time, the wheel valve on the rad near the thermostat (this rad should not have a TRV). This reduces the output from that rad, so the area heats up slower. Do this until you achieve a balance.
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