Room stat location question.

[Mottie]

I was talking to my friend that I walk with this morning and saying that our fixed price dual fuel contract that I’d just got was £127 a month (two of us in a 3 bed semi) and she says she pays over £200 a month for her gas and electric. She lives on her own in a detached bungalow with a roof conversion. Never has the heating on upstairs, rarely goes in the lounge and spends most of her day in the large kitchen-diner. She has stored hot water. She tells me she has her thermostat (a wireless one) in the hall but she has no radiators in the hall!

I said she should move the room stat to the kitchen-diner or the lounge whenever she is in those rooms. She believes that will make no difference. Who is right?

 

[jeff the gasman]

You are.

 

[stem]

The positioning of the room thermostat is critical to the correct operation of the system. However, it will only save energy when it switches off the heating once the set room temperature is reached thus preventing the property wasting energy by overheating it. If it's a poorly insulated property, or your friend doesn't find it too hot already, don't expect massive savings when the thermostat is moved. Sometimes there isn't a perfect location, so some compromise may be required, but here are some tips:

The room thermostat should be in a room that is not effected by other sources of heat such as an open fire, cooking equipment, or direct sunlight etc. It should not be somewhere draughty or too close to a window, especially if it's one that is opened in the winter.

It should be in a cool room, ideally the last room to warm up. That way the other rooms will be warm enough, (but not overheated if fitted with TRV’s) before the room thermostat switches the entire heating system off.

In should be in a room with a radiator that does not have a TRV fitted (or if it does, the TRV head should be removed or set to Max). Otherwise the TRV could interfere with the correct operation of the room thermostat.

The thermostat should be mounted about 1.5 metres from the floor, and not close to, or above a radiator.

Preferably it should not be on an outside wall, (although if you have well insulated walls, this is not quite so crucial.)

It should be in an area where air can circulate easily, not in a corner, or hidden behind curtains, or furniture.