Worcester FW100 Compensator/Controller - Not Happy!

[Wicked]

I have a Worcester Greenstar Cdi boiler which has the FW100 attached to the front and is linked to a sensor on a north facing wall in order to tell the system the external temperature. According to Worcester, this would save money on heating. The boiler is fitted in the back bedroom in the space that was formally a tank. I do not have any internal thermostat apart from those that are on the radiators.

I find that the boiler is not giving me heat when it might be needed or shutting down when I am too hot. It seems to me that the darn thing is using outside temperatures to work out internal heating and getting it wrong. I am now thinking of asking someone to come in and get rid of it. A friend has a Center EHE 0200361 working his boiler and can carry it around the house to set the temperature to whatever he wants for the part of the house where he actually is.

Would I be wise to ditch the FW100 in favour of the Center & what would be a reasonable price for an engineer to charge to do this? (That is assuming that I let him keep the FW100 for use elsewhere. Alternatively, what would be a fair price if I kept the FW100 for re-use in the event that the Center proves unreliable)?

 

[D_Hailsham]

The boiler's heating curve has not been correctly adjusted. This determines the relationship between outside temperature and water temperature. The installer should do this.

 

[Wicked]

The boiler's heating curve has not been correctly adjusted. This determines the relationship between outside temperature and water temperature. The installer should do this.

When installed, I found that things were not right and phoned Worcester and they gave me instructions to alter there min & max settings for external temperatures - which I duly did as they talked me through it. I don't know if this is what you mean by 'heating curve'?

Anyway, what I find is that the boiler takes the external temperature from the sensor and then is supposed to do clever stuff and work out what temperature to run the heating system. However, what I am finding is that let us say the external temperature is 5C and the weather is calm, that the house tends to get too warm. Then, on another day, we could have the same external temperature of 5C but if the wind is blowing - as it was last week, then the house is too cold. So, it would appear that it is not just a simple matter of the thing knowing the outside temperature and then getting the central heating to heat the house correctly but it needs to take account of wind strength - which it clearly has no way of knowing.

 

[D_Hailsham]

How well is the house insulated - walls, roof, windows?

 

[Gasguru]

You've got TRVs fitted to the radiators...if they are in free air to detect the room air temperature AND they are working AND set to the correct position the rooms will not overheat. You set the weather comp curve for the worst case ie. when the wind is blowing to ensure a sufficient radiator temperature.

Carrying the room thermostat around the house is not the way they are intended to work since there will be a conflict between the stat target temperature and the TRV setting. Manufacturers know that many installers are too lazy to balance radiators and screw the stat to the wall so they provide silly stands for them that just encourages incorrect use by home owners.

 

[Agile]

If that control is the one that I think it is, then it has a setting to adjust the proportion of inside and outside temperature that it uses as a reference. In my view one of the best on the market!

Obviously you are complaining about a very good control just because you dont know how to use it and have not had your boiler serviced and the unit set up and its operation explained to you by an engineer.

Tony

 

[Wicked]

Many thanks to all of you for your responses. From what you are saying, it seems that I am not using it properly or it has not be set up correctly and that it is highly rated.

When it was fitted - along with the new boiler - about 5 years ago, the guy said that he had never fitted one of these before & quite honestly, I don't think he knew much about it*. (I had requested it based on what I had read on the Worcester web site). * He was a Worcester accredited installer.

The boiler has been maintained every year since fitting. The house dates from 1932 & is a semi with brick outer skin & cavity walls - which I refuse to insulate as I have heard of problems with damp in some properties where the air gap has been filled. The loft does have a good layer of insulation. All windows are double glazed.

I have viewed and made myself familiar with the instructions given in the Worcester video for the FW100. (Perhaps this video is not explaining all I need to know)?
http://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/ho...4-Wave-and-boiler-controls-videos?video_id=27