Thermostat Settings And Zoning

What this is

Most homes have more control than they use. A room thermostat sets the target for the space it sits in, a programmer sets when the system may run at all, and radiator valves set how much each individual room takes. Zoning simply means letting those three work together so heat goes where people are rather than everywhere at once.

Telling whether your home needs it

Rooms that are noticeably hotter than others, windows opened in winter to cool a room down, or heating that runs at full output in an empty house are the common signs. So is a thermostat that has never been moved from the setting it arrived with, or one mounted somewhere that misreads the house, such as directly above a radiator or in a draughty hall.

What the job involves

Start by finding the lowest setting that is genuinely comfortable, and change it in small steps rather than large ones, giving the house a day to settle between changes. Set the programmer to the hours the rooms are used, allowing lead time for the building to warm rather than switching on at the moment it is needed. Then use the radiator valves to hold bedrooms and unused rooms lower than living space.

Things to watch

Do not fit a thermostatic valve to the radiator in the same room as the wall thermostat, because the two will work against each other. Leave at least one radiator without a thermostatic valve so the system always has somewhere to send water. In rooms with poor air movement, holding the temperature very low for long periods can encourage condensation on cold surfaces.