One of the simplest and most effective ways to save energy and money on your heating bills is by fitting your radiator with a TRV (Thermostatic Radiator Valve). These clever radiator regulating TRVs make your heating system much more receptive to the surrounding room temperature, allowing you to reap the benefits of precision-honed heating around your home.
In the UK, a staggering 80% of homes are heated using wet central heating systems - mainly by use of a boiler - and as many as 8 million of these homes don't make valuable use of Thermostatic Radiator Valves.
With this in mind, Eco Wizard is going to explore how TRVs have the potential to create a more energy efficient living space that could save you money during a cost of living crisis and beyond.
What Are Thermostatic Radiator Valves?
Thermostatic radiator control valves are essentially self-regulating temperature control valves that can be fitted to a household radiator. TRVs allow you to accurately control and adjust radiator heating requirements in each room of your home, giving you temperatures that are tailored to the size and individual requirements of each room. You'll be able to set the temperature on your TRV, and once it's reached the desired value, the internal sensors will kick in and prevent hot water from circulating into the radiator.
How Do Thermostatic Radiator Valves Work?
They work by altering the hot water flow into your radiator. When the room temperature becomes too warm, a valve head component will expand to close it, slowing or preventing hot water from entering the radiator entirely. If the room becomes too cold, the reverse will occur, with contraction of the valve allowing hot water to enter the radiator again.
At Eco Wizard, we supply cutting edge Smart TRVs, taking your energy saving potential to new heights. Not only will you be able to control your thermostatic radiator control valve via your Smart Home system from anywhere in and out of your home, you'll also benefit from more sophisticated functions like automatic valve adaptation, an open window detection function, a frost and limescale protection function and more.
Should I Buy A Thermostatic Radiator Valve?
Yes. On the whole, TRVs are highly beneficial to saving on energy use, particularly when installed in every room of your home. There will be exceptions in regards to certain rooms, and you should always follow the instructions provided, but you could enjoy significant energy saving benefits when installing TRVs.
What Are The Energy Saving Benefits Of TRVs?
"The average energy saving potential for TRVs in homes is 18% of the heating costs", according to BEAMA - the UK trade association for manufacturers and providers of energy infrastructure technologies and systems. This data is the result of tests carried out by the University of Salford and commissioned by BEAMA.
External temperatures were recorded at different intervals in heating scenarios where TRVs were used and then removed in order to establish energy savings. Bearing in mind that the average outdoor temperature in the UK is around 7.6oC, the tests concluded that the energy saving potential you could expect to see is around 18%. For temperatures typical with the low autumn average of around 12oC, customers who consider buying a thermostatic radiator valve could expect energy savings of as much as 28%.
What We Offer...
Once connected to the UG600 Universal Gateway, our Salus TRV10RFM iT600 Smart Radiator Control Valve allows you to accurately control your room radiator heating and temperature from anywhere, in and out of your home, via the Smart Home app or other convenient Salus Smart Controls around your home.
You can easily set it up thanks to the wireless pairing function for smart radiator control which comes with a mini-size thermostatic radiator valve controller using ZigBee wireless communication. This ultra modern TRV also comes with manual on/off buttons, LED status indication, lockable buttons and an optional mounting ring.