boiler thermostats

Using a qualified condensing boiler and a proper set of controls/thermostats may help to you save up to 30 or 40% in your fuel heating bills.

Heating controls

The heating controls of a boiler system (basically a set of thermostats) will allow you to choose the heating times, the temperatures and where you want the heating. Those controls will turn the boiler on and off when it needs to be, and they consist on:

- a boiler thermostat;
- a programmable room thermostat (or a time programmer and a non-programmable room thermostat);
- a cylinder thermostat (if your system uses a hot water cylinder...)
- TRVs: Thermostatic Radiator Valves;

Boiler thermostat

Typically, most boilers have a thermostat to control the temperature of the hot water flowing from pipes to the radiators. The correct setting of the boiler thermostat is High in the winter and Low in the summer.

Programmable room thermostat

A programmable room thermostat is a key element on your fuel savings strategy. When associated with the boiler system, it will let you choose the times when the hot water come on and go off, heating your home only as and when necessary.

To attain that goal the programmable thermostat will constantly measure the current temperature in order to switch on or off the central hot water heating system. Usually, programmable thermostats are located in the hall, landing areas, stairs or other areas where they can sense the average room temperature.

See, for details on programming and built-in settings: Built-in Settings in Programmable Thermostat

Time programmer

Instead of a room programmable thermostat you may have a time programmer and a common non-programmable thermostat.

Cylinder thermostat

A cylinder thermostat switches the heat supply from the boiler on and off in order to keep the water at the desired temperature.

If your boiler system has a cylinder, and if it doesn’t have a thermostat, installing it could save you some fuel and money, and also some dozens of pounds of CO2 per year.

Thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs)

Thermostatic radiator valves, as the name suggests, are thermostat-family devices able to sense the air temperature around them in order to regulate the flow of hot water entering the radiators and to set the desired temperature in each room. To attain that – and to help you save money and fuel – they allow you to set different temperatures (lower or higher) in different rooms, and eventually to turn off the heating in non-used rooms.

If your radiators do not have TRVs, installing them can save you fuel and money, and avoid pollution...

Note: typical TRVs can’t turn the boiler off or on; you will need a (programmable) room thermostat as well.

Boiler System Settings

Do not forget: lowering a thermostat by just one degree can save you between 500 and 100 USD dollars per year. So, do not set your hot water cylinder thermostat higher than 140°F/60°C.

Insulation

If your tank is not insulated (or if the current jacket thickness is insufficient) use a 175mm/3 inches thick hot water jacket around it. Annual savings will be higher than its cost.

You should also insulate your hot water pipes and central heating system, namely the pipes between your boiler and the cylinder.

See: Ducts sealing, Pipes insulation, Basics on Home Insulation