We are fortunate to live in a world where when the weather turns cooler, we simply flick a switch to keep our homes warm. Most of the time we never give a second thought to our central heating systems, and when they break down, we simply call a professional such as this boiler repair Cheltenham based company HPR services and get it sorted out!
Here is a brief guide to the parts of your heating and how it works to keep you warm and snug in the winter…
The Boiler – The heart of the central heating, the boiler is the place where it all starts from. A boiler heats up water, which is then pumped through a network of pipes around your home. The hot water enters the radiators which then heat up to warm your room.
Thermostat in Room – You will find this on a wall in a room in your home. It is used to control the temperature of your home. It has sensors that can detect the air temperature around it and respond by sending a signal to the pump to tell it to start pumping water to the radiators if the temperature needs to be increased.
Radiator Valves – These control the temperatures of individual radiators, so are handy for controlling the temperature in the home according to the room – for example, many people like to keep the bedroom cool for sleeping. A valve in the radiator responds to the turn of the thermostat on the side of the radiator, so will shut of f the water to the radiator when the correct temperature has been reached.
Setting the right temperature at home
Most people are comfortable and healthy with their home heated to roughly 18 to 21 degrees Celsius. Healthy adults who are dressed for the season usually manage well at 18, while homes with a young baby, an elderly relative or someone who is unwell are better kept towards the warmer end. Keeping the heating very low to save on bills can backfire when temperatures drop, as a cold home can affect the health of even a typically healthy household.
If you are going away over winter, resist the urge to switch the system off entirely. Pipes can freeze and burst, and coming home to a flood costs far more to put right than a few days of heating. Setting the thermostat low, at around 10 degrees, keeps the boiler and pipework protected.
Good insulation means the system has less work to do. A well insulated loft and decent windows hold heat in during winter and help keep rooms cooler in summer, so less energy is spent keeping the house comfortable.
Getting more heat from your radiators
Radiators that are cold at the top but warm lower down usually have trapped air. Bleed them when the system is cold by opening the bleed valve to let the air out, with a cloth ready to catch drips.
Radiator output is measured in British Thermal Units, or BTUs. The size you need for a room depends on its floor area, how many outside walls it has and which way it faces, and online calculators can help you work it out. When replacing radiators, check the heat output rather than the physical size, as modern high output radiators can be quite compact.
Placement makes a difference. Keep curtains from covering radiators under windows and move sofas and other furniture away so heat can circulate. On outside walls, reflective radiator foil behind the panel bounces heat back into the room. Better controls help an older system too: thermostatic radiator valves, a wireless thermostat you can move between rooms or app controls all give finer control over where the heat goes.
Swapping a radiator without draining down
A dated radiator can be replaced by a competent DIYer in a few hours, and there is often no need to drain the whole system. That holds as long as the new radiator is roughly the same size and length as the old one and you are not changing the pipework or upstands. Before starting, make sure you know where the stopcock is so you can shut off the water quickly if needed.
To remove the old radiator, close and undo the two valves holding it, then drain the water inside it, with old towels or sheets ready for spills. Count the turns needed to close the lockshield valve, because opening it by the same number later restores the flow balance. Wrap PTFE tape around the adaptor threads before hanging the new radiator to get a watertight seal.
If the real problem is that the system is not heating well, a new radiator may not help. Upgrading the boiler or the controls is usually the better fix, and for major faults a professional will be quicker and the work guaranteed.