Programmer (timer)

You may regulate when you’re heating and managing hot water turn on and off settings using a timer or programme.

This is advantageous since it allows you to schedule your central heating to sync up with how your house is used. You can set the heating system to turn off at certain times if you're not home or don't need it to be heated at night.

• Single channel- For use with combi boilers. As hot water is only available when it is needed, this solely regulates central heating.
• Two-channel boilers can regulate the heating and hot water in a single zone, or they can control the heating in two distinct zones (for example, upstairs and downstairs), using combi boilers.
• Three channel - for system or conventional boilers, managing two distinct heating zones and hot water.

Programmable room thermostats

You may set various temperatures for various times of the day with a programmable room thermostat, which combines time and temperature settings in one device. Instead of using a single programmer for the entire house, some heating systems may employ two programmable thermostats (one upstairs and one below).

Thermostats

These keep your house from heating up more than it needs to. When the room reaches the temperature you've set, they turn on the heating, then turn it off until the temperature falls.

Room thermostats require a free flow of air to sense temperature; as a result, they shouldn't be positioned near heat sources that could cause them to read temperatures incorrectly, or be blocked by furniture or drapes.

The lowest comfortable setting on your room's thermostat should be between 18 and 21 degrees Celsius. The heating expense will go up by around 10% for every degree you raise the temperature if you only have one room thermostat for the entire house.

Thermostatic Radiator Valves

In contrast to conventional boiler controls, thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) regulate the flow of hot water through the radiator to which they are attached. They function by detecting the surrounding air's temperature. The valve will slightly close if the room is warmer than the TRV's temperature setting, lowering the amount of hot water flowing into the radiator. The valve opens to allow more hot water to flow into the radiator if the ambient temperature is lower than the TRV's setting.

TRVs can be turned clockwise or counterclockwise to change their settings. Normally, they are marked with a scale from 0 to 6, with 0 denoting off and 6 denoting fully open. Choose the lowest level that will maintain the desired temperature in the room. Lower settings use less energy and save you money by reducing the amount of hot water that is produced. TRVs can also be used to totally switch off the radiator in a room when no one is in it or to keep the temperature at a set minimum to keep the space just warm enough to keep mould from growing.

Hot Water Thermostats (cylinder thermostats)

Hot water cylinders were previously heated without regard to time or temperature whenever the heating was on. If you don't already have one, installing a hot water cylinder thermostat could help you use less energy to heat water.

The thermostat keeps the cylinder from heating up more than it should. The heat feed from the boiler will be cut off once the water reaches the desired temperature. The water won't heat up any faster by turning the thermostat up.

Typically, cylinder thermostats are installed halfway up to three quarters of the way up the cylinder. The recommended setting for their marked temperature scales is between 60°C and 65°C. Although this is hot enough to scorch skin, it is also hot enough to kill hazardous bacteria in the water.

Smart Heating Controls

Smart heating controls, which are more advanced central heating management systems perform all of the functions of traditional controls, utilising a programmer (timer) to regulate when the heating is on or off and thermostats to regulate the temperature in your home. Smart controls, on the other hand, have an internet connection and provide greater capability.

• Time and temperature controls that are simple to operate and have user-friendly interfaces make it easier to inspect and adjust the heating and hot water system on/off times.
• Enabling you to adjust the temperature and turn the system on or off when away from home using your smartphone.
• Utilize "geo-fencing" on your smartphone to keep track of your whereabouts. The heating system will start up when you get home from work and heat the house or provide hot water in time for your arrival.

Even if you don't think you'll use features like geo-fencing, having a system that can figure out your routines and change schedules to reduce energy use requires relatively little input from you once the system is set up. Your lifestyle and the way you now manage your heating will determine whether or not smart heating controls will save you money.

Weather Compensation

Lower boiler thermostat settings utilise less energy, which could help you save money and cut down on carbon emissions. You might lower the boiler's thermostat when the weather is mild and still feel comfortable. To ensure that your home can get warm enough when it gets colder, the boiler thermostat might need to be raised once again. This is automatically done by a weather compensator, which gauges the ambient temperature and modifies the boiler thermostat's setting as necessary.

Load Compensation

The house could be very cold before the heating switches on. The boiler thermostat can be raised to raise the water temperature delivered to your radiators and therefore swiftly heat your home. A radiator's ability to quickly heat a space depends on its temperature. The temperature may only need to be raised a few degrees. You run the risk of overheating your home if you heat a room too quickly with the boiler thermostat still set high and the radiators still very hot. In order to prevent overheating of the boiler, a load compensator compares the internal air temperature to the temperature that is set on your room thermostat.

Programmable TRVs

Like regular TRVs, these are temperature controls for individual radiators, but they also have timing controls. They enable you to only heat a room when you want to by allowing you to arrange each radiator to turn on at a different time. You can create a new zone for each room by connecting some models to smart heating controls through Wi-Fi.

Boiler Interlock

You should have a programmer, a room thermostat, and a cylinder thermostat if you have a system or conventional boiler with a hot water cylinder. These devices should be linked together to form a "boiler interlock," which causes the boiler to shut off when the heating and hot water thermostats reach their predetermined temperatures. The boiler can keep running even when no heat is needed if there is no interlock. Building regulations mandate the interlocking of all new and replacement systems.

Zone Controls

The majority of homes seek to heat various spaces at various times of the day. Individual radiators can be turned on and off at different times by using TRVs to accomplish this, but many people never get around to it.

By using separate heating circuits for each area of the house, each with its own time schedule, zone control automatically takes care of this for you. There are typically two zones here—one above and one downstairs, however there could be more. For instance, homes with underfloor heating may occasionally have a room thermostat for each room, essentially creating a zone for each room.