What are your boilers controls and how do you use them to make the most of your energy?
A boiler and heating system can come with various different controls.
Knowing how to use these correctly can help you make the most of your boiler such as by maximizing its efficiency.
So, without further ado, let’s take a look at boiler controls and how they work.
Adding New Boiler Controls
Before discussing how to use boiler controls properly, we should mention some controls that you may wish to have added.
There are two particular types of boiler controls we suggest looking into as far as additions go.
Firstly, you may want to have a smart thermostat installed, assuming you don’t already have one. Then, you might also want to consider thermostatic radiator valves.
Having both of these features added to your property might cut your energy bill by somewhere from £75 to £155 a year, according to the Energy Saving Trust.
But how do different boiler controls work exactly?
What are Boiler Controls?
Note: Regardless of what boiler controls you have, you should always turn to the manufacturer’s instructions for a precise guide on how to use them.
In this guide, we’ll be providing a broad overview but exactly how different boiler controls work will vary from household to household.
We’ll now look at how several different types of boiler controls work and how to make the most of them.
Boiler Thermostat
Boilers are generally designed to a) send hot water to radiators as a means of heating various rooms in the property and b) provide hot water for direct use.
Heat-only boilers are an exception to this rule since they (as their name suggests) only heat a home.
However, additional infrastructure would still be used to ensure that the property has direct hot water access.
The purpose of a boiler thermostat is to control the temperature of the direct hot water and your heating for your property.
You can use your thermostat to turn the heating on and off as you wish.
However, it’s also possible to use the timer/programmer to set your heating to come on and off at certain times of the day.
Ideally, your hot water should be set to approximately 60°C. If you have a well-insulated property, it may be safe to set the temperature to 50-55°C.
However, if in doubt, check the manufacturer’s guide or/and consult a professional. Setting hot water temperatures below 50°C can lead to bacterial growth.
Of course, this will differ from the temperature that the hot water will be when exiting your hot water outlets since they have their own temperature settings.
Be sure to use these properly and not have the hot water turned up too high on these actual outlets.
Beyond that, the average property should set their radiators to about 75°C, although this would depend on the sort of property you have and the types of radiators you have.
After all, some properties will have larger low-temperature radiators.
Again, if in doubt, turn to the manufacturer’s guide which will tell you the correct temperatures in your case or/and you could consult a professional.
Room Thermostat
Next up, a room thermostat would be used to determine the actual temperature of the rooms. This will be found on a wall and is likely to be located on the first floor. However, it is unlikely to be close to your boiler.
Households can have an analogue or digital thermostat with the latter being a modern and more accurate choice.
Digital thermostats are growing in popularity due to their various benefits. Of course, analogue thermostats are arguably simpler to use, so that is one of their advantages.
Room thermostats are designed to detect the temperature of the room. Once the room reaches the desired temperature that you’ve set, it will tell your boiler to stop heating up the property.
Once the temperature drops again, it will signal the boiler to fire up again until the desired temperature is reached once more.
This control is important as it ensures your rooms won’t end up too cold or too hot.
That’s one reason among many why it’s important to ensure that your boiler controls are functioning correctly.
After all, rooms that are too cold or too hot may not just be uncomfortable but potentially harmful, especially to the health of those who are elderly, ill, or otherwise vulnerable.
Related thermostat reading:
Depending on the occupants in your home (and those who tend to visit), it’s generally best to set the temperature of your room thermostat to 20°C during the day or approximately 16-19°C at night.
Again, the ideal range will depend on who lives in your home, or even who visits frequently. For more information, check out our ideal room temperature guide which discusses this in more detail.
Related thermostat guides:
Boiler Timer
A boiler timer, also known as a programmer, is a key part of the boiler itself.
Again, exactly how it will work will vary from boiler to boiler, so do check the manufacturer’s manual for specific guidance.
A boiler timer/programmer lets you decide when your boiler will turn on and off ahead of time.
This way, you could set your boiler to turn on shortly before you get up in the morning or when you arrive home from work.
There are several specific controls that tend to be found on a boiler timer/programmer. The auto control will allow your heating and hot water to turn on and off when you’ve programmed to per the timer.
Then there will be a button reading ‘On’ or ‘24hrs’. This control would keep your heating and hot water on continually.
We do not recommend using this option unless there is a good reason to, and you are sure it is safe.
Moreover, using this control could send your bills skyrocketing beyond their current heights.
Alternatively, the ‘Off’ control will simply keep your heating and hot water off until you switch to another control.
Lastly, certain boilers come with a booster button. This control would enable your boiler to be boosted outside of the times you’ve set for the hot water or heating to come on.
All in all, though, whether or not these controls will be found on your boiler, how they work, and how you should use them can depend on the boiler.
So, to repeat the mantra, check the manufacturer’s instructions if you’re unsure of anything.
Thermostatic Radiator Valves
Last but certainly not least, if you have thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) added to your radiators, you’ll have the ability to control the temperature of individual rooms.
TRVs are generally added to each radiator in a property to maximise control.
Depending on their design, a TRV may come with the numbers 1 through 5. These are effective dials that would allow you to increase or decrease the temperature of that specific radiator.
Of course, what exact temperature this would translate to would depend on the temperature of the hot water reaching the radiator, to begin with.
But, in general, if you set a TRV on a radiator to the middle-range number 3, you’d likely end up with a room temperature of about 20°C, which in most cases, would be the perfect temperature.
TRVs can be used to save energy in many ways. While we do not recommend turning off radiators in unused rooms, you may want to lower their TRVs down to 1 as a means of cutting back on your energy bills.
Whether or not lowering your unused radiators’ TRVs will work would depend on various factors.
Moreover, the reasons why it’s probably best not to turn off unused radiators completely are complicated and deserve an article in its own right… which is why we wrote one on that very subject.
