Are You Wasting Energy and Money on your Old Thermostat?
Posted on September 14, 2015
Heating-element thermostats are important for both heating costs and comfort indoors. Here’s how to check and replace malfunctioning thermostats.
A thermostat can be likened to a brain that reacts to temperature changes in your room and adjusts the heating after the temperature you set.
The thermostat’s job is to keep the set temperature as constant as possible.
In a hydronic heating system heating is usually controlled via outdoor or indoor sensors that communicate directly with the house’s main heat source. If the house is heated with radiators, each radiator in turn features a valve that controls the inflow of hot water for warming: either a conventional control valve or a thermostatic valve that senses the temperature of the room
A working thermostat shuts off the hot water in the radiator when the room temperature is sufficient. A higher flow rate means that the entire radiator surface has a higher temperature and thus the room temperature is higher.
The pros and the cons…
The advantage of thermostatic valves is that you can get a more flexible heating in different rooms. Meanwhile, thermostats generally have a much shorter lifespan than the radiators.
A malfunctioning thermostat can cause the room to become too hot and that itself will result in unnecessary energy being used.
One sign that the thermostat is not working is that the radiator is constantly very hot or cold no matter how you set it.
Changing the thermostat is one of many ways to streamline the building’s energy use. How much efficiency is difficult to estimate, but generally, it may be about 5-15 percent.
Even in houses heated by direct electricity, there are very good reasons to review the thermostats on electric radiators. In this case, a change from old models to modern electronic thermostats streamline warming significantly, while improving comfort.
An alternative to replace all thermostats on electric radiators is to install a control system which takes over control of the heating central.
Make sure to check out our thermostat reviews section to find out what thermostat is the best for you