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Heating system controls can be divided into two main parts programmer, and a room thermostat

As part of our boiler guide series, we’re exploring products that accompany your boiler installation to keep it working at optimum levels and suit your lifestyle. When making a boiler purchasing decision, it’s important to budget and account for bolt-ons like the heating system controls and filters. This post will focus exclusively on heating system controls and in our next boiler guide post, we’ll look at bolt-ons that help you maintain good water quality and therefore system health.

Getting the right heating controls with your boiler installation can make all the difference to the operation and efficiency of your system. Giving you an added way to boost its performance and keep it working for even longer.

Heating system controls can be divided into two main parts- a timer or programmer, and a room thermostat. Here, we’ll explain what each add-on is and how it helps.

Heating System Controls: Programmers

Programmers allow you to set different times for different days of the week for your heating and hot water to come on. They can take into account how often you’re at home, the rooms you use most often and sometimes respond to the weather outside by adjusting your boiler’s output accordingly.

Room Thermostats

Room thermostats will measure the air temperature in the room and allow you to set the level you find comfortable. It will then communicate with your boiler to switch it on and off to maintain the temperature you’ve set.

Programmable Room Thermostats

These combine the functions of a room thermostat and a programmer to control the heating of your whole house from just one unit. When set correctly they save you on energy costs because they wouldn’t have to heat your home from a completely cold start, the boiler simply comes on and off to heat the house when the temperatures in the rooms increase or decrease.

Thermostatic Radiator Valves

A thermostatic radiator valve is fitted to a radiator so you can control the temperature of that room by altering the flow of hot water into the radiator. As the temperature increases or decreases, the valve slowly opens or closes, responding to the ambient air temperature in the room, and changing the amount of hot water flowing through the radiator, maintaining a consistent temperature you’ve chosen. TRVs can save you money on your bills as well as your home’s carbon footprint by ensuring your heating system uses energy efficiently. Rooms that aren’t often used can be easily turned right down for example.

Heating System Controls: Intelligent Heating

Bear in mind, standalone room thermostats and programmers will set and control the temperature of the whole property at the same time. New to the market now though are a series of controllers that take the incorporation of modern technology one step further. These are termed intelligent heating controls and give you further control over your system’s management of heat to fit around your lifestyle. Here are some great examples:

Worcester’s Wave

The Wave is part of Worcester’s smart controls offering that allows you to control your system from an app on your smartphone over an internet connection. It allows you to take advantage of Worcester controls best features – including load and weather compensation. As well as being able to control the temperature in different rooms, it automatically senses when people are at home. Also, you can start heating your home before you get there because you can use the app to set the temperature in your house from anywhere in the world. They can sync with local weather forecasts to optimise start and stop times for the boiler to come on or modulate.

Heatmiser’s NeoStat

Heatmiser also offers an intelligent heating control in its neoStat range. It allows you to control your heating from anywhere for your convenience. The phone app allows you to create and save new programs and alter settings via your smartphone. Changes are instant, so if your schedule changes, or you’re going on holiday, altering the settings are only one click away. Multi zoning also gives you complete control over your underfloor heating system. Another great adaptation to the busy schedules of people today.

Honeywell’s Evohome

Similarly, Evohome gives you more control over your home’s heating by allowing you to control the temperature in any part of your home and save money all from your smart phone. You can add as many rooms or zones as you choose, as well as most types of gas heating systems – so whether you’ve got an underfloor heating system or radiators as your emitters. The Evohome is wireless, so installing it doesn’t require a great deal of renovation.

With all these different options available, your heating installation expert is best placed to conduct a thorough consultation and advise you on what solutions are best for your home and comfort.