Controls for mixed systems

What controls are the best choice for consumers looking to save energy and money? Jeremy Palmer, general manager at Drayton, looks at how choosing the right smart control can benefit heating engineers and their customers.

Mixed heating systems, such as the combination of radiators with underfloor heating (UFH), are becoming increasingly popular as homeowners look to be more sustainable in heating their home.

UFH enables energy and cost efficiency but generally needs a lower input temperature to work effectively, typically 40°-50ºC, given that they cover a wider surface area. With this lower flow temperature, less energy is required and so heating bills are likely to be lower.

When upgrading a system to incorporate UFH, it’s important to consider the suitability of the radiators. Historically, most gas boiler systems have been set to run at a flow temperature of around 80ºC and radiators will have been sized accordingly. However, if correctly installed and balanced, the same radiators will be able to deliver the desired levels of heat even with the lower flow temperatures required for UFH.

Upgrade

If the existing radiators aren’t suitable for lower flow temperatures, then upgrading them to a larger size will benefit homeowners in the long run when sustainable heat sources, such as heat pumps, become more widely adopted.

As the popularity of alternative heat systems increases, heating engineers will need to broaden their knowledge of the options available to ensure they can meet individual needs. There is also the matter of getting to grips with which heating controls are compatible and fit in with the user’s lifestyle.

Smart heating controls are ideal when working with mixed heating systems. They can manage heating schedules for radiators and UFH from a single control. For installers, this reduces the need to understand the workings of several controls and means they don’t need to keep a large amount of stock.

For homeowners, this type of control offers makes it easier to manage their heating, adjust schedules as needed and operate the system remotely all in one place, rather than having individual controls for different heat sources.

Cost savings

Some homeowners switch to UFH because they are looking to save money on bills or because they want to do their bit towards sustainability. A smart heating control can help make improvements in both these areas.

A control system with multi-zoning capabilities means with this type of system.

Energy-saving smart modes, such as Eco and Away, are a great addition to a household looking to automate the heating and maximise efficiency. These modes work by using optimum better understanding of how they use their heating, without the hassle of having to evaluate reports taken from individual controls or their energy provider. the user can heat individual rooms rather than the whole house, so using less energy. Research from the University of Salford found that energy consumption can be reduced by 19 per cent stop and weather compensation, which enables the heating control to study the home’s thermal properties, learning when to switch off the energy source once the set point is reached. Research among Wiser users has found that using smart modes helped to reduce their energy usage by an average of 16 per cent.

A smart heating control can also help the homeowner gain a

They can provide an overall picture of how the system is working, helping homeowners to use their energy more efficiently. Wiser is also able to connect to the home’s smart meter, with its Insights+ giving even more visibility of energy use. This can help homeowners save an additional 7 per cent by enabling them to make more informed decisions about how they use their heating.

Dig in

With the use of mixed systems gaining momentum, it’s worth digging into the best heating controls to use across different heat sources, and how they can fit into the daily lives of their customers. This will ensure that, when the time comes for customers to make the switch to mixed, they are confident in their heating engineer’s knowledge and recommendations. ■ www.draytoncontrols.co.uk