Radiators

It’s in the balance

It’s never been more important to help your customers reduce their energy usage, and one simple way is to make sure that their heating system is balanced correctly. Drayton product manager David Kempster looks at the whys and hows of balancing – and the difference it can make.

System balancing is essentially the practice of ensuring that warm water is distributed evenly throughout the heating system, making sure that all radiators receive the correct flow of hot water. It’s required as part of the Benchmark commissioning process.

Radiator balancing is essential in improving boiler efficiency and avoiding cold spots in the home, but it is a practice that many heating engineers find timeconsuming and complex. An unbalanced system can lead to callbacks because the homeowner’s comfort levels are not being met.

There are several ways to balance a heating system:

Using lockshields Installers typically understand this method and they are a low-cost option. However, it generally takes one to two hours to balance a system this way because you have to calculate the difference in temperature across the flow and return. It is often not very accurate and settings are lost when removing radiators for decorating or replacement, when TRVs are opened and closed, or when the system is changed.

Pre-setting TRVs Some thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) enable you to set the heat output of the radiator, which should be determined for each room based on expected heat loss, to balance the system, which makes this method more accurate than lockshield adjustment. Some can be set using a unique balancing key, which is used to fix flow rates and then lock the setting to prevent tampering even when TRVs are closed completely for radiator removal.

Auto-balancing TRVs This new technology helps make balancing quicker and easier. Auto-balancing valves can ensure that radiators permanently receive the correct flow rate, regardless of other TRVs opening and closing or changes to the system. Research has shown that this technology is proven to save on average 8.8 per cent on energy costs and prevent any cold spots around the home.

Under the recent updates to Part L of the Building Regulations, gas engineers who replace or install a heating system must ensure that every radiator has TRVs, and that the system is commissioned to be as efficient as possible. That means there is even more reason to consider auto-balancing TRVs.

With challenging times ahead for consumers and businesses alike, there has never been a better time to look at making the most of new technologies. Auto-balancing TRVs will not only make life easier and reduce the number of callbacks but will help your customers reduce energy bills and be more comfortable. ■

www.draytoncontrols.co.uk

Auto-balancing technology is a new addition to two of Drayton’s most popular ranges, the TRV4 and RT414. They have the same dimensions as all GB pattern valve bodies found in UK systems. This means no pipework needs to be changed when retrofitting, making it an easy solution to swap out.

THE NEW LEADER OF THE PACK

Introducing the ESRTP6 Programmable Room Thermostat, another fantastic innovative product from the ESi range of heating controls for residential and commercial use. For more information about our complete range of products call 01280 816 868 or visit www.esicontrols.co.uk

Radiators work with low-temperature systems

Stelrad head of marketing Chris Harvey busts some myths about radiator sizing and their compatibility with low-temperature systems.

Despite rising interest in heat pumps, radiators are still a popular and sensible choice for many homeowners. They’re familiar with how radiators heat their homes and, when properly sized, they are the perfect solution to share heat from heat pump installations.

Radiators work in very different ways to alternative heating choices, but they do a similar job, each with benefits in some circumstances. We want to put the facts out there for installers and homeowners to choose for themselves, without being bamboozled into thinking there is only one option.

All radiators should be sized correctly for the rooms in which they are installed and we offer a free radiator sizing and heat-loss calculator on our website. You need larger radiators for a renewable, low-temperature system than you would for a traditional boiler-driven heating system because the water flow temperature in the system is lower.

Larger radiators could be vertical or one of our increasingly popular K3 radiators – with three panels and three fins – with the same radiator footprint as a current K2 radiator but with 50 per cent more metal surface to provide increased heat levels.

High numbers of new-build developers that have already decided to stick with radiators as their key form of heat emitter and there are plenty of case studies to show how effectively this works. ■ Stelrad’s specialist CPD provides facts and figures and evidence-based information to help installers and specifiers choose the right products for their installations.

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