Will thermostatic radiator valves be next to receive the 'smart' treatment?

Changes within the heating industry in recent years has seen a large growth in smart heating systems, such as smart thermostats and phone and tablet apps that allow a user to control the temperature in their homes even when they are not there. Developments in this area means that wireless thermostatic radiator valves may soon be commonplace in homes around the UK. Traditional TRVs have become popular because they help to limit the amount of water that flows into a radiator once it has reached a certain temperature. This provides the user with a certain amount of control that old school, non-thermostatic radiator valves simply didn’t allow for. However, traditional TRVs do not have any control over the boiler, so the situation can often occur whereby rooms that are being used are needlessly heating and therefore unnecessarily wasting energy. The wireless variety can be connected to the boiler and allow people to control exactly when radiators are on or off, in any part of their home. This room-specific control really drills down and customises how and house is heated and provides someone with far more control over their heating system than ever before. People are always looking for ways to save money on their heating bills and wireless TRVs can provide an excellent way of doing this. It may take time to analyse your own household’s heating needs, establishing when heat is needed and when it’s not, but by taking the time to do this, it will reap huge benefits in the longer term. Additionally, you will very quickly establish when radiators do not need to be on, so wireless TRVs can allow you to switch them off immediately with no need for energy wastage. It’s often wrongly believed that the process of adding a wireless system for radiator valves is too time-consuming and incompatible with older systems. In fact, a wireless receiver can be fitted to a boiler using existing wiring, the smart TRVs only need a few minutes extra to install than the traditional ones and no new piping needs to be added to your system. Even with older heating systems, research suggests it only takes a couple of hours to get the wireless system up and running. With the introduction of smart controls estimated to save as much as 40% of energy, compared to a household not using smart controls, as well as the added savings to heating bills, we may well see wireless thermostatic radiator valves becoming a far more common sight in UK households. Article by Benjamin Clarke RELATED ARTICLES • The rise of smart thermostats as an energy saving device 22nd Oct 2015  • Are there downsides to smart heating controls? 10th Dec 2015  • VIDEO - The ultimate guide to thermostatic radiator valves 28th Nov 2013   

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