Hot Water Circuit?
Combi-Boilers mean the hot water circuit triggers the heating of the water by flow detection (often set far too high... well mine is can be filling a 1l pan in 2seconds before its on), so the towel rad needs to be on the heating circuit.
But if you have a room thermostat controlling when it's on and off, you're only getting warm towels when your chosen room is cold.
Room temp sensing, Boiler controlling TRVs would help I suppose.
I thought if you had a thermostatic radiator valves, you had to have at least one radiator in the house without one, just in case the boiler is fired up, but the radiators are doing nothing. In the central heating systems I've setup we always did this with the bathroom radiator.
J
That is what I thought too... my one has a TRV, so far no boiler explosion... thankfully.
I've got that TRV cranked right up and the bathrooms lucky to get over 20c, not that I have any idea what max on the TRV equates to in reality.
I've currently got a multimeter, thermocouple, notepad and some dials attached to boiler pipes
Return was 5c below output, but the boiler does have a deliberately inefficient start up mode that gets the internal temperature up to 80
Modern systems have a bypass valve that opens a bit to let some water through if all the radiators are shut off. https://www.bes.co.uk/heating-ventilation/central-heating/valves/bypass/
As long as some water flows through the boiler, all of it will be at close to the same temperature and it will shut off when hot without damage. If no water flows, part of it can boil before the sensor notices that it's got too hot.
That would explain it.
What I do love is that they tell you that should should carry out improvements listed on your EPC in the order they are recommended. So for us that would be:
Which to me should be done based on bang for buck and least disruption:
1. LED lighting
2. Cavity wall
Room in roof/flat roof makes sense but I'm not planning to get it done until the flat roof actually needs replacing (although I might change my mind once we've actually experienced a winter in this house)
Floor insulation - for the amount of upheaval that will generate you can get stuffed for the sake of £71/yr. Maybe if we ever get new carpets.
Solar water heating - the gas CH boiler was brand new in December so doesn't make sense to me to ditch that already, from an emissions caused by manufacturing POV.
Solar PV - yes it's expensive but it would make up for having a crappy electric hob and shower (despite having a combi boiler)
Yeah, I've had a nosey at the neighbours houses in the EPC database that are basically the same, interesting how different they all are.
Some have the obligatory "Wind Turbine" in the list, others don't despite being more efficient and clearly not included by the assessor
So with mine starting on 72/70 and a potential of 87/87
1) Floor insulation, 73/73 saves 45 quid a year
2) Draughtproofing, 74/74 saves 22 quid a year
3) Solar Water Heating, 76/76 - 28 quid
4) 2.5kWp Solar PV, 87/87 - 318 quid
Now... correct me if I'm being deluded here, but the 10 point increase from Solar PV and saving of £318 a year is by far the most obvious one to do first.
I mean if I start at 72/70 that's up to 82/80ish. I'd probably go for something a bit bigger with the aim of adding batteries when affordability is reached, after all half the year I cook when it's dark.
My assumption is due to the only draughts I can find being from the window vents that I did the draught proofing when I swapped the crap folding doors for a uPVC door between kitchen and sunporch.
Then again the sunporch is in the floor space and is unheated for now I'll take the hit of running a 1.5kw electric heater just before tea this winter and work out how to minimize loss from windows later, the wee brother just has to turn up with the stuff he's got sitting in his garage.
I need to lift a carpet to see if I can find a way of seeing under the floor too.
What's also interesting is there's no mention of low power lighting... the house was entirely lit with hallogen and CFLs for an EPC written September last year that's a bit shit so I guess the guides haven't been updated for the assessors to cover that.
The solar water interests me, the black painted garage door was too hot to touch before I shoved a layer of silver bubble wrap on the back, downside is the garage doesn't get so warm in winter, though it loses it anyway. The front rooms are toasty on sunny days and balanced with the back rooms on the north on not so sunny days.
Seems to me the most appropriate approach would be to get PV in first with space left to get Solar Heating added later, that way I could use a tank and immersion heater and use that to heat the water during the day, downside being on days when the sun doesn't bother.
Attic space seems handy, and this house wasn't built with putting a room in the roof in mind. (Hall too narrow for stairs, space between roof trusses to wander around about 2 hall widths)
That or the upheaval of adapting the house such that an ASHP has a chance of doing its job
Oh I found this for TRVs
0 = Off
* = 7°C
1 = 10°C
2 = 15°C
3 = 20°C
4 = 25°C
5 = 30°C
that'll help me
although the rads are still toasty... this is going to be a late night