How to Choose the Right Heating Thermostats.
Choosing the right heating thermostats really depends on you and whether it is a new installation or a replacement. It also depends on how you want to control the heating and hot water, so what system you have. Furthermore we want to make sure that the one that you buy is not too complicated to use as they definitely can be.
Here at Mr Central heating we try and offer the best heating thermostat to fit the job and this is where you come in as the customer.
If it is a new system and you have purchased a combination boiler, then you can use just a room thermostat as the hot water is instantaneous like all combination boilers. This means you are only controlling the heating and the best way to do this is by the temperature so you need a room thermostat.
There are two types of room thermostats, hard wired and radio frequency. If you have an existing room thermostat and you have bought a new combi then it is probably best to stay hard wired as you have all the connections already and it should be just a case of dropping the old one off and putting the new electronic one on.
If it is a new installation then we would defiantly suggest radio frequency because the room thermostat controller does not need any wires. Room thermostats operate in two different ways as well, programmable and non-programmable. These work in exactly the same way as their name suggests. A programmable one offers you to be able to set the temperature according to the day and time.
They also generally have five different times in a day so you can select five different temperatures. This means that you can have it hotter when you get up, cooler during the day and warmer towards the afternoon. With all room thermostats you may also have a time clock or 2-channel programmer which is also connected to the boiler.
The time clocks tell the boiler when to come on and are not to be confused with room thermostats as they have no temperature sensing capabilities they merely act as switches for the boiler. A room thermostat always tells the boiler to shut off by temperature.
If the boiler is not due to come on or not set to constant then the room thermostat can only work when the programmer tells the boiler to start. So basically you need to set your programmer or time clock to be in the constant or ON setting.
Here at Mr Central Heating we deal with this a lot and the traditional way to use your heating is not the best. Setting the boiler controller to come on in the morning and go off at night is just not very good for the boiler. The best way to heat a house is to have a constant mean temperature of say 18-19*C and punch the room thermostat up if you want it a bit warmer.
The old way of heating is not efficient as it means that you are heating from a low temperature, in the morning after a cold night, and this uses more energy.
This is why room heating thermostats are so much better than just having a time clock or twin channel programmer. They actually heat your house according to the temperature not by time so it is more comfortable for you and you do not have temperature fluctuations which are not comfortable and if anything really frustrating.
This is where programmable room thermostats are great but not for everyone. Anyone used to a traditional system or in the house constantly like a retired couple will want to adjust the temperature often so non-programmable is perfect. We also offer dial room thermostats that can be radio frequency or hard wired like the Salus ERT20RF and Salus RT100 respectively.
We are not trying to baffle you here at Mr Central Heating and it is simple and really cost effective to install a new room thermostat.
So actually whatever boiler you have it is best to use a room thermostat to control the temperature of the house because that is exactly what you are doing. There has never been a better time to save energy and if you have insulted your home what is the point of opening the window when it is too hot just let your room thermostat do the work.
The fastest growing group of heating thermostats are the internet thermostats, with Salus offering the most versatile and e
If you need help choosing the right thermostat - Don't forget to call our experts at your local branch.
Choose from our selection of thermostats now
