Which trv valve

With the ever-advancing possibilities of smart home systems and Internet of Things, you can now manage your TRVs using your smartphone from the comfort of your sofa — or even while travelling — to keep your home heating ticking safely at all times.

Next, we cover the two main thermostatic radiator valve issues and how to fix them. If you need more in-depth advice, our friendly team is always available by phone for support. TRVs are not complex items and diagnosis is usually very simple. A sticking valve is probably the most common thermostatic radiator valve issue. It usually happens when adjusting the valve for the first time in a long time, such as following an extended cold spell or the summer often one and the same!

To fix this, set your TRV to the highest setting then undo the thermostat removal nut by hand. You will uncover a piston that will usually spring up and compress down smoothly. Take some WD40 and apply a small amount until it moves smoothly once more. A non-responsive piston means you should replace your TRV. Stay tuned until the end of this article when we present our selection of market-topping TRVs…. If the piston is moving smoothly but your TRV is not operating, the internals are likely kaput.

It happens now and then, especially in older models, so take this opportunity to upgrade your home heating and benefit from proper TRV function. Fit a new TRV, confirm the valve works, and years of worry-free modulated heating should await you. Avoid finding out your thermostatic valve is broken too late, as well as preventing a sticking TRV, by seasonally checking and lubricating your valve piston.

It is also important to keep the vents around the valve head free of dust and other debris as these may lower the accuracy of your TRV readings. In a property with multiple radiators heating rooms of varying traffic, thermostatic radiator valves are a no-brainer! With the simple maintenance we mentioned, your TRVs will function flawlessly for years. And if you have an intelligent home heating system, a set of electronic thermostatic radiator valves will be your best move for significant energy and money savings.

Help the environment by heating your own with greater consideration. This is why our government is encouraging TRV use across new building regulations. Building Regulations do state that the heating systems in domestic dwellings have a minimum set of controls. For a system that uses a combi combnation boiler , this is done with a timer or room thermostat and the different heat settings of individual rooms are generally achieved using TRVs.

Standard practice is to leave one radiator without a thermostatic radiator valve installed, and to leave that appliance permanently switched on. If your boiler is fitted with a flow meter — that detects when all of your radiator valves are closed, you can install a TRV on every radiator if you want to. You can leave any radiator without a TRV , but it makes more sense for you to select the radiator in the room with your wall thermostat. As your main heating thermostat is directly linked to your boiler system — a link that you will use to fire your heating up or turn it down — having a TRV in the same space will mean that they fight to control how hot or cold your room will be — resulting in something of a Thermo-Spat.

In this instance, you could turn your wall thermostat up to get rid of the chill in the space, only to find that the thermostatic valve on the nearby radiator expands to close off the supply of hot water to the radiator, cooling the room and making the whole thing a pointless exercise and a waste of time. In this space — that is very rarely heated to a constant temperature — it makes sense to leave your radiator TRV free.

Although they can prove to be pretty handy pieces of kit, TRVs are relatively primitive, especially when compared to the newer smart heating controls that are available on the market. The most common and regularly occurring problem with a thermostatic radiator valve is that the valve — or the head of the valve — begins to stick or catch.

This will leave them open or closed and can happen when the setting on the valve has not been adjusted for some time — such as at the end of a long hot summer. What you need to do is to turn the TRV to its highest setting — this is usually displayed as a number 5 — to fully open the valve and then remove the top of the TRV by undoing the large thumbwheel just above the radiator tail this should be pretty easy to do and is most likely not to require a wrench to achieve.

If this happens to be a little stiff — and is preventing the valve from opening an closing correctly — simply give it a spray with some trusty WD40 and work it up and down a few times to try and loosen it up a bit. If all appears to be ok with the pin, it could be that the wax or liquid cartridge at the top of the TRV has failed and you will need to purchase a new thermostatic radiator valve head.

If there are ever instances when you think that your TRV is not operating correctly, these issues can normally be fixed with some minor adjustments. I remember spending no less than an hour arguing with one of my sales guys about whether the TRVs close when they reach set point or whether they are partially open at that point.

They never close completely during heating season unless the room temperature goes above set point from some other source. They open and close the whole way.

If the room is at set point, the valve is closed. When the room drops in temperature it opens. So, I left. I contacted a TRV manufacturer. They should know the answer better than anyone else I assumed. They also said the valve typically operates within the last millimeter of its stroke, modulating the flow with minute temperature changes in the room. There are many benefits. They are inexpensive for starters. You can easily provide room-by-room zone control without a cluster of thermostats, zone control panels and zone valves.

They provide excellent comfort control in a hydronic heating system as well. This depends on what type of system we are talking about. In this type of system, you will typically have a noncondensing, high-temperature heat source. It may use a limited outdoor reset curve, or it may be a fixed water temperature. You will want to install a TRV on each radiator, except the one in the coldest room.

In this room, you will install a thermostat to turn the boiler and pump on and off. The boiler will then turn on and off based on the high limit setting differential and add heat as needed.

When it gets warm outside, the boiler will shut down. You should also use a variable speed pump for this setup. It should also be noted, this type of setup is best suited for a high-temperature boiler that has sufficient thermal mass, such as a cast-iron boiler.

Some noncondensing boilers, such as copper fin-tube, are low mass and have a minimum flow rate that must be strictly adhered to. However, instead of radiators, we have fin-tube baseboard as the heat emitters. TRVs can work just as well here as with radiators, but we install them a bit differently.

The majority of fin-tube baseboard in my area is installed in a series loop. This means there are a number of baseboard units connected in series, spanning multiple rooms. Typically there will be a thermostat in a central location to those rooms to control that zone.

We can still use TRVs to gain individual room temperature control, but they will be a different kind than you are used to seeing. We stock every style of Thermostatic Radiator Valve, traditional and modern, in all orientations. Join our email list to receive updates and exclusive offers directly in your inbox.