Is your heating system setup properly?

This week I attended one of the most renowned Hyrdonics courses within the industry. Having left lincoln for 6am I managed to make good progress and get breakfast on the way to arrive in Northampton for 8.30am. The trainer started by introducing himself and it was quite clear from the very start that he was very passionate about his beliefs and his mission is to increase quality and knowledge within the industry. Something that stuck with me throughout the 2 days is the very first question he asked. “How do you know which pump to use in a heating system?”

Throughout my years in the plumbing and heating industry I have often asked this question and been met with the answer “just stick a grundfos in” but this course run by Kimbo at the Heating academy northampton tries to teach everyone the why’s, where’s and how’s in a very simple to understand format. Here I have tried to break down some of this basic information to help our customers to increase their efficiency and run the systems we fit slightly better. Nobody likes technical speak and I am a strong believer of simplifying things so that everyone can understand it and this is what I have tried to do here.

Flow is king

One of the biggest and most important things we learnt is flow is king. I am not going to bore everyone with the mathematics of it all, but the main thing we learnt is that calculating the flow can make a massive difference to energy bills and the comfort of our homes. In the UK we blast our systems on the highest possible pump speed, with the boiler on the highest possible temperature setting and send as much heat as possible to the radiators. As a result we waste massive amounts of energy and dont really care as we are nice and warm in our homes. One of the biggest things I learnt from this course is that we could all turn down the pump speeds and the temperature on the boiler, this wouldnt cost us a penny and not only would we save money and the planet but this would also increase comfort levels too.

Radiator piping

The most efficient way to pipe up a radiator is TBOE (Top, bottom, opposite ends), this can make your system 9% more efficient. I looked at this and thought about it for quite a while and even asked my friends and family what they thought and without exception they all said “not a chance”. In the Uk it is seen as Ugly and impracticle where as in other european countries it is quite normal to be piped this way. The benefits of piping it this way include:

Better KW
Increased flow
Lower cost to run
Boiler doesnt work as hard
Thermostatic radiator valve easier to access
Sludge can move around easier
TBOE (top, bottom, opposite end)

The standard in the Uk seems to be BBOE (bottom, bottom, opposite end) which is crazy really as this is the least efficient way to set up a radiator. The water has to force its way up the radiator and going for looks over efficiency seems to be a pattern repeated throoughout our industry. Often we will buy radiators based on the space we have to fit the radiator on the wall rather then the heat loss of the room or the flow rates around the system.

Heating System — BBOE (bottom, bottom, opposite end)

TBSE (top, bottom, same end) is rarely used as this can cause other complications but would still be more efficient then the current way we pipe up our radiators.

Having Thermostatic radiator valves at ground level set to 21 degrees means you fill the room with heat at 21 degrees, many Thermostatic radiator valves can take approximately 40 minutes before they react to the temperature difference, meaning that the top of the room room will be 23-24 degrees by the time the TRV shuts off, you can allow for this by setting your TRV to 18-19 degrees which will . As we all know heat rises and this creates a difference of approximately 3 degrees between our heads and our feet. Having the Thermostatic radiator valves at a higher level reduces this temperature difference which once again can increase comfort levels and reduce costs.

Which one do you prefer?

Low temperature Heating system setup

Why does low temperature matter? Simply put, in the lab they test your boiler at the lowest possible flow temperature. This is because it works better at lower temperatures and reuses some of the latent heat generated. As soon as it is fitted we turn it up to maximum in the belief that by heating the home quicker, we will use less energy. However this is not the case and if we were to turn our boilers down, we would increase efficiency by around 12% and this would save the planet as well as saving us money in our pockets.

Balancing

Why does low temperature matter? Simply put, in the lab they test your boiler at the lowest possible flow temperature. This is because it works better at lower temperatures and reuses some of the latent heat generated. As soon as it is fitted to your heating system we turn it up to maximum in the belief that by heating the home quicker, we will use less energy. However this is not the case and if we were to turn our boilers down, we would increase efficiency by around 12% and this would save the planet as well as saving us money in our pockets.

Lower kw boiler required as system either does heating or hot water.
Faster heat up times of hot water
Water stays hot all day, every day
No cold showers
No gas pipe upgrade required

There are 2 methods to balancing which all depend on how much you want to spend.

The cheaper method is to reduce the flow on your lockshields, turn down your pump and add a pressure reducing valve on the return to your boiler. This will slow down the water and send the whole of the energy to your radiators. This method is simple to achieve but does require a flow calculation to ensure that the system is running at the correct speeds and the correct flows.
The expensive solution is to add pressure differential Thermostatic radiator valves (quite a mouthful) to each radiator as well as the options in method option 1. This ensures that each radiator has the correct amount of flow before it enters the radiator, ensuring that each and every radiator warms up equally.

Clean systems

The most important thing in heating systems is to ensure that you have a clean system, with a dirty system the water cant flow, the resistance around the system increases and your boiler and pump will work harder to get the water to where it wants to be. This is why the new Part L building regulations specify that heating systems need to be cleaned and flushed as around the UK we waste hundreds of thousands of KW every year by not keeping our radiators clean. Tap water contains approximately 2.3 litres of air per 100 litresw of water, this air is split during the winter months when we blast our heating systems at 80 degrees. Heating the water seperates the air from the water and this causes the air, water and metal to mix which in turn corrodes the radiators from inside. Removing the air from the system can reduce corrosion massively and prevent sludge build up. There are many different ways of doing this including Micro bubble filters, Adding inhibitor and using only VDI water. As we come into the lower temperature heating era we will find it harder and harder to remove this air and will need to look at alternative methods to removing the micro bubbles from the system.

Priority hot water

This is something that is quite new to me and I am still trying to get my head around. If you have a combi boiler then this will not apply as all combis are priority hot water but if you have a cylinder, It has been tradition since the beginning of time to programme the times and then make sure you have baths and showers between those times. This new concept means that whenever you use your hot water, the hot water gets priorityto be heated first meaning you never run out of hot water ever again. No planning Baths/ showers, no shouting at your daughters for using all the hot water and you can have as many relatives around as you like without having to worry about running out of hot water ever again.

Unfortunately this concept is quite limited in the uk to specific boilers/ cylinder manufacturers but may be a consideration when upgrading your system. The benefits of this system are:

Permanently hot water
No timing your baths/ showers
Lower KW boiler so using less gas
Lower kw to heating so saving money on bills
No new gas pipe runs

Pump speeds

One of the biggest issues in our industry is getting the information from manufacturers and when we do get the information, it is laid out in difficult to understand tables which make no sense to even the most advanced installers. This is especially true with pump maps, each and every one is set out differently and each pump has different flow settings. It became quite obvious when doing the training that most UK homes pumps will be set far too high and even the lowest setting is far too high for what we need. the mathematics for pumps speeds is very lengthy and perhaps this is what has put people off doing the maths over the years but having a pump at the wrong setting could be costing you over 50% of your daily energy. There is definetly a massive saving in turning down the pump speed and reducing flow.

What can we do to improve our heating system setup?

This really depends on how much you can afford to spend in the short term to get a long term saving. It will also depend on the boiler you currently have.

I would start by turning your boiler down if you have a combi boiler as this will cost you nothing and could save you quite a lot of money.
Next I would see if your pump can be turned down, most pumps have 1,2 and 3 setting, try turning it down to 1 lower level and see what happens.
Then take a water sample of your system water from a radiator, How dirty is your system? If you have a dirty system then perhaps look at getting it flushed out.
Turn on your heating, do all the radiators get hot at the same time or do the radiators get hot 1 at a time? If 1 at a time then chances are that your system isnt well balanced
Take a look at your boiler flue, is the flue producing a lot of steam? If so this could be the latent heat shooting out into the atmosphere, Turn your boiler down to 54 degres flow temperature and see how much less steam comes out, this is because the boiler is using more of the latent heat and costing you less to heat your home

Now you can consider some of the more costly upgrades:

Balancing Radiator valves and system valves can reduce the flow and cost of running your boiler
Upgrading radiators can increase output and increase efficiency of your heating system
Upgrading radiator valves from BBOE to TBOE can increase radiator output and lower boiler output and will no doubt be a talking point for your friends and family when they come to visit.)

Conclusion

A lot of these upgrades can cost money so it is always worth checking the total saving Vs the total installation cost. The largest saving is by far the time and temperature control of your heating system and having a programmer and thermostat or Programmable thermostat can save you a lot of money on your energy bills. With energy costs rising and systems getting more complicated, it will be the homeowners responsibility to not just learn how to program their heating but also to set heating curves and ensure their system is running efficiently. Many homeowners believe this will be 20-30 years away but with recent changes in legislation, If you move into a new home or have a whole new heating system installed, you will be changing your habits as the installers have to set it up to run at 55 degrees. This means that radiators will feel colder and we will be looking at thermostats to work out the temperature rather then touching radiators to see if they are working properly.

Get in contact if you would like to discuss further: CONTACT US

Is your heating system setup properly?