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Thermostat 101

Thermostat 101

Our homes have become more technologically advanced in recent years and there have been many changes when it comes to our central heating systems.
We rely so much on our central heating systems during the winter months and with energy bills rising, it becomes vital for us to operate them properly.
This is where central heating controls play their parts and can make a huge difference. Their function is to control your boiler and maintain a specific temperature in your home.
Technological advances have enabled them to go further than that. You can specify temperatures for various zones within your house, program schedules based on whether you are home or not or whether it is night or day. The latest Smart Thermostats can go even further.
There is clearly a plethora of choices on the markets so you will need to understand the specificities, advantages and disadvantages of each type of Thermostats.
What is a Thermostat and How Does It Work? 
Think of a Thermostat as a switch that turns your heating system on and off to achieve a certain temperature in your house.
The user sets a temperature with the interface of their thermostat. The thermostat will switch your boiler on and keep it working until that temperature is reached. The boiler will then switch off and will only switch back on if the temperature drops.
The Types of Thermostat:
There are a few different types of thermostats on the market.
Before selecting the right thermostat for your system and you needs, it is important to have an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of each type.
Room Thermostat 
A room thermostat is more of a generic term that can apply to a wide range of thermostats.
It describes a thermostat that sits in a room of your house rather than next to your boiler. This way, it can measure the ambient temperature of your house accurately and transmit instructions to your boiler which will be located elsewhere in the house.
Analogue Thermostat 
These are the more basic and simpler types of thermostat. They are cheaper to purchase and ready to use. Also known as Dial Thermostats or Mechanical Thermostats, they consist of a graduated (mechanical) dial that enable users to select the temperature of the room the thermostat is in. These central heating controls are ideal for those who are not confident using more complicated modern thermostats and want a simple solution that enables them to control the heating and cooling of their home.
We offer a wide range of Analogue Thermostats
Programmable Thermostats
Programmable thermostats allow you to set different temperatures during day or nighttime.
It makes sense to reduce the house temperature at night. Programmable thermostats allow you to start the heating just in time for when you come out of bed.
In addition to daily settings, programmable thermostats often also have weekly settings that allow you to program each day of the week individually. For example, if you are away from home on any specific day of the week, you will be able to factor that in. This can greatly reduce your energy bills.
 
Check our range of Programmable Thermostats
Smart Thermostat 
Smart thermostats from the likes of Nest and Honeywell are considered to be an upgrade on digital thermostats. They are relatively simple but smart thermostats provide unique functions. It can help users to control the temperature and timings but they also make it possible to do all of this remotely using a smart device such as a smartphone but you're also likely to see an improvement in energy bills.  
 It gives users better control over setting temperature and how and when they use their system. The systems can be designed to learn how you use your home and what temperature is right. It can also be set up so that it turns the heating on when you are nearing home and it can turn the heating off when it knows that you have left. Furthermore, it can also provide greater control over how you use your hot water and it will enable you to turn your heating off if you forget to do it yourself. Finally, it can also help you to save energy and bring your bills down at the same time.
We have recently dedicated an entire blog post to Smart Thermostats: Read more
Check our range of Smart Thermostats
Getting Your Thermostat Temperatures Right:
 
If you have a manual thermostat then you might not have any option as to where it is installed. However, it has to be positioned in a place where there is a good flow of air as this will enable it to manage the temperature more effectively. As a result, you want to avoid placing it behind a curtain or somewhere that is exposed to direct sunlight. This will mean that your thermostat will have an incorrect temperature and will therefore turn your heating on and off at the wrong times giving you the inability to reach your target temperature.
What About The Temperature?
We are all different when it comes to how we use our heating systems and living habits. There are those of us who are happy to have the temperature quite low and those of us who prefer our homes to be warm. On the whole, when it comes to setting your heating thermostats, you should look to set the temperature to the lowest possible temperature that you can tolerate. We now live in a time where energy prices are excessively high which makes it more important to make energy savings. On the whole, most people are relatively happy with a temperature of 18 degrees and so, this is a good point to start from.
Once you have determined your lowest temperature, you should avoid altering the temperature on days where the temperature is low outside. Your thermostat is designed to manage the temperature and make the necessary adjustments based on the temperature. If you are finding that your home is not as warm as you would like it to be, it might not be a case of increasing the temperature. Instead, it could be a case of changing your thermostat so that your heating comes on earlier, giving your home more time to adjust and warm up.
Once you have identified your perfect temperature, you can then alter your thermostat so that it comes on at different times. The control you have will depend on the type of thermostat that you have. For basic manual thermostats, then you won’t have as much control as other thermostats but you will be able to at least set a time. However, for those who have digital and smart thermostats, you will be able to have a greater level of control. However, on a basic level, you should set your heating to come on around 20 minutes before you get up in the morning. This will ensure that the chill is taken off your home and that it is comfortable.
 
 It is also worth mentioning that it is important to make sure that your heating is turned off when you are not at home. Therefore, when you are at work, you should switch it off and then have it programmed so that it turns on around 20 minutes before you arrive home. However, with smart thermostats, this is where you can get creative with how you use your heating using sensors and devices such as Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. You will be able to set different times for your heating to come on based on other members of your household. Along with this, you will be able to control individual rooms using the right thermostat setting, set it so it knows when you are on your way home and set certain rooms to heat up at specific times. 
The Other Types Thermostats - How Do They Work?
We have already discussed the different types of thermostats but analogue and digital thermostats are also known as wall thermostats. As a result, they are usually installed in a room where you spend a lot of time while they are also placed in hallways for easy access. 
Again, a wall thermostat will still need to be placed in a suitable location so it can monitor the temperature accurately. However, what do the other types of thermostats do?
Radiator Thermostats 
You will see these installed on your actual radiators and can be found on one side. They are a component that enables you to control the flow of water into your radiators. As a result, you have the scope to increase and decrease the flow of water, thus altering the temperature upwards or downwards and energy usage. They are self-regulating which means that they can adjust the flow as necessary, so, if the temperature increases or decreases, there is a pin within the valve that will either expand or contract. This will help to alter the flow of the water and manage the temperature accurately in specific rooms.
Check our range of Radiator Thermostats
Cylinder Thermostats 
Fitted to you hot water tank, they monitor the temperature of the water inside. You can then specify the temperature you want to achieve.
Browse our range of Cylinder Thermostats. 
Zone Controls 
These are controls that have been discussed above but can be found under a different name. However, as the name suggests, it enables you to create zones in your home that provides you with control over these individual areas. They will all work independently of each other but you could heat your living room and kitchen at one part of the day when you are spending time downstairs and then set the heating to heat up your bedroom and your bathroom for night time. This will enable you to use your heating as you need it instead of having the entire system on at the same time which wastes energy and money.
Here are some of the Zone Packs you can find on our site:
Final Words
 
 Just when you thought that a thermostat was just a thermostat you have discovered that there is much more to them than you realised. However, at a time where we have to control how we use our heating, it is important that we use our thermostats to gain greater control over our heating system and the temperature of our homes.  
 The reality is that there is a thermostat to suit every home and every user and what you require will be determined by your home, your needs and your system.  
 An analogue thermostat is the most basic of thermostats but they are ideal for those who are looking for an easy-to-use system which is why they are commonly preferred by older people. However digital thermostats are now commonly seen in homes and they will offer more functions than a standard thermostat. Smart thermostats are now changing the way that we use our heating systems. They provide a highly effective solution when it comes to controlling your heating and how it fits around your lifestyle. So, if you want something easy then an analogue or digital thermostat will work for you but if you are tech-minded and want to manage your heating more acutely, then a smart thermostat is right for you.

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Created On  8 Sep 2023 13:00  -  Permalink

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