How Heating Control Systems Work And Their Impact On Energy Performance Certificate

Houses with modern heating control systems use energy more efficiently than those that don’t, giving them a better energy rating and larger savings in energy bills. Epc4less, who are Domestic Energy Assessors in Belfast, explains why.

Why is a heating control system important?

The more control you have over your heating system, the less fuel you waste. A heating control system allows you to keep your home at a comfortable temperature with minimal energy wasted.

Benefits of a heating control system

With a heating control system, you can:

• Schedule your heating and hot water to come on only when you need them.
• Heat your home more efficiently which saves money on heating bills.
• Select areas of your home to heat so you don’t have to pay to heat rooms you aren’t using.

What is a heating control system?

Heating control systems typically have a number of component parts. If you have a central heating system, your set of controls should ideally include:

• Timing controls, such as programmers or timers.
• Temperature controls, such as room thermostats and thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs).

The different controls are explored in further detail below.

Timing controls

Programmer

Programmers allow you to set ‘on’ and ‘off’ time periods. This means you can set your heating to automatically switch off when you don’t need it, such as when you’re out of the house or in bed.

Most programmers allow you to set your central heating (radiators) and domestic hot water (taps in bathrooms and kitchens) systems to go on or off at different times. For example, you can set your programmer up so that you have domestic hot water instantly whenever you need it.

If you only add a programmer in your house, this will increase the EPC score of your house by 7-10 points.

Zone control

Some heating systems are set up with zone control. This means different rooms can be automatically heated at different times of day. For example, you could set the programmer to heat only the bedroom in the morning and heat only the living room in the evening.

Zone control through the programmer works by having separate heating circuits for different parts of the house. Each circuit has a separate programmer. Zone control can help keep heating costs down, so is worth considering if you’re fitting a new heating system. If you’re fitting one in a two storey house, for example, you may want to have two zones (one for each level of the house).

Temperature controls

Room thermostats

With a room thermostat, you can set a temperature that you want the room to reach. The thermostat turns the heating on until the room reaches the given temperature, and then turns it off again until the temperature drops. This stops your home getting warmer than you need it to be.

It’s common to have your thermostat set for a room temperature between 18 and 21 degrees. Remember that room thermostats need to be able to sense the temperature in a free flow of air, so they should not be put near any sources of heat or be blocked by furniture or curtains, for example.

If you only add a room thermostat in your house, this will increase the EPC rating of your house by approximately 5-7 points.

Thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs)

Thermostatic radiator valves can be fitted to radiators throughout your home. They do not control the boiler directly, instead they are used to adjust the flow of hot water entering a radiator from your central heating system.

When the room temperature goes above a certain setting, the valve reduces the flow of water through the radiator. You can set different levels for each room. A lower setting uses less energy and will save you money in the long run.

If you only add TRVs in your house, this will increase the Energy Performance Rating of your house by 3-5 points.

Smart heating controls

Smart heating controls allow you to manage your heating directly from a computer, tablet or smart phone. The main benefit of this is that you can control your heating remotely, meaning you don’t have to be inside your home to make changes. For example, you could turn your heating on using your phone while you are on your way home from work so your home is warm on your return.

Impact of heating control systems on an Energy Performance Certificate

As heating control systems allow you to carefully manage your energy usage, they are sure to have a positive impact on the energy rating of your property. A property that has a heating control system will have 10 to 15 additional points in their energy rating compared to a property of the same size, style and age that has no heating control system.

If your house in in Belfast, visit epc4less.com to get a price for the EPC of your house.