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Know your heating controls

A set of heating controls can save you money on your gas, oil and electricity bills. It is important to understand how they work and use them correctly, otherwise you will waste money. For example, there is no need to turn up your room thermostat if the weather is particularly cold. The thermostat will work automatically to demand more heat from the heating system to keep the house at the required temperature.

Your heating controls are a timer and thermostat which measures the room temperature. By using your heating controls, you can choose:

• when the heating is on
• how warm it is in the house
• which rooms you want to be warm
• when the hot water is on

If you don’t know whether you have heating controls, check the name of the boiler manufacturer and contact them. They’ll be able to tell you.

Heating controls should be installed by a professional installer.

• Heating controls and thermostats Opens new window

What is a timer?

With a timer you can set the times when you want the heating and warm water to come on and go off again. Timers have a clock that you can set, just like an alarm clock.

For example, if no one is at home during the day, you might not need the heating on. Set your timer so that it turns the boiler on 30 minutes before you come home.
If you leave the heat and hot water on all day, you lose money and waste energy.

What is a thermostat?

A thermostat measures the room temperature and keeps it at the level you have set. For example, if you would like your sitting room to be 20 degrees Celsius in winter, you can set your thermostat to that temperature. The thermostat will switch the heating on when it gets colder, or off when it gets warmer.

Your thermostat is usually connected to the timer. You have to switch your timer on for the thermostat to work.

You can also have a thermostat for your hot water. If you have a hot water cylinder, it is called a cylinder thermostat. It switches the heat from the boiler on and off to keep the water at a set temperature. If you have a combi boiler (that heats hot water only as you use it), then you can set the hot water temperature on the boiler controls.

Set your thermostat

Thermostats are usually in halls, stairs or on landings to measure the general temperature in the house. You can also have thermostats controlling the radiator valves in each room to keep them at different temperatures. For example, you might want your sitting room warmer than your bedroom. These are known as “thermostatic radiator valves” or TRVs, are available from most plumbing suppliers and are worth fitting the next time your heating system needs draining for a service..

A programmable room thermostat is a timer and thermostat in one. If you have one in each room, you can set them to turn the heating on at different times and temperatures.

Have a look at the information booklet for your heating system to find out how to set your thermostat. If you don’t have the booklet, check the boiler make and go to the manufacturer’s website where you can usually download instructions on how to set your heating controls.

Tips to keep your home warm

Here are some simple tips to help you keep your home warm and save energy:

• close the curtains at dusk to stop the heat from getting out
• set your thermostat between 18 and 21 degrees Celsius
• set your hot water thermostat to around 60 degrees Celsius if you have a hot water cylinder