Heater question

[beet1e]

Originally posted by Jackal1
My dad and Mom had the same problem with anew house they built.
We moved the thermostat about halfway up the wall on the staircase and the probelm was solved.

Well, I'm sure you were able to help out with the *thermostat*!

Hmmm - forced air systems, popular in American homes. I found that they dried the air too much and led to static shocks. My house in Springfield,IL had nylon carpets and a metal stair rail. I got zapped quite often.

Having one thermostat to control the temp for the whole house sucks. I have radiators, each with a TRV - thermostatic radiator valve. Works a treat!

[Mustaine]

my God is there anything on that island of yours that isn't better than everything we have in the U.S.A.?

[Maverick]

Mustaine,

There is one definate benefit to the USA over England, beetle is there and not here.

As far as the AC and heater situations. The system is supposed to be ballanced. The houses in AZ., NM. and TX. I have been in have all had one central return to the unit. You'll have to balance out flow using an airspeed device measuring the airflow at each vent. It will undoubtable require you to place restrictors at the vents nearest the unit to maintain flow at those farthest. It will be a hit or miss kind of tedious job. Keep in mind that hot air will rise no matter what so your second floor will likely be warmer than the ground floor anyhow. Just try to minimize the difference as best you can. Later in the summer you'll be opening up those upper vents due to the same air temperature differences.

I decided some time ago never to have a multi story dwelling again due to the temperature issues on each floor. It's tough enough balancing air flow on a single story house.

[beet1e]

Originally posted by Maverick
I decided some time ago never to have a multi story dwelling again due to the temperature issues on each floor. It's tough enough balancing air flow on a single story house.

Like I said, it's a piece of cake with TRVs. Not only is controlling the temperature of a multi story dwelling no longer an issue, but it's possible to control the temperature of each individual room. In the mornings when the heat starts up at 6am, all radiators will get hot. As the hot air drifts up from downstairs, the bedroom radiators will start to shut down. Eventually, there'll be enough heat drifting up from downstairs that the bedroom radiators will shut off altogether. I spent about £800 having TRVs fitted when I moved to this current house in 2003. I knew there would be benefits (had 'em at the last house) but the benefits were twice as good as I expected. Of course, the thermostat was invented in Britain, c1606.

A TRV...

[beet1e]

This morning at 7:45am when I finally dragged my arse out of bed, the bedroom radiator, on an east facing wall, was almost cold. The one in my en suite bathroom was a little warmer, probably because that room is on a corner and has two external walls. Coming downstairs, there was no discernible change in room temperature. The radiator by the front door (possibly the coolest spot in the house) was quite hot, but - with a TRV system, you have to have at least one radiator which does not have a TRV, and this is the one. The kitchen radiator which is towards the middle of the house was tepid. The one next to my desk was the same as both of these are against internal walls. The one on the far side of the room was quite warm, but that's against a wall which used to be an external wall which now abuts the conservatory, which is not heated - at least not by central heating. I use a calor gas stove to heat that.

As the sun moves round, the south facing bedrooms will benefit from solar gain, and consequently their radiators will begin to shut down.

It all works remarkably well!