Posted on 09/07/2022 5:09:58 PM PDT by nickcarraway
All you need is a simple device, and to know how to use it 'properly'
A plumber has shared his advice on how to save money on your gas bill.
Tiktok user djmatrix101, a plumbing and heating engineer who shares tips on how to save money on household bills, shared his best "top tip" to save money on your gas bill. All that is required is a simple device called a thermostatic radiator valve.
He said that the device can then be installed on every single radiator in the home, and can be used to turn off, or limit, the flow of gas into the radiator while the central heating is on. This means that you can stop gas being wasted on rooms that are not being used, or which don't require heating.
Speaking to his thousands of followers, the engineer said: "This device will save you money, if you know how to use it properly.
"Effectively a lot of people, when the switch the central heating on, they heat the entire house - so that's every room in the house that has a radiator they are heating using their boiler. The vast majority of people don't spend all day in bed, or in the bedroom.
"They get up, they go downstairs, they spend the day downstairs then they go upstairs, but the heating's on all day.
"My advice is to go around every single room and [after installing thermostatic radiator valves] to switch them off if you're not using the radiator.
"If you can turn of 50% of your volume of radiators, you will save 50% on your gas bill - it is that straight forward. If you're not using your bedroom radiator, turn it off.
He then spoke about one common problem with the valves, which means they will still allow gas to pass through. He said: "[They have a] metal ring at the bottom. Turn the radiator valve to fully open then hand tighten the metal rings down.
"They come loose and if you don't tighten them down when you switch the valve off the gas will still pass.
"Switch it on about an hour before you want to use the room. A bit of forward planning, a bit of thinking about it, and you will save yourself a fortune in gas.
"A lot of people make this mistake [but] these things are regulation to be fitted on any new central heating system and we have to advise when we're changing boilers now that these be fitted, if they're not there.
"If you don't have them, they're a good investment. Get them fitted."
Lol, SPOILER ALERT! Don’t ruin it for others.
Yet another urinalist writing about something that they clearly know NOTHING about. Jeez...
"I do believe I've blown up the guest room."
A lot of them, just not the kind youre thinking of.
AOC would never understand what is being said. Not a chance
In my 69 years, I have never lived in a house that had a radiator, nor have I known anyone that had a radiator in their home. As a matter of fact I died laughing at the simple tip.
I live in Northern Wisconsin. You may have heard that it occasionally gets cold here. Fully turning off radiators is not necessarily a particularly good idea. The gas water in them can freeze especially if one has an older farmhouse.
As far as turning radiators in bedrooms off, we dont have heat in the bedrooms! Nope, never cold. A feather tick goes on the mattress, then flannel sheets, a couple of fleece blankets and a feather comforter. You get so warm so quick that youre glad that the half of your head sticking out of the feather pillow getting rid of the excess heat.
As an old boss use to say: This guy's rediscovered America
Last time I had radiator heat was 1985 when I lived in a one bedroom apartment in southwest Detroit. Heated the place nicely when the steam ran though it. I’d have to turn the valve down to keep from overheating.
I grew up in an apartment that had steam radiators. The steam helped humidify the apartment as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Can you explain how that works? Most of the systems I’ve seen are ‘one-pipe systems’... steam flows into the radiator and as it gives off its heat, it cools and condenses and flows out as a liquid in the same pipe that it came to the radiator at in the form of steam. Thus the pipe handles steam going in one direction and liquid in the other.... the liquid going back to the boiler is then reheated and sent on its way the radiator again. I believe these are essentially a closed loop system. So how does the steam humidify the space?
You’re creating back pressure on your unit which you don’t want unless they have relief valves which puts the treated air in the attic which you don’t want. That’s a lose lose situation.
On the opposite end of the radiator from the single pipe w/on-off valve is an air vent which allows hot, moist air to escape into the room.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F50tKsqzJGE
The plumber may be right. But the journalist is a buffoon.
Hot water from a boiler goes thru the radiators. Not gas.
___________________________________________________________
Actually there are hot water radiators and steam radiators, steam is a gas.
Valves should of been vents. Oops
I had read something along those lines but didn’t understand it :o I guess I should have paid more attention!
Anyway, so the furnace/ac room and the two adjoining rooms get all the cool air, along with the rest of the basement. Upstairs stays quite warm; hence, the magnetic covers.
Is there any way of evening this out? There’s go to be a 10 degree or more difference between the furnace room and upstairs. I run a fan in front of the outlet to get enough cool air into a room.
Thanks!!!!!
In my 69 years, I have never lived in a house that had a radiator, nor have I known anyone that had a radiator in their home. As a matter of fact I died laughing at the simple tip.
____________________________________________________________
For the last 3 decades I have lived in a house with radiators. About 25 years ago I converted my AC into a heat pump. In the spring and fall the heat pump is cheaper to run than the gas boiler and radiator system even though the gas boiler is 86% efficient. The boiler system is really nice, it’s quiet, not drafty it is just always there. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.
I don’t think it should let warm air into the room.... the video basically verified what I understood about how they work. The vent is only used to get rid of the cold air in the rad. Once steam comes into the rad, the vent closes. I think that point was even made when the fellow was describing the first vent that was shown.... go to the 1 1/2 minute mark or so.
Your central HVAC system is designed for your particular house. It is made to heat/cool the whole house with proper air return. It’s best to let it do its job without interfering with it. That is how you even things out.
ICBW, but I believe the term “cold air” is being used relative to the temp of steam. A boiler does not run constantly and between cycles, the air in the system cools down, but does not get cold. When the next cycle starts, the air in the system is already warm and moist thanks to the condensate the system.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.