New build not holding its heat

_Dragon_

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I'm renting from a housing association so it's not to bad if there is any problems, I'm on the top floor flat and the rooms doesn't seem to hold its heat very well, the bedroom trv is set to 4 while it takes the cold out it doesn't feel toasty, the wall thermostat is in a silly place in the hallway near a radiator it's set to 21c. the wall thermostat was showing 18c when I turned the heating on, it took two hours to get to 21c and the bedroom didn't feel toasty.

O it's not Gas it's the dreaded district heating.

Do new builds take time to setlle in regarding the heating. It was built in August.

Any suggestions? It seems wrong I should be turning the radiator trv to near enough maximum. The wall thermostat and trvs are Myson.
 
Worth increasing the thermostat 1c at a time. If a room is cold, just set the valve to fully on.

We find we have some rooms that need the radiators on full and others where 3 is enough. Our thermostat is also annoyingly near to a radiator, so we find 22c is fine most of the time, but 23c is needed if it gets really cold outside.
 
Tomorrow I will open up the radiator trv to full in the bedroom and see how it goes, I did have the wall thermostat on 22 to start with, I want to try as much as I can before I get in touch with the housing association. As its a new build I would of thought it would of been warm and toasty. The living room is going to be a pain as it's a open plan.

I'm not allowed in the loft it's one where it's locked like those gas cupboard keys, managed to get up there, it's a bit of a mess with loft insulation like it's just been quickly laid.

Even though the wall thermostat is near the radiator in the hallway it still takes ages to reach 21c, and then the thermostat clicks on on off when it shouldn't be, I can't find any information about the wall thermostat saying how many degrees for it to come back on.

Cheers
 
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Are the radiators too hot to touch when running?
Are they the same temperature from top to bottom?
Are all the radiators the same temperature when all on?

The answers to these questions will help identify if it’s a circulation issue - balancing, air, lack of flow. If they are all rally hot then it could be poor insulation meaning the heating system is not meeting the heat losses, and this will get worse as the weather gets colder. If this is the issue then you will need to refer back to the housing association and get them to send one of their surveyors to inspect the insulation in the loft to see for themselves if it is adequately fitted and to the correct thickness. This bit is not rocket science - it needs to be continuous, with no gaps, usually laid between the joists in the first layer, then at right angles for the second layer. It only takes a bit of care and attention, and thankfully if it’s been done badly it should not be difficult to have fixed once the housing association are on the case.
 
Are the radiators too hot to touch when running?
Are they the same temperature from top to bottom?
Are all the radiators the same temperature when all on?

The answers to these questions will help identify if it’s a circulation issue - balancing, air, lack of flow. If they are all rally hot then it could be poor insulation meaning the heating system is not meeting the heat losses, and this will get worse as the weather gets colder. If this is the issue then you will need to refer back to the housing association and get them to send one of their surveyors to inspect the insulation in the loft to see for themselves if it is adequately fitted and to the correct thickness. This bit is not rocket science - it needs to be continuous, with no gaps, usually laid between the joists in the first layer, then at right angles for the second layer. It only takes a bit of care and attention, and thankfully if it’s been done badly it should not be difficult to have fixed once the housing association are on the case.

The heating of the radiators seems fine no air in the system, they all seem the same, Why on earth do they have small raditors in the rooms, that maybe why it's not heating the bedroom up, I'm going to open up the radiator trv just to see if it heats up better, then I can see if it's not holding the heat, I do have the feeling the loft insulation isn't laid done properly, there was gaps so I did try and sort it out myself. I have no idea how hot the water is for the heating it's not something I can change.

I didn't want to go phoning up the housing association without trying the basics so they cant say try this first.

Cheers
 
The thermostat will have a "hysteresis" - which is to say it will heat to 22c, then cool to about 20.5c before it comes back on again.

Big windows and open plan living space are harder to heat than small rooms and small windows. There was a push a few years ago to make houses more efficient and this led to smaller windows being fitted, but larger windows are now coming back as triple glazing and glass technology has advanced.

It does sound like your heating is a bit marginal, but you probably need to give it a full winter season to determine if there is an issue. If you simply cannot maintain a comfortable temperature using the radiators as supplied, they may need to increase their size. Our lounge is 25' x 16' and has a 6' and a 2'6" radiator - as well as more than 8' of windows. It stays nice and warm unless we get down to about -10c and then we might get the gas fire going!!
 
A thermostat should never be by a radiator at all.
But in your case because it’s so close it’s getting to much heat before the room gets chance to heat up.
What I would do is set the thermostat to full when you put the heating on When the room is at a desired temp turn the thermostat down 1 degree every hour until it stabilises at your desired temp and also bleed all the roads to get any air out.
Even if the house is old or new you have to bleed the rads every year when you start re-using the central heating in the winter
 
The thermostat will have a "hysteresis" - which is to say it will heat to 22c, then cool to about 20.5c before it comes back on again.

Big windows and open plan living space are harder to heat than small rooms and small windows. There was a push a few years ago to make houses more efficient and this led to smaller windows being fitted, but larger windows are now coming back as triple glazing and glass technology has advanced.

It does sound like your heating is a bit marginal, but you probably need to give it a full winter season to determine if there is an issue. If you simply cannot maintain a comfortable temperature using the radiators as supplied, they may need to increase their size. Our lounge is 25' x 16' and has a 6' and a 2'6" radiator - as well as more than 8' of windows. It stays nice and warm unless we get down to about -10c and then we might get the gas fire going!!

This is where it doesn't make sense set it to 21c when it reaches 21.5c it may go off it never goes off when it it hits 21c,when I have heard it clicking to come back on its 21.9c.

I think the best way is to see what the bill is like at the end of next month.

A thermostat should never be by a radiator at all.
But in your case because it’s so close it’s getting to much heat before the room gets chance to heat up.
What I would do is set the thermostat to full when you put the heating on When the room is at a desired temp turn the thermostat down 1 degree every hour until it stabilises at your desired temp and also bleed all the roads to get any air out.
Even if the house is old or new you have to bleed the rads every year when you start re-using the central heating in the winter.

I did think about turning it up high as its near the radiator, but I don't think thats the main problem the bedroom wasn't too cold and it's definitely not toasty.

Cheers
 
Just a update: I sent a message to the housing association, So just waiting for a phonecall about it. The wall thermostat is definitely faulty as it keeps on switching off before the target temperature, then 3 minutes later it comes on. Hopefully I won't get any bother from them about this but just incase I have taken pictures of the thermostat when it's on then off etc.. its happened about 5 times before it's reached 22c.

This isn't helping the bedroom get warm by going on and off, though the radiator is too small in my opinion.
 
You can go on goggle and check if the rad is right size or not !!!!!!
Type in radiator size chart
It will ask you your room size then tell you what size rad it should be weather it’s a single or double
That is if you want to hope this helps.
 
You can go on goggle and check if the rad is right size or not !!!!!!
Type in radiator size chart
It will ask you your room size then tell you what size rad it should be weather it’s a single or double
That is if you want to hope this helps.
Cheers I will do that anything helps for when they come.
 
As you mentioned ‘District Heating’ - you’re not on Elmsbrook, by any chance?

Even so, how far away is the main temperature control thermostat to the nearest radiator? In my house, temperatures substantively improved once I had the main temperature thermostat moved well away from the nearest radiator - as the latter was cancelling out the former.

Also, your radiators might require ‘balancing‘ to improve the heat flow.
 
Hi, No I'm not on Elmsbrook. The wall thermostat is to close to the radiator about 5 foot, it does take about a hour and half for the radiators to get red hot. The plumber that came out was hopeless, he didn't bother checking if the radiators needed balancing, as soon as he saw it was district heating he didn't want to know. apparently these plumbers aren't good. The wall thermostat is definitely faulty if I set it to 22c then when it hits the target temperature 22.5c it will turn off the heating but then three minutes later it will come back on then go off in two minutes so the radiators aren't even getting hot.

I'm renting so I thought it will be easy to sort this out but it taking ages for the building contractor (Vistry) to get back to me. I have had no end of problems with this new build. I definitely need the thermostat replaced, shame it's wired in.
 
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Clearly, the close proximity of the main control thermostat to its nearest radiator is primary issue.

If you could persuade your landlord to install Hive, the existing master control thermostat could be removed (by a blanking plate). The Hive control thermostat is ‘portable’. That is, it can either wall mounted, or set on a desktop pedestal - meaning that you can place it your coldest room, so that you can achieve your desired level of warmth.
 
It's a new build from a housing association so they won't install anything new.
Today I had a look at the lockshield and on all the radiators they were fully opened, they obviously haven't done the balancing as they were very hard to turn. I'm going tobplay around with them and when they eventually get back to me I will just open them back up.

I have turned down the radiator in the hallway.

Edit: The first thing I thought when I looked at this flat was the wall thermostat being in a silly place.
 
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May I suggest turning off the radiator in the hallway?
 
Are you charged a flat rate for heating? or by the amount you use?

Our thermostat is in a hallway with no radiator. But heat leaks to it from all the 5 rooms that connect to it. Give it a try?.
 
Are you charged a flat rate for heating? or by the amount you use?

Our thermostat is in a hallway with no radiator. But heat leaks to it from all the 5 rooms that connect to it. Give it a try?.
With the heating they charge you for what you use as at the moment I haven't set up a direct debit. O I will try turning off the radiator and see if the heating leaks into the hallway. Thanks.
 
Since I turned down the rad in the hallway, I'm now getting a clicking sound with the radiator in the bedroom, Sounds like airbubbles clicking but when I bleed the radiator no air comes out.
 
That sounds like the metal is expanding as it gets hot, probably a sign that that radiator is getting a good lasting supply of hot water for a change. I wouldn't worry just yet.
 
That sounds like the metal is expanding as it gets hot, probably a sign that that radiator is getting a good lasting supply of hot water for a change. I wouldn't worry just yet.

Thanks, I wasn't sure if it was air in the radiator or like you said the metal expanding. The weather has got warmer so I can't test it out, though I'm not complaining about the weather for this time of year.
 
Got a phonecall about my heating they hadn't got the notes through properly so I had ro explain about the thermostat, I will be getting a new thermostat, So that's one thing sorted.

I'm still getting a clicking sound in the radiator, when it starts to happen I have bleed the radiator and what comes out isn't air but bubbly water.
 
Keep going until it is clear of air. If it doesn't clear, get the landlord in.
 
Is that what it is air? None of the other radiators do it.
 

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