Hello AT,
I know spring is in the air and all that, but I want to know about thermostatic radiator valves, which are supposed to allow you to control the temperature at each steam radiator, room-by-room.
They replace the standard shut-off valve, which is really supposed to be only an on/off, despite the fact that they spin around and around so you'd think they have midpoint settings. But no......
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Anyway, what are the different kinds/brands of TRVs, who installs them, how much installed, when to do it (during or after heating season), and DO THEY ACTUALLY WORK???
Because these overheated NYC apartments are killing me, and the open-window thing is so wasteful.
Thanks. Alan
Dear Alan,
Never heard of these, which doesn't bode well.
Wikipedia says that TVR's are "suitable for large rooms or buildings that are not constantly occupied, (such as warehouses and garages), where precise control of the room temperature is not critical."
That said, there are a lot of links here for them, a number of which inspire confidence, particularly because they are pitched for saving energy. Since the price of one is relatively inexpensive, we'd try one out and see how it goes.
Does anyone have experience with these things first hand?
These are on the radiators in my dorm, and no, they do not work very well. The quantity of heat seems to remain constant no matter what position you turn it to. They are Honeywell brand, fwiw.
view irksomecushion's profile
We had these while I was living in Iceland and they work, although even at the lowest setting we still kept the windows open.
view Mary Robinette Kowal's profile
These are pretty standard in the UK. We have them on all our radiators and they do work. They're great for setting different temperatures in different rooms - and for saving energy in the process. The lowest setting is quite cool. We don't even have a central thermostat, just these valves.
view zooza's profile
We had them in our dorm as wel, and i don't remember them working so well either.
view Eliza's profile
We have these in our 1000 sq ft 1920's condo, and they work wonderfully. Every room has a radiator (actually there's two in the kitchen, which is silly), and it would be impossible to regulate the temperature if we had to run around turning them all on and off all the time. We keep them around "3" and have not needed to adjust them yet, though it's getting warmer, so maybe soon.
One downside, we weren't able to put one on the radiator in the bathroom because the plumber said it had "the wrong kind of knob". I don't know what that means, but you may want to check before investing any money.
view freckle's profile
I've never seen them in a NY apartment but I have them in London (agree with zooza that they're pretty standard in the UK). They don't give you especially fine control over the temperature but they do at least give you some control. I think they are worth trying.
view nylon's profile
Check out This Old House and Ask This Old House. They use them often in their shows.
view Kurt's profile
dear god, will this stop the radiator banging?!
view Shannon in SF's profile
Fairly common in Ireland too. Like mentioned above, their reasonably effective at keeping a radiator from getting particularly hot, but it won't provide precise degree control of room temp.
view RobertT's profile