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Is it OK to Turn Off Some Radiators?
When Should You Turn Your Heating Off?
The date that you should turn off your radiators is around the end of March to early April, which is usually around the time when the clocks go forward. As the weather starts to get warmer and spring begins to approach, this is the best time to turn off your heating as the natural warmth should heat your home adequately.
How to Turn Off a Radiator
The process of turning off your radiator is different depending on which valves you have. It’s good practice to balance your radiators frequently to ensure they all heat up at the same rate, so you will need to know how to turn them off completely before doing this. Here’s our guide on how to turn off your radiators easily.
Turning off Thermostatic Valves
Thermostatic valves (TRVs) are self-regulating and will help to maintain a constant temperature in your room. The manual knob is usually found to the right of your radiator and is a setting to control the hot water flow into your radiators, which causes it to produce heat. The valve will have a numbered dial to adjust the heat, so all you need to do is twist the valve clockwise all the way until it reads ‘0’ and your radiator will be off.
How to Turn off Manual Valves
Manual valves are also known as non-thermostatic valves and will not have a numbered dial, just a smaller cap. To turn your radiator off this way, turn the valve clockwise as far as it will go to completely turn off the radiator.
How to Turn Off Lockshield Valves
This is a radiator valve that has a cap screwed on the top and will not turn easily. To turn lockshield valves off, you’ll first have to unscrew the cap with a screwdriver, take off the cap and then twist the metal valve with a pair of pliers or a small spanner. Turn clockwise until you feel it come to a stop and this will turn your radiator completely off.
How to Turn off a Heated Towel Rail
A standard heated towel rail will come on and off in accordance with the central heating system and heats up via a timer. However, some heated towel rails will have straight or angled valves and some may also have lockshield valves. To turn off your heated towel rail, adjust the valves and turn in a clockwise direction until it won't turn any more, or the dial reads '0.' If you have lockshield valves, unscrew the cap, then then turn the metal valve clockwise with a pair of pliers or a spanner until it stops turning.
Is it OK to Turn off Some Radiators?
It’s good practice to turn off radiators in rooms that aren’t used very often, for example in conservatories or spare bedrooms. This means that you will be saving heat and reducing your energy bills, which allows the heat from your boiler to be spread around the rest of your house more efficiently. However, you should ensure that you turn these radiators on a low heat every so often to prevent damp and keep water flowing through the pipes in the colder months.
Turning off your radiators is essential when bleeding or balancing your heating, so we hope this guide has shed some light on how to do this efficiently! Check out our guide on how to save on heating bills for some useful tips and tricks.
