Frogsavers! How to cut your central heating costs - bargain news!

In our large house, the radiators are controlled by thermostatic valves. By setting the required room temperature on each of the valves, you can avoid excessive room temperatures leading to wastage of fuel and money. So far, so good.

But, we have far more rooms than there are people in the house, so it stands to reason that some rooms will be empty for much of the time. Bedrooms, for instance might not be occupied much after 8 in the morning, or before 10 at night but we want them to be warm when we get up and when we go to bed. The living room, conversely, won’t normally need heating until after breakfast, and though we want it warm enough for comfort in day time, we would like it a little warmer in the evening for a snug atmosphere when we’re reading or watching TV.

We could save money by frequently going round the house manually adjusting thermostatic radiator valves up or down, to match the temperature of the room to its use at any particular time of the day. We don’t do this because it would be time consuming, tedious and complicated, so, like many people, we end up leaving radiators heating empty rooms to unnecessarily high temperatures for much of the time.

So, it was exciting to find that Aldi was selling an electronic programmable radiator thermostat for only €14.99. Normally this type of valve head sells for 3 or 4 times this price, and the high initial cost can make it difficult to recoup the investment within a reasonable time. I bought our local store’s entire stock!

What you get is a replacement valve head designed to fit the majority of thermostat valves. Adaptors are supplied to fit all the most common varieties, including Danfoss, Heimeier, MNG, Junkers, Honeywell, Landis & Gyr, Simplex and many others Incorporated into the replacement head is a battery driven actuator motor and an electronic programmer, so sophisticated it even knows when to put the clocks forward for summer time and back again in winter. The valves, branded Quiqq, and made by the big Medion electronics firm, come well-packaged and they’re guaranteed for 3 years (so keep the receipt).

Fitting and programming the new thermostats was a doddle. After the first one or two I could do the entire job in about 5 minutes per radiator. Once in place they regulate the temperature to a much finer tolerance than the old thermostats, and you can adjust your temperature settings by increments of just ½ degree and your programme times in 10 minute slices. You can set up to 7 programmed periods each day and the programmer will cope with weekday only or weekend only settings. You can even have completely different programmes for every day of the week, if that suits your particular circumstances. When necessary the programme is easily overridden by simply pressing a button.

There are other features, too, including a holiday setting which allows you to leave the heating off while you’re away, but still come back to a warm house on your return, automatic open window detection and weekly full operation of the valve to prevent sticking.

I’m not sure how long these excellent units will remain on sale at Aldi, but if you already have thermostat valves, and you want to have even more control of your heating system to save money, I suggest you buy some immediately. At this astonishingly low price I calculate my fuel savings could amount to enough to repay 100% of my investment in the next 4 months.

by Patrick Hay

Take off the old thermostat valve heads...

...and install the new ones. No tools required except a screwdriver to remove the old unit. The Aldi units even come with batteries!