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At Zara Heating, we are specialists in anything related to keeping your home warm and comfortable, including radiator function and problem resolution.
In this blog, we will be discussing the process of balancing the radiators within your property, an issue that, if left unattended, can greatly impact the warmth and efficiency of your home.
When Do My Radiators Need Balancing? If radiators in different parts of your property are heating up at varying rates, the water flowing from your boiler is not being distributed evenly, and they may need to be balanced.
Unbalanced radiators not only cause frustration, but also lead to significant energy waste and increased expenses.
However, if your radiators have cold spots and make noises when the heating is turned on, they need to be "bled" before being balanced. Bleeding a radiator involves releasing trapped air to ensure that water is not displaced, causing the top of the radiator to become cooler and impairing its performance.
It is advisable to bleed a radiator before attempting to balance it for a more accurate heat reading.
Zara Heating has a video available that provides more information on bleeding your radiators.
How To Balance A Radiator To perform the initial bleeding and balancing of your radiators, you will need the following tools:
Step 1 - Turn off your central heating Turn off your central heating and allow the radiators to cool, and make sure to have already bled the radiators and, if necessary, carry out a system power flush.
Step 2 - Open the valves Fully open the thermostatic valves by turning the valve head to the highest number on the dial, usually anti-clockwise (to the left).
If your radiators do not have thermostatic valves, you can open the lockshields by removing the cover cap and turning the valve anti-clockwise with a valve key or spanner.
Step 3 - Monitor radiator heating rates After all the radiator valves are open, switch the heating back on and observe the order in which the radiators heat up.
Step 4 - Turn off and on the central heating Once you have noted the heating rates, switch off the heating and allow the radiators to cool before turning the heating back on.
Step 5 - Adjust the fastest heating radiator Turn the lockshield valve on the fastest radiator until it is completely closed and then open it by a quarter turn.
Step 6 - Take temperature measurements Once the fastest radiator has heated up, take an accurate temperature reading at the point of connection between the pipework and lockshield valve. Then, take the temperature of the pipework on the opposite side, where the TRV is located, and make a note of both measurements.
Turn the lockshield valve slowly until the difference between the two readings is exactly 12°C.
Step 7 - Balance other radiators Repeat step 6 on other radiators around your property to effectively balance them. Often, the further the radiator is from the boiler, the more its lockshield valve needs to be opened to provide equal water reception. For example, the slowest radiator to heat up may require its lockshield valve to be fully opened.
If you have thoroughly followed all the steps listed above and are still having issues, unequal water dispersion disparities may be due to other problems.
A common component issue that can cause radiator imbalance is a faulty pump that is not efficiently distributing water around
