Will switching radiators off do any long term damage in a unused room?

[axil23]

If I switch off radiators in rooms that are unused and not going to be used for a few months will that do any long term damage? I don't really think that the pipes can freeze as the rest of the house is still heated and is warmish. The rooms where the heating is off are really cold if that makes any difference.

 

[Best]

If the pipes & rads can't freeze, the only harm done will be a damp room. Why not have TRVs on each rad & turn them to low setting or frost setting?
Remember that the cold rooms will rob heat from rest of house if doors open, & rooms beside them will be needing more energy to come to right heat.

 

[axil23]

If the pipes & rads can't freeze, the only harm done will be a damp room. Why not have TRVs on each rad & turn them to low setting or frost setting?
Remember that the cold rooms will rob heat from rest of house if doors open, & rooms beside them will be needing more energy to come to right heat.

The doors are always shut as I don't use those rooms. Will the damp do any harm?

Say if I turn the rads to frost settings on the TRV's how much energy will that consume?

 

[Best]

The doors are always shut as I don't use those rooms. Will the damp do any harm?

Say if I turn the rads to frost settings on the TRV's how much energy will that consume?

The damp, at least short term, won't probably do a lot of harm to the room - just any furniture & other contents perhaps. Depends also if you have an oldish house with any damp walls or single glazing etc.
On frost setting, therm valves turn on at about 8 degrees I think. This means they should only come on when weather is fairly cold. How much energy the rads would use, I havent a clue, but has to be a fraction of heating those rooms fully. Note that the rooms will need a lot of energy to fully heat them back up later if it is a traditional home with solid walls & perhaps not to modern insulation, as the structure (walls, floors & everything) will absorb the heat before the room temperature comes back. Upstairs rads in a house are not as important as heat rises, but this will rob from rest of home to some extent. If no freeze risk, & no damp issues, then turn rads off.

 

[axil23]

The damp, at least short term, won't probably do a lot of harm to the room - just any furniture & other contents perhaps. Depends also if you have an oldish house with any damp walls or single glazing etc.
On frost setting, therm valves turn on at about 8 degrees I think. This means they should only come on when weather is fairly cold. How much energy the rads would use, I havent a clue, but has to be a fraction of heating those rooms fully. Note that the rooms will need a lot of energy to fully heat them back up later if it is a traditional home with solid walls & perhaps not to modern insulation, as the structure (walls, floors & everything) will absorb the heat before the room temperature comes back. Upstairs rads in a house are not as important as heat rises, but this will rob from rest of home to some extent. If no freeze risk, & no damp issues, then turn rads off.

Its a new build with wooden floors so the heat should rise up through them from below.

 

[axil23]

Just out of interest how do the therm valves know when its 8c as isn't it just a simple screw to shut down more of the valve process?

 

[Best]

Its a new build with wooden floors so the heat should rise up through them from below.

Then, you are in a great situation for turning the rads off if you wanted. A new build home will be well shielded from the cold.
You will find though, that on frost setting, TRVs will not turn on at all, most of the time, as a room at 8 degrees or even more, would feel very cold.

 

[axil23]

Then, you are in a great situation for turning the rads off if you wanted. A new build home will be well shielded from the cold.
You will find though, that on frost setting, TRVs will not turn on at all, most of the time, as a room at 8 degrees or even more, would feel very cold.

So should I put it on 1 to avoid the damp? But on 1 its gets fully hot and the rooms stays hot.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

perhaps move stats onto 1 rather than frost setting

beat me to it

 

[Best]

Just out of interest how do the therm valves know when its 8c as isn't it just a simple screw to shut down more of the valve process?

Head of Trv has a sensor that pushes the heads works down as temp rises. This pushes the pin on valve body down a small distance, to close valve eventually. The temp settings on the head are really only the the head works having less, or more of a distance to move up & down.
Don't think of a Trv as being a valve that reduces flow, as some think, but as a valve that turns off & on fully, leaving rad feeling sometimes lukewarm because valve is actually fully off - but only a short time ago.
Hope that made sense!

 

[Best]

So should I put it on 1 to avoid the damp? But on 1 its gets fully hot and the rooms stays hot.

On 1 the valve should only come on if the room is very cold, & should only take the nip off the air. If the room does get warm at number 1, there must be something wrong, like faulty valve or valve in a drafty place which is unlikely. Usually a room that needs just a little liveable heat will need valve at 2.

 

[axil23]

Thank you all. :smiley2: