Do you need thermal heads on radiators - our experience of two years of use

Heating in our house has been working for 2 years, although we are wintering the first winter. Last winter, we were engaged in finishing and building the stairs. Heating was turned on at the very minimum to save energy. Nevertheless, it was comfortable for us to work.

Each radiator in the house is equipped with Buderus thermal heads, which automatically maintain a comfortable temperature in the room. This is due to the fact that the thermal head inside has a spring valve and a sensitive thermoelement, which has a large expansion when heated.

If it gets hot in the room, that is, the temperature rises above the comfortable one, then the valve closes the passage for the coolant fluid, and the battery is cooled. But, of course, for this you need to adjust all the batteries so that the temperature is exactly what is required.

It is easy to be convinced that this system works. At night we always ventilate the rooms, and if, after ventilating, touch the batteries, they are just very hot, so much so that it is impossible to touch. And on frosty but sunny days, when the sun heats the rooms through the windows, the batteries become barely warm. Of course, this leads to significant energy savings.

Thermal heads are manual, mechanical and electronic. Manual, these are just taps with graduations, as they turned, so they stand. Mechanical ones have a thermocouple, which I have already described. They work independently, but within a given range.

Electronic thermal heads are small computers that can be set to any parameters and programmed by time of day, days of the week, and so on. Of course, they are quite expensive and are unlikely to pay off by saving on heating the coolant. The best option is, of course, mechanical thermal heads.

When using these devices, it is tedious to take into account that they require free air circulation around them. Therefore, it is impossible to obscure them with furniture, curtains, protruding window sills. Under these conditions, they will not work properly. For example, behind the curtains, they will be cold from the window, and they will increase the temperature. And under the windowsill they will be hot, and the temperature will drop, the room will always be cold.

Thus, if someone decides to install thermal heads, it is quite a profitable and comfortable thing. You just need to strictly follow the instructions and act reasonably.

What are the disadvantages of thermostats?At first, price. For example, "Buderuses" are sold today at a price of 1,500 rubles. Two years ago, of course, they were cheaper. But if there are 10 radiators in the house, then this is 15 thousand rubles - a rather big amount. You can pick up and cheaper. Although this is not the kind of thing worth saving on.

Secondly, they certainly do not decorate the room. Moreover, it is optimal to install them - "head" into the room. However, we installed it parallel to the wall. Everything works.

Thirdly, they dictate the arrangement of furniture and curtains in the room. As already mentioned, they cannot be covered and obscured.

Overall, this is a great energy saving thing. And that means money.