Preparing ahead means you can be confident that your heating system is working as expected when you need it most. Identifying and resolving issues early will save you time, stress and money. Make sure you’re getting the most out of your heating system by following the tips below.
Radiator maintenance
Bleed radiators regularly to remove any trapped air, which can affect the efficiency of the heating system and increase energy usage. If you notice they are cold at the top and hot at the bottom when in use then they may need bleeding. For a sealed heating system, it’s worth checking your pressure level is between 1.0-1.5 bar and if below – top up using the filling loop valves or contact your tepeoPro heating engineer.
Thermostatic Radiator Valves
Most up-to-date central heating systems have Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs) fitted to some or all of the radiators. These simple devices monitor the ambient air temperature of the room they are located in and constantly adjust the flow of hot water to the radiator to maintain a constant room temperature.
To maximise the efficiency of your heating system, particularly when utilising TRVs, consider the following tips:
Review TRV setup
Ensure that each TRV is set to the appropriate temperature for the room it serves. Typically, bedrooms may be set lower, around 18°C, while living areas can be set slightly higher, around 20-21°C. Adjust these settings based on personal comfort and usage patterns. If you have young children that may alter these settings, some valves can be child locked to prevent unexpected temperature changes and adding unplanned costs to your bills.
Regularly maintain them
Periodically check and maintain your TRVs. Ensure they are clean and free from obstruction, allowing them to accurately measure room temperature. Make sure there are no curtains covering them, and if you do have long curtains, avoid covering the radiator when the curtains are closed, so that the radiator is heating the room and not the window.
Insulate your exposed pipework
Insulating pipes located in unheated or poorly insulated areas such as conservatories, garages, lofts, lean-tos, external areas and crawl spaces will prevent heat loss, ensuring that the water in the heating system remains hot until it reaches the radiators. This can lower your energy consumption and reduce heating bills.
Update your heating controls
Smart thermostats offer a convenient way to control your heating system remotely, providing flexibility and potential energy savings. By connecting to the internet, they enable you to adjust heating schedules and temperatures from anywhere using your smartphone.
The ability to set up schedules ensures that your heating system operates efficiently, only running when needed and maintaining comfortable temperatures according to your preferences. Additionally, the remote control feature allows for immediate adjustments, which can be handy for unexpected changes in plans or weather conditions.
Review your thermostat schedule to ensure it meets your heating and hot water needs this winter. We recommend setting the thermostat schedule to come on just after your ZEB’s typical charging period, e.g. in the early morning.
A pre-winter checklist for your ZEB:
Power status
To confirm your ZEB’s power is on, check the ‘Power’ LED is illuminated on the Comms Box.
tepeo App
We regularly release updates for the tepeo App, with new features and improvements. To enable auto-update so you’re always using the latest version, follow these steps for Android and Apple devices.
Connectivity
We regularly improve your ZEB by seamlessly upgrading its software when it’s connected to the internet. Good and stable internet connectivity ensures the ZEB is always up to date and we are able to support you when needed. In the tepeo App home screen, scroll down to check ‘Wi-Fi signal strength’. For optimal performance, it should show as ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’. If you see a different status, please refer to the User Guide for troubleshooting or contact the tepeo Support Team.
Update tariff settings
Your electricity tariff may have changed since last winter. It’s important to update these details so your ZEB can optimise charging during the cheapest energy periods. To update:
- Check a recent bill or your energy supplier’s app for your current prices.
- Open the tepeo App, select ‘Tariff Settings’ from the main menu and follow the steps to update.
ZEB charging schedule
Review your ZEB Charging style in the tepeo App. For the start of the heating season, we recommend:
- Week 1: In the tepeo App, set Custom Charging to be 50% of State of Charge (SoC) during the off-peak period for your tariff. State of Charge target (%) should be monitored and adjusted if required.
- Week 2: Enable Smart Charging and your ZEB will continue to store the right amount of heat based on your needs, the weather and your tariff, charging up at night and topping up during the day if needed.
For more information please refer to the User Guide and user FAQs.
Away Mode
If your ZEB was set to ‘Away Mode’ for the summer, when you are ready, you can disable it via the tepeo App in ‘Away Mode’ settings:
- Without a return date: If you selected ‘Indefinitely’, disable ‘Away Mode’ by selecting ‘Enable Automatic Charging’ in the tepeo App. Your ZEB will then resume charging based on your preferred schedule.
- With a return date: If you have pre-selected a specific return date, then the charging schedule will start on that day.
Test run your ZEB
To ensure your ZEB is functioning as expected, it’s worth ‘Boost Charging’ the ZEB for a short period of time and checking if your radiators start to warm up in each room; you might need to adjust your thermostat. For more details on how to use the ‘Boost Charging’ function, please refer to the User Guide.
For more details on how to optimise your heating system and energy saving tips, please refer to the Quick Start Guide, the User Guide and User FAQs. Alternatively, for additional support please get in touch with our Support Team http://www.tepeo.com/contact-us/.