In this context of energy crisis, many Belgians are trying to find solutions to save money at all costs. Especially during cold periods, which are very costly in terms of energy. Some therefore choose to close the valves of their heating system to reduce consumption. But is it really effective?
The idea has surely crossed your mind before: “What if I closed the valves on some of my radiators to save money In the case of a house equipped with several radiators, is it really useful to turn on only one radiator to hope to heat as much space as possible? For Maarten Van Lierop, heating engineer, if the idea is to economize, this is not the solution: “If you start a boiler that can go from 20 to 35KW for a radiator that makes 3 or 4, you will end up with unnecessary overconsumption. The final yield is less good. It’s like you’re going all alone in a ten person car.”
In other words, by heating only one room of your house, each time you open a door leading to a much colder room, the heat loss will be very significant. A drop in temperature that is difficult to recover, unless you reopen a heating valve again. Finally, hoping to save 90% of energy by operating only one radiator out of ten, you will only save at most 40 to 50% of the total energy.
The heating also heats the walls a little
If you have to heat an icy room, the gain will be even lower: “If we drop the temperatures much too low, when we then have to restart the heating, we have not only the air to be heated but also the whole volume. Because you should know that the heating also heats the walls a little. They’re also a little radiant, so it’ll spin even more.“, explains the heating engineer.
In summary, closing the valves of certain radiators completely does not save money in the long term. If you still want to heat certain rooms less, the specialist recommends keeping a difference of 3 to 4 degrees maximum with the main room. The objective: to reduce temperature differences and allow the heat to be distributed equally.