15. Zoning System Controls

Heating controls have evolved considerably from the familiar dial thermostat mounted on a wall in the hallway. Heating can be controlled independently for different rooms or zones in the home and each can be programmed independently.

The controls can also be ‘intelligent’, learning and anticipating your occupation and temperature preferences and also using information from the weather to compensate for, or react to, external temperature changes.

Control can be managed remotely from a phone app and feedback on energy consumption can be integrated. However, the increasing complexity does not necessarily ensure lower fuel bills.

The apparent complexity of menus and submenus on electronic devices may not be intuitive for the elderly, disabled or unfamiliar users and multiple research papers conclude that heating controls are difficult for people to use.

In this example a two-bedroom apartment had five heating zone controllers and the controller for the bathroom was located, confusingly, in the hallway. The zoning would allow the system to turn off the underfloor heating in southerly rooms when there might be direct solar gains but keep the northerly rooms warm with the heating on. The zoning system was therefore well thought out and appropriate for the home, but the underlying principles had not been explained to the users and the same control could have been achieved with a single device if the interface had been designed to be accessible and easily understood. 

Things that can go wrong:

• Multiple interfaces and complex controls can be difficult to understand;
• System left on default or factory settings;
• Potential fuel saving not realised;
• Generally, complexity = inefficiency.

Future-proofing recommendations:

• DESIGN: Ensure equipment is identified and controls are clearly labelled;
• COMMISSION: Supplement the BREL with clear and well-illustrated, non-technical home information.