Horsham Gas Engineer Reveals: Why Balancing Your Heating System Is Crucial for Lower Bills

Hello, I’m Andrew Tyler, your local, Gas Safe registered engineer here at Prime Boiler Care in Horsham. 

I cover all of the Horsham and Adur Districts in West Sussex, from Horsham town itself to Shoreham-by-Sea, Lancing, Steyning, Henfield, and all the surrounding areas like Southwater, Storrington, Billingshurst, Pulborough, Southwick, and Sompting.

I spend a lot of time helping homeowners get the most out of their heating. 

One of the most common issues I see, and one of the easiest to fix, is an unbalanced central heating system. 

It's a straightforward process that makes a huge difference to your comfort levels, your boiler’s efficiency, and crucially, your home energy consumption and gas bills.

Why Does Your Central Heating System Need Balancing?

Think of your heating system like a series of connected pipes. 

When it’s working right, every radiator gets a fair share of the hot water from your boiler. 

But if it’s unbalanced, the radiators nearest the boiler or pump can hog the water flow, leaving the ones further away lukewarm or even stone cold.

• Uneven Home Heating: You get some rooms that are roasting while others stay chilly—a sure sign you need professional radiator balancing in your Horsham or Lancing home.

• Wasted Energy: Your boiler runs longer and hotter trying to satisfy a thermostat that’s not getting a true reading, meaning you're spending more on gas than you should be.

• Noisy Radiator Valves: Too much flow through a radiator can lead to annoying "gushing" or whistling noises, especially if you have Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs) trying to close against high pressure.

Essentially, central heating balancing optimises the flow of water to every radiator, ensuring you get the intended heat output in every room with minimum effort from your boiler.

What Causes an Unbalanced Heating System?

Most often, it happens after a radiator has been removed and refitted for decorating, or when lockshield valves are simply knocked or adjusted without proper care.

Sometimes, people try to fix cold radiators by turning up the boiler thermostat or increasing the pump speed. While this might make the cold radiator slightly warmer, it almost certainly increases your running costs and can make the noise problem worse. 

It’s a temporary fix that costs you money in the long run. 

Of course, a cold radiator could also point to sludge or a faulty pump, which I can also diagnose and fix.

As a Prime Boiler Care gas engineer, I consider boiler balancing to be standard, necessary practice on all new boiler installations and boiler replacements throughout the Horsham District and Adur District. 

It simply shouldn’t be neglected.

How I Balance Your Heating System for Maximum Efficiency in West Sussex.

When I arrive at your property in Steyning or Shoreham-by-Sea, here’s the professional process I follow to ensure your system is perfectly balanced:

1. Preparation: I start by bleeding all radiators to remove any trapped air, as air pockets stop the flow of water. I then turn the heating off and let the entire system cool down completely.

2. Initial Assessment: I turn the heating back on and note the order in which the radiators heat up. Those closest to the boiler/pump (which is often inside modern combi boilers) will heat fastest.

3. The Adjustment Process: Using specialist tools, I adjust the lockshield valve (usually the valve on the return pipe side) on each radiator. The aim is to achieve a consistent temperature drop across every radiator—typically around 20°C for modern condensing gas boilers—to ensure they are all performing as they should.

4. Targeting the Hottest: I start by restricting the flow to the radiators that get hottest quickest. This 'pushes' the flow to the cooler radiators further away. This is a careful, iterative process. Any change to one radiator affects all the others, so I check and adjust the valves until the whole house heats up evenly.

5. Using Precision Tools: While a quick fix can sometimes be done by hand, I prefer to use a digital thermometer or modern clip-on pipe thermometers to measure the flow and return temperatures accurately. This allows for far more precise central heating optimisation than simply touching the pipe.

Once the central heating system balancing is complete, your radiators will heat up at an even rate, and your boiler will run more efficiently, often at a lower temperature, which is great for your bank account. 

I can even use modern APPs to precisely calculate flow rates and set advanced valves like the IMI Eclipse, providing you with a full report on your Horsham home’s heating system settings.

Ready to Fix Uneven Heating and Lower Your Energy Bills?

If you’re tired of cold spots, noisy pipes, and high bills, don't ignore the problem. 

Prime Boiler Care is your trusted local expert for boiler and heating system maintenance in Horsham, Pulborough, Henfield, and the wider West Sussex area.

Call me, Andrew Tyler, today for professional, efficient central heating system balancing.

Prime Boiler Care

Suite 54, Standby Business Centre

Foundry Lane

Horsham, West Sussex, England, RH13 5PX

01403 814602