Radiator Valve Replacement

We need to replace our management-controlled radiator valves with thermostatically controlled or manually controlled valves. That will make our apartments more comfortable and significantly reduce heating costs.

You don't have to be an expert to know that the valves controlling most of the radiators at Bryant Gardens are among the least efficient imaginable. This is unconscionable at a time of high and rising fuel costs.

Management Controlled Radiators. Our radiators are described as "management controlled." That means if it's too hot, you can ask the maintenance office to send someone to your apartment to turn the radiator down. If it's too cold, you can ask to have the radiator turned up (or bled if necessary). If you don't bother to ask -- which 95% of us don't according to Superintendent Robert Compasso -- your radiator never gets adjusted. Sometimes it's too hot, sometimes too cold, and, as Goldilocks says, sometimes it's just right.

Minimal Heating Efficiency. Due to the skill of our maintenance personnel, many of us are close to comfortable a lot of the time. But the arrangement doesn't maximize comfort and definitely minimizes efficiency. The fans, air conditioners, and open windows we use to cool down overheated apartments every winter waste as much as 20% of our heating oil budget.

Danfoss Valves. Danfoss thermostatic regulator valves, which have frequently been mentioned on the Forum, may well be the optimal way to achieve comfort and efficiency. Once set, they automatically adjust the radiator to achieve the desired room temperature. However, at about $150 per radiator for hardware, plus installation, they are not cheap, and might not be the most cost-efficient solution.

Cheaper Valves. Fortunately, the Danfoss valves aren't the only way to achieve more comfort and efficiency. Less elegant, but also less expensive, are manually adjusted valves like the ones we grew up with. While most of us won't call the maintenance office except in an emergency, we will bend over to adjust a radiator equipped with a manual valve. Manual valves produce more comfortable apartments and waste less fuel.

Time for a Change. We know what we have now is fuel-ishly inefficient. We need to fully examine the alternatives, perform a comparative cost-benefit analysis, and get with a valve replacement program. Fuel surcharges are only acceptable as a last resort.

Adjustable radiator valves = more comfort with less fuel.