Where do you put your thermostat?

Another small, not particularly exciting decision is where the thermostat goes. Most people simply leave it where the old one was, or if installing a new smart thermostat, wherever there happens to be a spare plug.

The position of your thermostat will control how comfortable your home feels and how hard your heating system has to work, so it's worth a minute to work out the right place to have it installed.

The basic rules

• A thermostat should be somewhere that reflects the average temperature of your home - not the warmest or coldest spot
• Around chest height - ~ 1.2 to 1.5 metres above the floor
• On a clear section of wall - not hidden behind doors or furniture
• Away from anything that artificially warms or cools it i.e. not near the front door or the oven, or above a radiator or near a fireplace or in front of a sunny window!
• ... and avoid putting it in a room where a thermostatic radiator valve could conflict with it

Places to avoid

• Directly above a radiator - The thermostat warms up too quickly and shuts the heating off before the rest of the house is actually comfortable
• In direct sunlight - The sun will trick the thermostat into thinking the room is warmer than it is
• Near draughts or external doors - Cold air makes the heating stay on longer than necessary
• In kitchens or bathrooms - Steam, cooking heat and temperature swings make the thermostat's current temperature reading completely unreliable for the rest of the house
• Hidden behind furniture or curtains - If air cannot circulate properly around the thermostat, the temperature reading will be inaccurate
• Bedrooms - Usually not ideal. Bedrooms are often cooler than the rest of the house and you spend less waking time there. It's usually better to adjust the radiator valve instead
• In a room where the radiator is turned off - If the radiator in that room is not heating properly, the thermostat will keep calling for heat even though the rest of the house may already be warm

So where do I put the thermostat?

Assuming you have a single thermostat, you want it somewhere that genuinely reflects the general temperature of the home.

• Downstairs (heat rises)
• On an inside wall away from draughts
• Living room is a good spot - somewhere in the middle of your home
• Hallways can work well - unless they are much colder than the rest of the house / too close to the front door

Open plan space? Go for somewhere that is representative of the whole space, is not right next to glazing or doors or going to be influenced by cooking or appliances.

Thermostats and different temperatures for different rooms

You can control the temperature in individual rooms with traditional radiators using thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs). Most radiators in a home will have one of these fitted so that each room can regulate its own temperature. The numbered settings you see (1, 2, 3, 4 etc.) roughly correspond to different temperature levels.

You'll usually find that the radiator in the same room as the main thermostat doesn't have a thermostatic valve, so the thermostat can control the heating for the whole system without the radiator switching itself off early.

Smart thermostatic radiator valves take this further, allowing you to set different temperatures in different rooms at different times of day.

Even with smart controls, the location of your main thermostat still matters. It should sit somewhere that reflects the general temperature of the home, not the warmest or coldest spot.

Choose a spot that reflects the real temperature of the home, not one that is simply convenient for wiring.

Because once everything is finished, who moves a thermostat?