Change 4 zone heating system to smart thermostatic radiator valves instead?

[Chuck]

I'm hoping at least just to get a lot more control so that I can for instance have just my office warm late at night and nothing else on at all.

For this scenario, you need to know that most boilers have a minimum output in the range 5kW–8kW. This means they won't drive a typical single radiator directly without short-cycling. I'm aware of only two really satisfactory solutions. The nicer one, fit a buffer store, is relatively expensive in terms of money and space. The other one, use an electric panel heater, is much cheaper to install but leccy is significantly more expensive per kWh than gas so you need to think about the total cost of ownership over however long you will be living in the house and using your office late at night in the winter.

My advice would be to try the £100 panel radiator first and if you don't like it, spend the ca £2k needed for a more sophisticated solution. IMO, it's good to own a couple of electric panel heaters in case the gas boiler breaks down and can't be repaired immediately.

 

[Jerry]

tado or evohome

or replace the controls with digital programmable room stats and save your money for more effective money saving schemes. like a new boiler