What is weather compensation and how does it work?

If you’re looking for ways to reduce your home’s energy expenditure, you may have come across weather compensation. Weather compensation is well worth considering if you’d like to reduce energy bills and minimise your carbon footprint.

In this guide, we’re going to take a look at weather compensation systems, how they work, and what benefits they offer for homeowners.

What is weather compensation?

One of the biggest factors that influences the demand on your home’s central heating is the weather outside. On a warm, sunny day, you likely won’t need to turn on the heating, whereas you might have it running all day in the winter. It therefore makes a lot of sense to factor the current weather conditions into your home’s heating system.

Weather compensation helps your heating appliance to operate efficiently by monitoring both internal and external temperatures, and will adjust the appliance settings accordingly. This means that your heating will only run when it’s needed, ensuring that your home remains at a consistent temperature all year round without you having to lift a finger.

How does a weather compensation system work?

A weather compensation system works in much the same way as a thermostat, with the added benefit being the use of both internal and external temperature sensors or internet based weather data. Many of Glow-worms controls can be paired with an external sensor to allow weather compensation.

While standard thermostats only measure the temperature inside your home and adjust the boiler settings accordingly, weather compensation systems also monitor the external temperature. The air surrounding the building has a significant impact on your home’s heating requirements, so this additional information means that the boiler never works harder than it needs to in order to maintain the set temperature.

Weather compensation considerations

While this technology has lots of advantages, there are a few important considerations to take into account when deciding whether upgrading to a weather compensation system is right for you.

External sensor position

To ensure accurate temperature readings, the system’s external sensor needs to be positioned somewhere that doesn’t receive too much direct sunlight. Glow-worm recommend positioning the outdoor sensor on a north-facing wall two thirds of the way up the building

Your home’s insulation

Because weather compensation works best when maintaining a constant low-level temperature, it’s important to ensure that your home is well insulated to make the most out of the heat generated.

Whilst deciding to upgrade to a weather compensation system, you should consider adding loft insulation, filling cavity walls and installing double-glazed windows.

Underfloor heating

Underfloor heating is particularly well suited to weather compensation systems, helping to evenly spread the heat throughout your home. While it’s in no means essential to have underfloor heating if you’d like to benefit from weather compensation, the two technologies work extremely well together to create a comfortable, efficient output.

Radiator condition

Radiators that are clogged with sludge or trapped air won’t be able to work to their full potential, which is particularly important when you’re using lower levels of constant heat. If you’ve noticed cold spots on any of your radiators, they might need bleeding or power flushing. Remember as well not to load your radiators with towels and laundry, as this prevents them from delivering heat to the room.

Reduced flow temperature

Weather compensation is designed to override other boiler features as it uses the data from the outdoor sensor to monitor and control the indoor temperature. The heating flow temperature may reduce due to this with the varying outdoor temperature, which means that at times your radiators may not feel as hot as previous. However, the new system will ensure that you have a consistent, comfortable temperature and reduces the need for you to adjust your settings.