5 Types of Radiator Valves

by Brian Wallace Affiliate Marketing

You’ve just purchased a brand new set of fantastic radiators for your new home or home refurbishment project. Now it’s time to make them complete and deck them out with some snazzy radiator valves.

Radiator valves are the perfect accessories for your new heating devices to give them that ideal finishing touch. They can come in a variety of styles and colours to suit your particular taste and suit certain colour schemes.

In terms of functionality, the type of radiator valve will vary depending on how often you want to use it and the convenience you are after. Here are the main types you can go to for how they are fully utilised.

Manual Radiator Valves

A manual radiator valve is very simple and straightforward to use. It can either be turned to “on” or “off” to keep the temperature of the radiator at a constant level regardless of the temperature of the room. Even though they are very easy to use, they don’t tend to be the most energy-efficient due to the constant temperature and flow of water. Manual radiator valves are most ideally suited for rooms that are fitted with a room thermostat.

Thermostatic Radiator Valves

A thermostatic radiator valve, otherwise known as TRV, has a sensing head built into it, which is generally either wax or liquid-filled sensor. This sensor adjusts to the temperature output of a radiator depending on the room temperature. It does this by increasing or decreasing the flow of water through the radiator. This makes it a much more energy-efficient radiator valve when compared to the manual valve. It is not ideal, however, to use a TRV in rooms that already have a room thermostat as this can conflict in the temperature readings.

Lockshield Valves

A lockshield valve is most commonly used to control the flow of water which is coming out of the radiator. It is also designed to help balance a radiator, to ensure that the radiators heat up efficiently and at the same rate. These valves also ensure that the water in each radiator system is evenly distributed for maximum efficiency.

Straight or Angled Valves?

Each type of radiator valve has different variations to help determine how they will be best fitted onto a radiator.

Angled

The most common type of radiator valve found in the UK is the angled valve. They have a 90-degree bend in the valve body which connects the radiator to the rest of the central heating circuit. An angled valve is ideal for settings where the pipework comes through the floor or wall and the radiator inlets at the sides.

Straight

Straight valves are much less common and popular in the UK and they work by simply connecting the radiator to the rest of the system without a bed in the valve body. They are most ideal for settings where the pipework and radiator inlets align.