New building regulations requirements for thermostatic room controls, including thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs), to be added to heating systems when a boiler is replaced apply in England from 15 June 20221. The change was set out by BEAMA, the trade association for energy infrastructure and systems, which published an explainer and supporting guidance for householders and installers1.
BEAMA describes the requirement as covering "thermostatic room controls to be added to heating systems when a boiler is replaced", and states that these apply from 15 June 2022 in England1. The same explainer covers changes to the Building Regulations in England from June 2022 and in Wales from November 2022, so the two nations are on different start dates1.
"Explainer on new building regulations requirements for thermostatic room controls to be added to heating systems when a boiler is replaced. These apply from 15 June 2022 in England."
BEAMA has published a factsheet for householders and a separate factsheet for installers, both dated 13 May 2022, alongside a 2018 test report from Salford University on energy savings from TRVs1. It has also produced an animation explaining the changes in England from June 2022 and in Wales from November 2022, which it says outlines the benefits to householders of adding TRVs to a heating system1.
The sources do not set out the full technical detail of the requirement, the penalties for non-compliance, or how compliance is checked and recorded. Those points have not been reported in the material available here.
Why it matters for households
A boiler replacement is one of the few moments when a home's heating system is opened up, and the regulations now attach a controls requirement to that work in England. For a household, the practical effect is that the radiators in the property are expected to carry thermostatic control rather than relying on a single central thermostat alone. That gives each room the ability to call for heat on its own terms, which is the basis of heating controls and thermostats working room by room rather than as one zone.
TRVs sit at the radiator rather than at the boiler, so the requirement reaches into rooms that a boiler swap would not otherwise touch. Homes that already have TRVs fitted on every radiator are in a different position from homes with bare valves, and the TRV requirements under building regulations are the specific rules that apply. Where a boiler has its own built-in thermostat, the question of whether separate room controls are still needed is a common one, and it is addressed in do I need room controls if my boiler has its own thermostat.
For energy independence, the significance is control at the point of use. A room that can shut its radiator down when it is warm enough stops drawing heat it does not need, which reduces the demand a household places on whatever fuel or supply it depends on. The wider framework, including approval, inspection and certificates, sits under building regulations in England, and the controls-specific rules across the four nations are gathered in building regulations for heating controls across the UK. Households in Scotland face a separate question about whether heating controls, radiators and pipework need a building warrant, covered in do heating controls, radiators and pipework need a building warrant in Scotland.
What happens next
The England requirement applies from 15 June 20221. The equivalent changes in Wales apply from November 20221. No further dates are given in the sources.
Sources1 cited
- TRVs in the Building Regulations, beama.org.uk