From the Principal’s Desk….
Having gotten over the shock of children illustrating cards for Christmas, we are now back on a more normal schedule as the children start to get excited about Hallowe’en. I saw my first Hallowe’en picture at the gate this morning. Senior Infants are looking for a return of the giant blueberry (you’ll have to ask them about that) while the green school committee are hoping to reduce unnecessary waste by encouraging recycling and reusing costumes in combination with some make and do. This is advance warning that you may need to get your creative juices flowing.
We have had a few teachers and children out with colds, flu and the bug that shall not be named. So, a reminder that we’re approaching the time of year when we need to boost our vitamin D levels and look after ourselves.
Rang a Sé were busy working on electrical circuits yesterday and were displaying great logical reasoning and application of it in a practical sense.
A reminder that the Admission window is open for this month. If you have a sibling who has not already submitted a form requesting a place, please do so as soon as you can using this link.
We received the sad news of the death of Brendan White. He is the husband of our recently retired secretary, Eleanor. Those of you who knew her will join us in offering our heartfelt sympathies to her and her family.
Please check the RMDS Calendar on our website for all dates of upcoming events, next week looks to be quiet so let’s hope it stays that way.
Have a lovely weekend,
Paul
It's Pub Quiz time! The PA's annual parents' table quiz will be in The Hill on Wed Oct 19th at 8pm. Tables of 4 are €30 and tickets are available on rmdsevents.com. Max 20 tables so get your tickets early. Prize money is a donation to your kids' classroom, so nominate your class and win prizes for your classroom so this is an opportunity to be a hero in your child's eyes! The Parents' Association also needs raffle prizes and volunteers for the quiz. If you are a personal trainer, artist, restauranteur or have access to any suitable prizes, we would really appreciate your contribution. Finally, if you have time to spare on the 19th, we are also looking for volunteers for the event itself, collecting and correcting answer sheets etc. For more info, contact pa@rmds.com
Lorraine & Gráinne
PA Co-Chairs
Green Schools Tips - Managing your Central Heating
How your gas or oil fired central heating system is set-up and controlled greatly affects your bills.
The basic controls on a boiler itself are:
Setting the water temperature for the central heating.
Setting the water temperature for the hot water cylinder.
Manually turning the boiler on and off.
It’s more efficient to have the water temperature set around 70°C for the central heating. If it’s set too high, your boiler won't condense properly and you'll greatly reduce its efficiency.
For the hot water cylinder, it needs to set to a minimum of 60°C. Any lower and there’s a danger of Legionella bacteria multiplying.
Timers and Programmers
It's rare now that a boiler is controlled by simply turning it on and off. At a minimum, most boilers have at least a mechanical ‘clock style’ timer. And many use a digital programmer.
The advantage of a programmer is that it allows for much more flexibility in that you can change the timings for each day independently. For instance, so that the heating comes on later for weekend mornings.
Programmers are not as intuitive to use as timers though and require a bit of familiarisation. But it’s really worth setting them correctly as this will really save you both energy and money.
If you've misplaced the manual and are unfamiliar with how your controls operate, you can find manuals online. Just note the manufacturers name and model number beforehand. Sometimes it’s easier to be actually shown how to program it and people are great at posting tutorials on YouTube.
Thermostats
The next level of controls are thermostats and they greatly vary in sophistication:
Room Thermostats - These are the most common. They measure how warm the room is and adjust the boiler to meet the set temperature. Their main issue is that most homes have all their radiators on one circuit (zone). So the temperature for the whole home is governed by wherever the Room Thermostat is located. And the thermostat reading could be thrown off by it being hidden behind curtains or furniture, being in a cold draught or next to something warm, like a TV or lamp. Often the thermostat is not even located in the main living area but in a hall.
Weather Compensating Thermostats - They adjust the boiler operation based on the outside temperature and so respond ahead of time. This is especially useful if you have underfloor heating, as it’s slower to respond to changes.
Smart Thermostats - These learn your pattern of operation and try to anticipate your use. They also allow you to control your heating remotely via an app. Some can look at the weather a few days ahead of time and adjust accordingly.
Thermostatic Radiator Valves - Most radiators are now fitted with TRVs and the dial number corresponds to what temperature you want to maintain the room at. Not the output level of the radiator itself. When the TRV thermostat senses the room has come up to temperature, it shuts off the valve and turns off the radiator.
So if the TRV is covered by a curtain etc. and can’t sense the room temperature, it doesn’t work properly. There are more sophisticated Smart versions now where you can set an actual room temperature and they can all be wirelessly controlled via an App.
Zones
Ideally a house should be split into separate heating zones. Say, upstairs and downstairs zones with the ability for the hot water cylinder to be heated independently during the summer. This makes for much more granular control, with different timings and temperatures for each zone and for greater efficiency.
If a house is currently in a single zone, it generally has to be re-plumbed to achieve multiple zones. But having the facility to heat the hot water cylinder independently in summer may be relatively straightforward by installing a motorised valve.
The SEAI provides grants of up to €700 for heating system controls:
https://www.seai.ie/grants/home-energy-grants/heating-upgrade-grants/
Next Week: Running your Heating System Efficiently
Roland Ramsden
Andrea Scott
Green Schools Committee Parent Representatives
Ranelagh Multi-Denominational School, Ranelagh Road, Dublin 6, D06 Y658
Telephone/Fax: (01) 4961722 ● E-mail: secretary@rmds.ie
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Roll No. 19928Q ● Principal: Rosemarie Stynes
