Could I save money with a thermostat for our heating?

carguy143
carguy143 Posts: 124
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Hi all.
All this talk of central heating has got me wondering about fitting a thermostat to our heating system. We currently have a B rated condensing combi boiler with TRVs fitted to all radiators apart from the one in the upstairs bathroom. I've read up on lowering the boiler temperature to allow the condenser to do it's thing but I am curious: Would fitting a thermostat save us money on our gas bills?

The rest of the house is pretty good in terms of energy efficiency. We have double glazing, wall insulation and loft insulation. All of our lights are LED apart from the main lights in the kitchen which are halogen.

Thanks,

Rik.

Comments

  • CashStrapped
    CashStrapped Posts: 1,294
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    edited 16 October 2016 at 6:16PM
    Yes, in theory.

    The thermostat will just just turn off the boiler and pumps when the house (or area with the thermostat is located) reaches the set temperature on said thermostat.

    If you have TRVs however the savings may be smaller as the TRVs do a similar thing. They cut off flow to the radiator when that particular room is at the set temperature. They do not affect the boiler directly.

    However, at this point, as the demand for the boiler reduces (less radiators to heat), many modern boilers can modulate their output to meet the required demand. Effectively it turns itself down in terms of output. So it is already, probably, doing some form of self management.

    That is dependant on the age of the boiler.

    So, all a thermostat will do is directly turn the boiler and pumps off or to a minimum state while the thermostat is at the set temperature.

    The trick is to find an area in the house that is a good average temperature.

    So in summary, you may see a benefit, but not huge considering you have TRVs and you are operating them correctly (not just leaving them open full).
  • glennevis
    glennevis Posts: 632
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    My house has a modern combi boiler and TRVs on all radiators except the bathroom. When I moved in there was no room thermostat. If I set the heating to come on from 5-10 pm the boiler would stay on for 5 hours. I don't know whether there was any modulation of the demand all I know is that whenever I checked the gas meter the dial was whizzing round all the time. As the boiler is in the dining room I fitted a thermostat on the wooden cupboard below the boiler and set the dining room TRV to maximum (cheaper than removing it). Now the boiler goes on and off maybe 3 cycles every evening. I can't prove that is saving gas but it makes me feel more in control.
  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,036
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    glennevis wrote: »
    My house has a modern combi boiler and TRVs on all radiators except the bathroom. When I moved in there was no room thermostat. If I set the heating to come on from 5-10 pm the boiler would stay on for 5 hours. I don't know whether there was any modulation of the demand all I know is that whenever I checked the gas meter the dial was whizzing round all the time. As the boiler is in the dining room I fitted a thermostat on the wooden cupboard below the boiler and set the dining room TRV to maximum (cheaper than removing it). Now the boiler goes on and off maybe 3 cycles every evening. I can't prove that is saving gas but it makes me feel more in control.

    Before fitting the thermostat, the boiler is very unlikely to have been 'on'(i,e, firing) for 5 hours as it will switch off when the water in the CH system reached the temperature set on the boiler. However without a room thermostat the pump would continue to run for the 5 hours.

    Unless you spend most of your time in the dining room, why should the temperature in that room determine how your house is heated?
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