Central Heating - Cheaper on all the time?

Cardew · 2 October 2007 at 4:08PM

itsnotfair wrote: »

Never mind *footprints* some people just think they know everything. lol.
I'm with the leave it on low all the time brigade.:T

Could that be because we have a rudimentary knowledge of the law of thermodynamics?

Why “never mind”? The OP asked a question and got the correct answer from several people – until your contribution of course!

Presumably it offends you that the OP is given the correct advice and won’t be following your practice?

Or perhaps you could back your advice with some sort of evidence.

Below is a extract from the FAQ on the Energy Saving Trust website – a Government backed organisation set up to advise on these matters – admittedly they probably think they ‘know it all’.

Perhaps you could explain why they are wrong. Could it be that a man in the pub told you?
Question

Is it more economical to leave my heating on 24hrs in the winter?

Answer

No. It is a common misconception that it is cheaper to leave your hot water and heating on all the time. Boilers use more power initially to heat water from cold, however the cost of this is greatly exceeded by the cost of keeping the boiler running all of the time.
The best solution is to programme your heating system so that it comes on when you need it most (possibly early morning and in the evening), and goes off when you don't need it (when you are out of the house or asleep). There are a range of controls that can be used and your heating engineer will be able to provide you with the most appropriate solution.
Depending on your circumstances it may be necessary to keep the heating on all day during winter but it will cost more than if you turn the heating off when you don't need it.

footprints_2 · 2 October 2007 at 6:24PM

Thank-you Cardew for researching that for me..I think I have my answer now!!

But some people need to "chill out" abit and not get so stressed out! We aint all know it all's..we gotta learn from somewhere!

Anyway..I will be having a nice warm house this winter! Thanks!

paulalawson · 12 October 2007 at 11:50AM

I take it this goes for heating water too, i was always told it was cheaper to have it on all the time, heating and water, TYPICAL no wonder my bills are so high.
would be great to know

tomstickland · 12 October 2007 at 6:04PM

itsnotfair wrote: »

Never mind *footprints* some people just think they know everything. lol.
I'm with the leave it on low all the time brigade.:T

I don't really understand what you're trying to achieve here. I certainly don't think I "know it all", but thermodynamics is a subject I know a fair bit about.

There's no doubt that the total amount of heat flowing out from a house in a day will be higher if the house is kept warm all day compared with allowing it to cool for a couple of hours and then heating it back up.

Cardew · 12 October 2007 at 6:24PM

paulalawson wrote: »

I take it this goes for heating water too, i was always told it was cheaper to have it on all the time, heating and water, TYPICAL no wonder my bills are so high.
would be great to know

It applies for heating water as well - see the quote from the Energy saving trust in my earlier post.

As has been said many times, would you leave your kettle boiling all day as it is supposed to cost more to heat it up from cold?
That is the same principle; albeit the heat loss from a well lagged tank will not be high.

paulalawson · 12 October 2007 at 9:59PM

thankyou cardew,after being miss informed for over 8 years or even more, and having my water on constant i have changed my hot water to twice daily on the timer. we only have a small tank so hope we get enough hot water for what we need. i have put it on timer for 3 hours morning and again evening.i haven't put my heating on twice daily though, cause i am at home all day, and i dont like the temperature to drop below 18 degrees. too cold for me.I like it to come on at 20 degrees if needed in the dayand i turn it down to 18 at bed time. thanks again

espresso · 13 October 2007 at 9:15AM

paulalawson wrote: »

thankyou cardew,after being miss informed for over 8 years or even more, and having my water on constant i have changed my hot water to twice daily on the timer. we only have a small tank so hope we get enough hot water for what we need. i have put it on timer for 3 hours morning and again evening.i haven't put my heating on twice daily though, cause i am at home all day, and i dont like the temperature to drop below 18 degrees. too cold for me.I like it to come on at 20 degrees if needed in the dayand i turn it down to 18 at bed time. thanks again

You should not need it on for three hours morning and night. If you have a gas boiler, use that to heat your hot water all year round, as it is much cheaper than using electricity. A gas boiler can heat a tank full in half an hour if timed for morning an evening.

paulalawson · 13 October 2007 at 10:10AM

ok so we have a combination boiler, so half hour am and pm should be enough?

espresso · 13 October 2007 at 10:34AM

paulalawson wrote: »

ok so we have a combination boiler, so half hour am and pm should be enough?

Yes, if set for half an hour, it should heat up a tank full in less than that time.

paulalawson · 13 October 2007 at 10:38AM

thankyou espresso will try that

Central Heating - Cheaper on all the time?

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