gas/electric for 4 bed detatched

HaushinkaGreenDay

Rumman wrote: »

Is there any harm in switching off radiators in rooms you don't use? E.g get damp or whatever? We have thermostats on our radiators which allow the radiators to be switched off completely.

It's wise to keep an eye out for condensation that might cause 'damp' problems in rooms that are kept at low temperatures, especially on external walls, behind furniture, when there is little air flow etc. etc. as water vapour in the air will condense on the coldest parts of the house.

I occasionally turn the TRVS in unused rooms up for a couple of hours and open the doors to help keep them 'aired', but we have a dehumidifier running 24/7 so damp caused by condensation isn't too much of a problem in our property!

Another point about turning off radiators - make sure that you periodically open the valves fully for a while whilst the heating is on, so that the valves don't become stuck in the off position!

For the same reason, it makes sense to turn all the valves fully open during the summer months when the heating is off (and run the heating once a week for an hour - helps to prevent boiler breakdowns in the winter).

Hope this is useful!

Merry Christmas!!

:xmastree: Haushinka :xmastree:

HaushinkaGreenDay

Cardew wrote: »

Welcome to the forum.

Who told you that? A plumber?

Whilst new boilers are more efficient, the capital cost of replacing a boiler is very high and is most unlikely to be recovered over the life of a new boiler.

There have been lots of threads on this subject. This is a quote from one of the threads.

Thanks for linking to that, Cardew. I had heard that the whole replacement boiler thing wasn't as cost-saving as it was made out to be, especially if radiators etc weren't up to modern standards and had to be replaced too.

I'm renting and recently had many issues with the CH boiler and pump, but the lovely plumber who came to fix it was very thorough and obviously was determined to get our 21-year old Ideal Elan II and system in prime working order; as a result, it's now working quite considerably more efficiently, our daily gas usage has fallen from 80-100 kWh to 40-70 kWh, dependent on weather, which I don't think is too bad for a large, late Victorian flat with massive windows, heated all day at 20-21 deg C!

Haushinka