Switching gas heat on and off=higher gas bills?

katrina1979

I just wondered if anyone knew if it is cheaper to have gas heating running for say 4- 5 hours at a timer or switching on and off as required. I have heard people say it is more expensive to switch on and off as the system has to work harder there for using more gas

espresso

Do you leave your kettle on? When the boiler is burning gas, it's costing you money. Why would you leave the boiler on unless you want to heat the property?

Cardew

katrina1979 wrote: »

I just wondered if anyone knew if it is cheaper to have gas heating running for say 4- 5 hours at a timer or switching on and off as required. I have heard people say it is more expensive to switch on and off as the system has to work harder there for using more gas

This is an urban myth that comes up time and again.

The longer the boiler is off the more money saved.

katrina1979

Thanks Cardew for your helpfull reply:T I suppose you hear so many different things that people do. We were all speaking about it at work today. One poor girl thinks £20 a month dd will cover her gas bill for Winter:rotfl: i said i would love to know who is supplying hers!!!

colin13

I was told the theroy is,,bolier low setting ,,room thermostate hi setting,,that way there is a constant heat in ur home and bboiler only running at low setting

Cardew

colin13 wrote: »

I was told the theroy is,,bolier low setting ,,room thermostate hi setting,,that way there is a constant heat in ur home and bboiler only running at low setting

Were you indeed - who told you?

colin13

Cardew wrote: »

Were you indeed - who told you?

as u say boiler on means spending money so obviously tht advice was a crock of s%%t

Pont

I'm now totally confused! I had a plumber at my house this week and asked him the same question. He told me that it is more cost effective NOT to turn the boiler off but to leave it on at all times on a lower setting. The reasoning behind this, according to the plumber, is that it costs more energy (money) to heat the water up from cold rather then to 'top up' the already hot water (if you see what I mean). What he said seems to make sense but it seems there is a different wave of opinion out there.
Btw, the plumber also told me that it's not a good idea to have the central heating and the hot water coming on at the same time in the morning as the system is working at maximum capacity in order to serve both. It's apparently much better to stagger the times by 30 minutes if possible.

pookienoodle

colin13 wrote: »

I was told the theroy is,,bolier low setting ,,room thermostate hi setting,,that way there is a constant heat in ur home and bboiler only running at low setting

I was told this by the boiler installer on the Warmfront scheme................we ended up with a £1000 gas bill because of it:mad:
It is really bad advice.

Pont

I've just had a quick search on the web and there is loads of conflicting advice out there! It seems that if your hot tank is well insulated that the leave on theory is perhaps best - if it isn't the switch on/off theory is perhaps best. I think I will try both over the next 2 weeks and monitor the useage. Whilst I take on board what my plumber said, there's a part of me that doesn't feel comfortable with leaving the hot water on when there's nobody in the house.
Just noticed the OP was asking about CH and I'm waffling on about water!

Canucklehead

Good morning: see the HHIC 'Advice Library'.

HTH

Canucklehead