Time to heat room (GCH)

wildbreed100

Hello,
My gas central heating takes about 3 hours to heat the lounge from about 14 degrees to 18 - 19 degrees. Is this normal ?. The thermostat is located in the lounge and is set to 21 degrees. I use heating via a timer so it comes on at 4:30 to 7:30 in the evening. There is a dial on the bottom panel of the boiler set to 3 (out of 6). During this time the boiler is on non stop the whole time (so I guess higher bills). Should the dial be adjusted for a faster heat up. I only want the lounge and 1 bedroom heated. The other radiators are turned down.
There are two large radiators in the lounge which is about 6 x 3.5m. I have double glazing and 400mm loft insulation.Will have cavity wall insulation installed Jan 10th.

ariba10

The hotter the water in the radiator the quicker the room will warm up.

You need to turn the boiler stat up.

Cardew

As said above, the ony thing that will affect the time to heat up is the hot water temperature in the radiators, so the dial on the boiler(assuming this will be for water temperature) should be up to 6.

markharding557

you will find a difference when the cavity wall insulation is in

aelitaman

You have not said how hot the radiators get in the lounge. Are they warm or hot to touch? the simple test is to touch the GCH hot water pipe from the boiler and then touch the radiator, they should be about the same temp. If the radiators are significantly cooler then this could indicate that the flow of water through the radiators is being restricted. Seeing as you only want to run three raditors then it should not be a balancing issue that leaves stuck TRV's or sludge in the radiators to inhibit water flow.

I run my system with 2 rads in the lounge, one other and a towel rail with all other rads set to frost setting and I can hear the water flowing through the radiators in the lounge.

wildbreed100

Thanks for the advice. I have increases the water temperature and it made a difference. The room temp raised from 13 to 19 in 2 hours yesterday. Previously it moved from 13 to 17 degrees in 3 hours. The radiators do get hot, but I will do some more tweaking of the other radiators (make sure they are off)

Chicadee09

Hello,

Can anyone help me? I am currently renting a small one bedroom flat which has no central heating, only wall mounted Dimplex heaters which are so costly to run. I have a 3 bar rotating halogen heater but I have been told that this is also costly to run. Now I'm having conflicting views about oil filled radiators!!

Any suggestions?

Thanking you in advance folks.

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

All electrical heaters produce EXACTLY the same amount of heat for the same running cost.

The only difference is the way they produce the heat, slowly with some residual heat(oil filled rads) or quickly with no residual heat(e.g/ fan heater)

So your halogen heater cost the same to run as any other similar powered heater. The advantage of halogen heaters, if there is just one person, is that it directs heat toward you so you get a better effect.

ixwood

Chicadee09 wrote: »

Hello,

Can anyone help me? I am currently renting a small one bedroom flat which has no central heating, only wall mounted Dimplex heaters which are so costly to run. I have a 3 bar rotating halogen heater but I have been told that this is also costly to run. Now I'm having conflicting views about oil filled radiators!!

Any suggestions?

Thanking you in advance folks.

As said, the cost per unit of heat will be the same regardless, but Halogen heaters provide radiated heat which heat you directly, not the air. In practise, this makes them the cheapest to run and provides more pleasant heat.

wildbreed100

I agree that halogen heaters provide a pleasant heat and direct heat. But you have to run them constantly to feel warm. As soon as they are turned off the heat disappears because the room is not heated. With radiators the room gets heated so you still have heat when they are turned off. You can run a halogen heater for hours and lose the heat as soon as they are off. But it is all up to what the individual wants i.e immediate direct heat, or to heat a room.

Fire_Fox

Chicadee09 wrote: »

Hello,

Can anyone help me? I am currently renting a small one bedroom flat which has no central heating, only wall mounted Dimplex heaters which are so costly to run. I have a 3 bar rotating halogen heater but I have been told that this is also costly to run. Now I'm having conflicting views about oil filled radiators!!

Any suggestions?

Thanking you in advance folks.

How cold does the flat get? It's usual to get a lot of benefit from the neighbours. Electric underblankets and heated throws are fantastic if you prefer to relax when around the house; they only cost as much to run as a lightbulb (pennies). :money: If you must use heaters, try only to warm rooms you actually spend any time in - I never heat my hall or bedroom (good duvet).

Are you dressing appropriately for winter? I find that two fleeces or a fleece and thin bodywarmer give a much better effect than heavy sweaters. Likewise jeans are useless, instead wear fluffy 'jogging bottoms' plus a fleece blanket over your legs.