How ecconomical is leaving the heating on all day?

jamesc777_2

Hi i am new to the site and have a quick question tha i could not find an definate answer too.
i have a small 2 bedroom semi-detached cottage with double glazing and a combi 7 boiler. i have recently been leaving the heating on for 2 hours per day, 1 in the am and 1 late pm at about 20 degrees, my dad has said i would be better leaving it on low at about 10 degree or less for most of he day eg 12 hours. which is the most ecconominal way?

jd87

Why heat the place when you're not there? You are right. Dad is wrong.

Although with the thermostat set at 10 degrees it probably won't come on anyway.

Blackpool_Saver

if you can afford it, for safety (ie no frozen pipes) and keeping the dreaded damp and mould at bay I would leave it at 15 and bump it up to 20 when you come in. Heating is not something I skimp on, I think it's a false economy, it can damage a property and your health. I keep water on constant too, but on a few degrees lower than standard.

LisaLou1982

It is not more economical to have your heating on low all the time.

Turn your heating on for the times that you are in the property - 30 mins before you wake up and make sure it goes off 30mins before you go to bed.

Theres nothing economical about having the heating on all day - you wouldnt leave the lights on all day would you?!

Cardew

jamesc777 wrote: »

Hi i am new to the site and have a quick question tha i could not find an definate answer too.
i have a small 2 bedroom semi-detached cottage with double glazing and a combi 7 boiler. i have recently been leaving the heating on for 2 hours per day, 1 in the am and 1 late pm at about 20 degrees, my dad has said i would be better leaving it on low at about 10 degree or less for most of he day eg 12 hours. which is the most ecconominal way?

The question is acedemic in that nobody can give you answer.

If you live in the house then you will have to heat it to a normal temperature of 20C or so while you are in the house.

Even if you are out of the house from early morning to late evening, it is doubtful if the house temperature will drop as low as 10C.

With Central Heating you simply should heat the house to the temperature you need when you are in residence and have the heating off the rest of the time.

Obviously if the house is unoccupied for long periods you have to ensure that there is no frost damage.

Wickedkitten

Blackpool_Saver wrote: »

if you can afford it, for safety (ie no frozen pipes) and keeping the dreaded damp and mould at bay I would leave it at 15 and bump it up to 20 when you come in. Heating is not something I skimp on, I think it's a false economy, it can damage a property and your health. I keep water on constant too, but on a few degrees lower than standard.

You would be better off improving your ventilation really. Even nowwe sleep with the window cracked and first thing in the morning I throw back the duvet cover and leave the windows open (mind I am in the house at the time).

Blackpool_Saver

Wickedkitten wrote: »

You would be better off improving your ventilation really. Even nowwe sleep with the window cracked and first thing in the morning I throw back the duvet cover and leave the windows open (mind I am in the house at the time).

I do wickedkitten, especially in bedrooms and bathrooms, kitchen windows are open while cooking, utility drying area is off from there.

Katie-Kat-Kins

The key is understanding how a thermostat switch works.

I would advocate leaving the heating turned on all the time and controlling it with the thermostat. With modern digital programable thermostats you can sort out a program that suits your lifestyle.

Bear in mind that if you turn off your GCH it is off and no matter how cold it gets it will not come on. Your thermostat leaves the heating off UNLESS the temperature drops below a certain level.

Having your thermostat set to 20C when you are in the house and turning down to say 15C when you are out is very sensible. Most likely the heating will not activate at all when set at 15C so will cost you nothing BUT you are protected against frozen pipes etc in the event of a cold snap and you can avoid that horrible stone cold feeling setting in too.

Using a thermostat isn't the same as leaving your heating on all the time as it will cycle on and off depending upon the surrounding temperature. Just like your electric iron comes on and off to maintain temperature.

The cost of the heating is based upon the total "ON" time. So 24 hours on a low thermostat setting of say 18C may only give you 2 hours of on time, whereas just two hours a day at 25C is also likely to give you two hours of on time so the end result is virtually indistinguishable.

roddydogs

LisaLou1982 wrote: »

It is not more economical to have your heating on low all the time.

Turn your heating on for the times that you are in the property - 30 mins before you wake up and make sure it goes off 30mins before you go to bed.

Theres nothing economical about having the heating on all day - you wouldnt leave the lights on all day would you?!

You obviously dont live in a Detatched bungalow--30 mins is nothing, i leave mine on constant but turn down to 17c when im in bed or out

ixwood

Blackpool_Saver wrote: »

if you can afford it, for safety (ie no frozen pipes) and keeping the dreaded damp and mould at bay I would leave it at 15 and bump it up to 20 when you come in. Heating is not something I skimp on, I think it's a false economy, it can damage a property and your health. I keep water on constant too, but on a few degrees lower than standard.

You do know that freezing point is 0? Why would you have it on 15 when when you're not there?

My heating is not on now and it's 9 degrees in the hall and kitchen. It'd take a VERY cold spell to get it down to 0 inside. Don't all boilers have built in frost protection mode these days anyway?

Heating an empty house to stop damp and mould is madness IMHO. You get damp and mould when the moisture content in the air is too high. If you have dry air, the temperature is irrelevant.

I don't have a water tank, but as I understand it, they only need to be on for a few hours overnight/early morning normally.

LisaLou1982

roddydogs wrote: »

You obviously dont live in a Detatched bungalow--30 mins is nothing, i leave mine on constant but turn down to 17c when im in bed or out

Why would you have your heating on when you are in bed??!!

Depending upon the construction and size of your property, the heating up times will vary. If you have a large property with solid walls and a high pitched roof with no insulation obviously 30mins might not be long enough. However, an average sized bungalow with loft insulation and Cavity Wall insulation should be warm enough within 30mins with a modern heating system