heating help!

stokefan

right here goes. at the moment i dont have my heating on at all unless i have my daughter around, i have a combi boiler system in my house and was wondering with it being so cold is there any risk of damage to my heating/boiler leaving it off, then turning it on when needed? it does get really cold in my house.

thanks in advance

Katie-Kat-Kins

Have you tried monitering the temperature in your rooms with a thermometer so you know how cold you are talking??

And aren't you frozen????? Can't you manage to have it on a little bit to take the chill off. I'd have icicles on my nose if my heating was off!

patanne

If it is really cold without the heating aren't you worried that pipes might freeze - and fingers and toes in this weather!

renegade

Why have you not got your heating on? You do realise that you are in DANGER of getting Hypothermia don't you???????. Your health is more important than the state of your b....y boiler and pipes Stokefan!

stokefan

i can deal with the cold, im out of work at the minute, so want to keep the heating at a minimum, im just concerned that i may be damaging the system in some way. i have got a energy monitor that is saying my kitchen is 13 degrees (must be wrong as its very cold in there)

stokefan

renegade wrote: »

Why have you not got your heating on? You do realise that you are in DANGER of getting Hypothermia don't you???????. Your health is more important than the state of your b....y boiler and pipes Stokefan!

i do wrap up warm, heating is just an extra cost at the moment, i have to budget it all out with having my little one at mine aswell

saver_1_2

Sorry to here of your plight stokefan hope you find work soon.

I only have mine on when at home. I don't think it will do your system damage if it's not on but there is a risk of burst pipes especially if the temp outside below zero as it is now. And you will find out when the temp gets up above zero when if any of your pipes have frozen and split when they defrost which will be rare but is a possibility.

If yot can't afford your heating on during this cold spell try and find out if all your water pipes are lagged. If you have an outside garden tap make sure that
is turned off at the !!!! and is left in the open position [Don't forget to turn it off when you turn the !!!! back on]I can't see it doing yout system damage when you do turn your heating on but it will have to work extra hard to get to a comfort temp. When i get home somtimes it's 10c in my living room so my heating has to work hard to get to 21 or 22 which could take a long time. I allways turn mine off 1 hour before bed time too

savemoney

Is money that tight, heating at this time of year is vital, okay CH isnt but you need a room warm. If its so cold you may cause problems with damp, condensation still as warm room absorbs more water vapour, even in a ocld house you can get condensation

In log term look at getting house insulated

stokefan

well im thinking of getting one of them halogen heaters for short bursts, to keep myself warm,

but im still hoping central heating will only be used when i have my little one.

ixwood

Hey Stokefan. Sorry to hear you're having a hard time at the moment.

FWIW I usually only put the heating/fire on when I have visitors. I'm sitting here in normal clothes now and it's 10 degrees. People have different comfort levels and heat/cold tolerances.

As long as you feel okay and are not suffering, don't worry about the house.

Your boiler will probably have a built in frost protection mode to prevent pipes freezing. Check the manual.

If not, just set the thermostat to as low as it'll go above 0 just in case. Though in my experience, it'd have to be VERY cold outside for inside to get to 0. Even with the -5 we had overnight last night, the coldest bits of the house are at 8 degrees.

You do have to be aware of the humidity levels though (damp air is bad for you and the property). Cold air holds less moisture than warm air. If you get condensation on the windows, the air is too moist.

Even at 9 or 10 degrees, I don't normally get condensation. I do open the window during and after having a bath though and have a dehumidifier available if required.

To make things more comfortable, insulate yourself as much as possible. Fleeces, wolly socks, body warmer etc.

A Halagon heater sounds like a very good idea. As it's direct (radiated) heat, rather than just heating the air, they make very good people heaters and will keep you nice and warm for minimal cost. I have one and each bulb is only 200w, rather than 1kw per fan heater setting. You can definitely feel the heat.

stokefan

i have set the thermostat at 5, its not a digital one just normal dial.

cheers for all your advice.