Gas on constantly or on and off...?

Andy_WSM

Chrysalis wrote: »

I wouldnt worry about freezing pipes we not in antarctica.

What a ridiculous statement to make. With overnight temperatures below -20C last night and -10C being widespread, it doesn't matter where on the planet we are - water still freezes at 0C! If you have pipes in the loft, which tend to be better insulated nowadays to prevent heat escaping the house, then frozen pipes in this weather is a very real possibility. More so if there is no background heat escaping to keep the temperatures just above the critical 0C.

SuzieSue

Andy_WSM wrote: »

What a ridiculous statement to make. With overnight temperatures below -20C last night and -10C being widespread, it doesn't matter where on the planet we are - water still freezes at 0C! If you have pipes in the loft, which tend to be better insulated nowadays to prevent heat escaping the house, then frozen pipes in this weather is a very real possibility. More so if there is no background heat escaping to keep the temperatures just above the critical 0C.

Yes, the insulation in my loft is not very thick, but I havn't increased it for this reason - I am worried about the pipes freezing.

Lizzybop

We have no pipes in the loft, no water tanks or anything up there. Is this a good thing???

SuzieSue

Lizzybop wrote: »

you see I don't have a thermostat - so what would I do in that situation????

Still wondering about no. of units used - anyone

I have just taken a reading and will take one at the same time tomorrow and let you know.

hansi

spinningsheep wrote: »

I have a Glowworm Fuelsaver F, approx 25 - 30 years old we think, and according to BG "predict your bill" over the last 7 days, and during that time the heating has been on for approx 12-15 hours a day, on 18-20 degrees, we have used £36.30, water temp dial on boiler set almost as high as it will go (not sure of number, they have rubbed off with age!) daren't put it on the highest as the boiler starts to wheeze!!

I have the same boiler (25 years old) and I used the "Predict my Bill" feature today and in the last seven days, my gas used amounts to about £15. The heating is on for a couple of hours in the morning and the same at night and the gas fire in the lounge ( no radiator on there) in the evening. We have a mid link terrace house with cavity wall insulation. Last months gas bill ( actual use with Energy Smart) was about £30, Happy? You bet!

Lizzybop

Thanks Suzie :A

macman

Lizzybop wrote: »

We have no pipes in the loft, no water tanks or anything up there. Is this a good thing???

I would say yes, because you have no long runs of pipe up to the attic level to freeze, and no big tank of stored water to drain out from the top of your house should there be a burst. Most of your other pipework is probably within the heated areas of the house, and if any that is not is properly lagged then you should be relatively risk-free.

dhoni

I have some questions so hope someone can help.
I recently had a new plumbing installed along with a Valliant 637 plus (system) boiler with a megaflo storage tank.
The house if fully complied with current builder regs.
The boiler is plumbed to provide hot water, polypipe underfloor (screeded) heating (ground floor) and radiator heating (1st floor).
These are all independently controlled through programmers / room thermostats / TRV.
The boiler setting is set to approx 63C

My aim is to achieve maximum efficiency and so therefore low gas usage/bills.
Is the boiler a modulating boiler – i.e – the gas valve modulates according to conditions (either full gas 100% open/ 50%/25% etc) or is it crude on / off valve?
If the flame is ignited – is it burring gas at the same rate all the time. What is the gas rate used in kw/h or cubic m3?
2) My current timer setup is as follows (we have small child so thats why have heating during the night):

Hot Water
04:30-06:30
N/A-N/A
15:00-17:00

UFH
05:30-07:30
16:00-18:00

Radiators
00:00-02:00
05:00-07:30
18:30-21:30


I fully appreciate that the boiler goes into cycling mode and so therefore is not using gas on some occasions.
Would it be more efficient if all the heating requirements were at the same time? So if the boiler is on – its services all the heating demands. Will this mean I use less gas or will it not make much difference?
3) I have TRV in all rooms on the first floor. Some rooms are not occupied and so therefore if I turn down the TRV to zero/one – will this lead to a saving in gas usage. My understanding is that the system is filled with water and the boiler will heat that full amount of water anyway.
4) What should the ideal pressure in bar in the system be. I know it should stay in the grey zone – but what adv/disadvantage is their between having the pressure at 1.5 bar to 2.2 bar whilst still in the grey zone on the indicator.
5) Boiler heating is currently set to 63C. Sometimes the boiler has the flame ignited for longer compared to other times. What can be the reason for this? At what point / temp does the boiler ignite again? I have noticed that when my radiators are on – the boiler ignited for longer than compared to when just the UFH is on. The flow temp at manifold is set to max 60C.
6) Is the boiler most efficient and using less gas when its under low load or when it’s a max load?
I would really appreciate if you can help on the each above questions as I believe my gas usage is too high at the moment.

Chrysalis

Andy_WSM wrote: »

What a ridiculous statement to make. With overnight temperatures below -20C last night and -10C being widespread, it doesn't matter where on the planet we are - water still freezes at 0C! If you have pipes in the loft, which tend to be better insulated nowadays to prevent heat escaping the house, then frozen pipes in this weather is a very real possibility. More so if there is no background heat escaping to keep the temperatures just above the critical 0C.

so why arent mine frozen?

macman

I think that the wind chill factor is more critical to pipes freezing than the air temperature. If pipes are exposed to a draught of cold air then they're more likely to freeze. So, gaps in lagging, draughts in lofts from gaps in the eaves, etc-these are the spots where trouble can be expected at these temperatures. However, these weak points should be relatively easy to reinforce.