Is your heating ON or OFF?

daska

pixie__girlie wrote: »

heating's been coming on for an hour most mornings and evenings, I wouldn't have had it on as much but OH is a bit soft

We have one of those temperature / humidity readers, what temperature do most people think is best to keep the house at? It's usually around 17 if the heating's been on a bit. Also a bit concerned that the humidity level is around 75% ... we've moved to a new bungalow this year and I don't want to have any damp problems, especially as I've got a bit of asthma. Might have to look in to dehumidifiers... I'm surprised at how expensive they are! x

If you keep the temperatures low (15 or less) then you need to opt for a dessicant dehumidifier , the normal type don't work properly at low temperatures. I have a Meaco DD8L, it's a bit of a hassle to empty it but it does the job well in my v. large, cold, damp 4 bed flat as long as all the doors are open.

CupOfChai

Confuzzled wrote: »

ok with storage heaters you have two controls, input and output (sometimes labeled as boost)

input is the amount of energy you want to allow in, basically how much heat you want it to store up over night during economy 7

output or boost is how slowly you want it to be released during the day

generally in midwinter we have our input at midway (usually 3-4 on most controls) and only turn it up higher on nights we know are going to be very cold

for output (boost) we generally keep ours down low at a 1 or 2 most of the day, if it's really cold we may turn it up in the evening a bit higher to let more heat out before we go to bed

if you keep your output/boost up too high you will quickly run out of heat during the day and be very cold at night. i used to have real problems with the storage heaters until someone explained how they work now i'm fine

it's VERY important to note, some storage heaters have an extra button or switch, usually red that may be called a boost, or an emergency boost. do NOT use this unless you have to, it's essentially like using an electric panel heater which are quite expensive to run. these will give you heat at ANY time you need it but will cost you dearly. ours in this flat don't have that, i don't think most storage heaters do but i've lived in flats where they've been there, be sure also they don't accidentally get bumped on. a small fan heater would most likely be cheaper to use in situations where you just had to have instant heat rather than using anything like that on a storage heater.

i work from home and home educate so basically we are home all day and this has worked very well for us using the settings i mentioned above. the house generally stays at around 17-18C all winter which is cooler than most like however we heat ourselves locally with slipper boots, fleeces, warm trousers, fleece dressing gowns over our clothes and a nice snuggle blanket or duvet over our laps whilst we are sat at the computer working, hot cups of tea and the odd hot water bottle help when it's nippier than normal.

oddly enough it's my daughter that feels the cold less than i do, and we are both quite hardy with rarely any colds at all, in fact we both went about 2.5 years without any form of cold,flu etc. i personally never felt well when i had the heat up higher in winter, always felt dried out and it played hell with my sinuses.

we've lived in this same flat doing these same things for 3 winters now including the harsh 2010 winter, our electric bill is, all in over the last 3 years averaged £43 per month, that's for EVERYTHING including two computers going most of the day, all lights AND heating. since we have no gas that's it, that's all we pay.

our place is moderately well insulated, i will say the thick underlay and thick carpets help and we're upstairs with a women in her 50's that can be generous with her heat when she has a cold but we also have draughty warped wooden framed double glazing (some i think has blown) so with only some foam draught excluder , fleece lined curtains and some bubble wrap on some windows we've still been able to maintain these low costs. it will of couse differ depending on how insulated a building is, if you're on the ground floor etc but it's not so bad once you get the hang of it!

Thank you for explaining all this. So the switch at the wall you just leave on all the time? Then you turn the input dial up for during the night and the output dial to lowest or off during this time, then reverse that during the day when you want to let heat out?

I have furry boot slippers too, love them they're great aren't they?

Torry_Quine

CupOfChai wrote: »

Thank you for explaining all this. So the switch at the wall you just leave on all the time? Then you turn the input dial up for during the night and the output dial to lowest or off during this time, then reverse that during the day when you want to let heat out?

I have furry boot slippers too, love them they're great aren't they?

Not quite how I use mine which aren't on yet.

The input as you say controls how much heat is stored, just leave it at the appropriate level. I rarely have it at the highest. The output is always off overnight and should not be needed as a regular thing but only for a short time to give extra heat. Even when the output is closed you are still getting the stored heat but opening the output uses up the stored heat much quicker.

The wall switch is left on and the heater will come on automatically at the appropriate time every night.

Lotus-eater

No heating on yet, no fires on yet, but we have had the electric blanket on a few times.

CKhalvashi

Heating still off, but I have really cold feet, even having a log fire on for most of the day, so it may be going on pretty shortly......

CK

WantToBeSE

brrrr, its chilly here in Cornwall this evening. Refusing to put the heating on though, so am wrapped up in my fleece, PJs, Dressing gown and fluffy boots

Own_My_Own

No not on here in North Essex.
Haven't even had socks on today (Still haven't) Have got a thin cardy on over cotton PJs.
In fact it is quite warm here.:j

ziggy2004

Off but then we moved house since last winter and I have not actually figured out how to put the heating on yet

hmc

We have had it on in the mornings for an hr the last few days so will most likely leave it on like that now,can't bare being cold when I get dressed lol. Out all day till 3 and haven't started putting it on for a few hrs for tea and bath time but it won't be long lol

nikanika0

Hello,
we have such a strange situation at home (we're renting privately). Our thermostat is off, but the radiators are being heated twice a day every time hot water is on aswel (6-7am, 8-9pm). Even during the summer. Our LL knows about it. It's down to some wiring left by previous owners.