Heating timed or on all day low???

emmaanddave

After having a massive gas bill last year we have been thinking about ways to reduce the cost a little. We have only started to out our heating on this morning but we are debating if it will cost less to keep the heating on most of the day but on a low temp or to keep it on timed to a few hours in morning and few hours later on in day?

Our problem is we have a conservatory that runs along the back of the house and alot of the heat get s swallowed up there. As it is part of the house and not one of these ones added on there is a hugh open space from the conservatory to the lounge/kitchen.

Anyway our question is: do people save money by having the heating on low all day or is it best to stick to timed to save money??

Thanks.

alba7

Hello emmaanddave

We don't have a conservatory but last winter we tried leaving the heating on all day and comparing the amount of gas used.

We found that it did cost more per day leaving the heating on low permanently, so went back to just a few hours night and morning.

Hope that helps.

grelton

Another option, allthough initially not a budget fix would be to put an air-conditioner into the conservatory and remove or valve off the radiator in there. Many people do not think of an air-conditioner as a heating source. The reality is that they are even more efficient as a heat source. Depending on make and type the coefficient of performance will be around 3.4 to 5.3 (COP) which means for every KW consumed you will attain (you guessed it) 3.4 to 5.3kw's of heat out. Inverter models will also regulate heat and fan output which means no temperature swings and reduced noise when the room is at condition. Ofcourse you musn't be blinded by the COP figures. Gas is typically 3p per equivalent KWH (don't forget boiler efficiency though so won't get 100% efficiency) whereas electricity is typically 9p per kwh.

However having an air-conditioner does mean that when were mid season we fling the doors open to the house (which we could never do previously due to heat loss) and don't run the heating for the whole home. We get more enjoyment from our conservatory now. Can warm it up in 10 minutes (even when its below 0C outside) and have breakfast in it even on work day.

Our combined winter quarter bill 2009 was £875 prior to installing this. 2010 quarter which was a hard cold winter was £495. (Don't need good math's to see the benefits).

So you may ask well why not fit your home out with air-conditioning every where, the COP's are fantastic!! Well manufacutrer's COP's figures are based upon what is known as a eurovent standard which is +7C in heating. Efficiency's drop off below 7C. Don't get me wrong you will still get more heat than you pay for even at -15C (practicle limit for most air-conditioners).

England has amongst the cheapest Gas out of all europe, so the benefits are minimal UNLESS you don't piped gas. Heat pump air-conditioners would then become extremely viable.

You mustn't forget though, as a freeby you can now cool your conservatory in the peak of summer without sacrificing security by leaving your doors and / or windows open!!

Our conservatory is 5.2 meters by 4.2 and is south facing. We have an air-conditoner which provies 5.3kw cooling and 6.3kw heating.

penrhyn

OP stated that their conservatory is permanently open to the rest of the house, so turning off the radiator ( if it has one ) wont do any good.
Would it be possible to put a door back in?

lilac_lady

I switch my heating on and off manually and my bills are reasonable. In the really cold weather it's on most of the day. If I'm cold, I switch it on.

victor2

I also tried having the house on a low setting all day and found it was cheaper to have the heating off and the timer set to turn the heating on in the early evening. We have a single thermostat for the whole house (no conservatory) - turning that down a degree reduced the heating bill significantly without making life unbearable.

st999

I switch my heating on and off manually

That is what I started doing after 18 years of timed.

That way if I get up an hour later the heating hasn't been on for an hour while I'm cosy in bed. Same at night, I turn it off when I go to bed instead of sitting freezing because I decided to stay up a lot later after the heating went off.

I even turn it off when I go to the shops for an hour. OH isn't happy when I go by myself:rotfl::rotfl:

Cardew

emmaanddave wrote: »

Anyway our question is: do people save money by having the heating on low all day or is it best to stick to timed to save money??

Thanks.

That is like asking is it quicker to drive from London to Glasgow at a slow speed without stopping, or drive fast stopping frequently!!!!!

If we know the slow speed, the fast speed and the number and length of the stops, we can tell you the answer.

Similarly with heating, the answer depends on how low the temperature is set when on constantly, how high when timed, how long on timed - and other factors like the insulation of your house.

e.g. temp set at 10C on constantly will be cheaper than timed for 22 hours a day at 28C.

Joking apart, it is an impossible question to answer!

nickyhutch

We put ours on when we're cold. Really cold! It doesn't go on in the morning, because the way I look at it, we're here only an hour at the most before we're off to work or school, so we can grin and bear it. Evenings, as it's getting colder, it can go on for a bit. The fact that we're on a meter and have to top up makes us use far, far less than we did when we had quarterly bills - none at all in summer.

nannasue60

I read somewhere from a gas man that its better to have it on timed as still cheaper for boiler to just come on and off a couple of times a day than be running all the time. I used to have mine on low but trying other way this year to see if its cheaper for bills.

macman

When your boiler is firing, it's burning gas and costing you money. When it's off, it's not.
It's really not rocket science...
If you keep it on all day but on a low temp then presumably it won't reach the temp you require it to be-what would be the point of that?
Pointless heating a house that is not occupied, as it will just leak heat all day and cost you all the time you are not there. Set it to come on before you come in giving it a reasonable period to bring the temp back up.