Most economic way to run central heating

mysuni

Having got a new heating system installed with a fancy timer I am wondering is it more cost efficient to have the heating on all day and turn it down when out or have it off and have it come on just before we get in?

Thanks.

susank

I would be interested too - just had ours in for 5 weeks and having just completed balancing the system and rads with temps to suit in each area we have it come on am from 6.30 - 9 and then 12 - 1 then 4.30 - 10 but if we are home and feel it getting cooler (too much cooler) we override it! - I hope the oil lasts ok - the first bar of the sensor went down in 3 weeks - there are 8 bars so I know it wont be 24 weeks as the winter is coming and we had 1300 Litres in a 1450 tank but hope its end Feb/Beg march before we need more!
mind you its absolute bliss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:j

st999

have the heating on all day and turn it down when out

Then it is off.

have it off and have it come on just before we get in

Same thing.

if it is off, it is off, if it is on, it is on.

Experiment.

Barneysmom

Try each method a week apart, taking gas meter readings each time?

mysuni

have the heating on all day and turn it down when out

Then it is off.

I meant turn the thermostat down so the house doesn't have to be heated from freezing.

macman

Sigh...this same old urban myth comes up so often, and usually more so when the cold weather starts!
If you have your boiler running longer it will use more gas, end of story. So maintaining a higher temp when you are not in the house, unless you are confident that your insulation is 100% and your heat loss is zero, is throwing money away-you might as well go out and leave the window open.
What you may have to do is adjust your timer to kick in earlier in order to raise the house to the required temp by the time you come in. Some modern programmers can adjust the start time automatically in order to achieve a set temp by a set time, reacting to the ambient temp.
Would you say that keeping your kettle boiling all day in order to keep the temp nearer the required level is more economic? I doubt it. It's no different with your CH.

Loanranger

If it were more economical to run it all the time, the timer would be superfluous. Timer manufacturers would not sell any timers if they were unnecessary.

Set it to come on about 90 minutes before you get up and to go off about 15 minutes before you leave for work. Same in the evening and set to go off about 15 minutes before you go to bed. Then adjust as necessary.

Pincher

Glow-worm Climapro 2 RF

http://www.glow-worm.co.uk/stepone/data/downloads_sd/a8/00/00/climapro-2-with-receiver-user.pdf

Have a look at section 6.7.3

SEVEN intervals for each 24 hour weekday, and you can select the target temperature for each.

Unlike traditional timers, where you can only have one temperature, on or off, this thing lets you fine tune your comfort needs. I would have 22 degrees in the morning, 12 degrees when I'm out, and 18 degrees at night.

It even does cooling if it was controlling a heat pump!

That's what I call a "fancy timer".

st999

I meant turn the thermostat down so the house doesn't have to be heated from freezing

so how much heat does your house lose when the heating is off?

If you turn the thermostat down so that the temperature is less than the temperature of the room where the thermostat is then the heating is effectively off.

Set it to come on about 90 minutes before

To me 90 minutes is excessive. My house takes about 15 mins to get to a comfortable temperature from when the heating has been off for a few hours. Even when I came back from a holiday and the room temperature was 5 deg C it only took about 45 mins to reach 22 deg C

You wouldn't leave your heating on when you went on holiday for a couple of weeks to save you heating your house up from cold when you came back because that would use a lot of energy keeping it warm, keeping it warm all the time would cost a lot more than heating it up from the cold ambient temperature.

So to save money do not put your heating on if you do not require it. Just think, in, on, out, off.

Loanranger

st999 wrote: »

so how much heat does your house lose when the heating is off?

If you turn the thermostat down so that the temperature is less than the temperature of the room where the thermostat is then the heating is effectively off.



To me 90 minutes is excessive. My house takes about 15 mins to get to a comfortable temperature from when the heating has been off for a few hours. Even when I came back from a holiday and the room temperature was 5 deg C it only took about 45 mins to reach 22 deg C

You wouldn't leave your heating on when you went on holiday for a couple of weeks to save you heating your house up from cold when you came back because that would use a lot of energy keeping it warm, keeping it warm all the time would cost a lot more than heating it up from the cold ambient temperature.

So to save money do not put your heating on if you do not require it. Just think, in, on, out, off.

Yes, I agree, for your house it probably is. My house is old and has no cavity wall so can't unfortunately be readily insulated and it takes quite a while to heat up after heating has been off. That is why I suggested 'adjust as necessary'.

lincsman

The old discussion about heating rumbles on, but I have followed the policy of moderating my heating between an upper limit in my lounge of 22 deg C (occupied) and 15 deg C (unoccupied).

The reason is that it is generally better to keep the fabric of the building and contents from getting too cold. My programmable stat is situated close to me in the lounge with no other heat source, except for 1 television, 2 laptops, and 2 low-energy table lamps.

All rooms are fitted with thermostatic rad valves to moderate temps and allow for solar gain. The running costs of this 3 bed detached house, using an oil-fired Grant multipass boiler (non-condensing) has been between £13.37/week and £9.66/week based on the last 2 refills of 1000 lites each time. I will need to refill again by the end of the year.

I have cavity wall insulation (retro-fitted), K-glass double glazing and a lot of insulation in the loft.

The lounge - dining room - garden room are all open plan, so I am maintaining 22 deg C in an area 44 feet x 13 feet with no other form of heating.

I do use an electric immersion heater for domestic hot water during the 3-4 summer months when the heating is switched off.:)