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Cost effective way to heat house

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DaveW007
DaveW007 Posts: 387 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
Hi

With the cold weather we are now having I was wondering which way to heat my house is more cost effective?

Just turn central heating on when I'm at home or have central heating on 24/7 but on a very low setting.

All my rooms have thermostats on the radiators so I can switch them off if required.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks

Comments

  • savemoney
    savemoney Posts: 18,125 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts
    Gas is 2/3rd's cheaper than electric. so turn thermostats on low in rooms you dont use

    My CH is on at 18c

    If money is tight wear lots of thin clothing rather than thick clothing and drink lots of warm drinks
  • amcluesent
    amcluesent Posts: 9,425 Forumite
    If you have an electric cooker, move this into the lounge and have a roast dinner. This heats the room very well.
  • amcluesent wrote: »
    If you have an electric cooker, move this into the lounge and have a roast dinner. This heats the room very well.

    That would not be a good way. Were trying to work out which would be cheapest to do. At the mo we have the heating on all day from 6am to 9pm but its only on low but the radiators are on full. If it gets a bit chilly we then light the fire in the living room.
  • oellph
    oellph Posts: 43 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    I'm testing this at the moment. According to my boiler manual (Baxi 105 HE) during winter months it should be set to high/max. I know this is hotly debated but my own personal experience is that having the boiler on low for longer but TRVs turned to max means that they rads never reach the right temp and the boiler is firing more often. Reverse that and the rads get very hot, so you can then turn them down.

    My logic says the rad and TRV is trying to control the temperature but without sufficient boiler heat they'll never achieve it. I've also read that modern boilers (86% efficient and above) work best at higher settings.
  • JasX
    JasX Posts: 3,996 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 1 December 2010 at 9:13AM
    Fundamentally the higher the temperature and longer you have your heating on will drive the price up, also the longer you keep your house 'hot/warm' for the more heat it loses to the outside world.

    Set your thermostat on a low setting and set it on a timer to come on only when needed.

    Keeping it on all day will push your bills up.
    Putting it on for a short time but turning it right up when you do will also push your bills up.

    The idea that firing your heating all day saves money is asked time and time again on here by people who failed basic science at school. you can keep track of how much energy you are using by monitoring your meter reading and do a test if needs be.
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