leaving heating on 24/7

MillicentBystander

macman wrote: »

Any modern programmer will have that function though. Costing around £40 upwards.

We also have a very old programmer and see no financial reason to change it, certainly not for £40 (we aren't one of the lucky ones to be going away this Xmas!). That would be a bit like changing a fully fuctioning boiler to 'save' money. We have friends who did this and then went on to brag that their new boiler is 'saving' them £100 a year in gas charges compared to their old (but fully functioning) boiler. When i suggested that, even if the new boiler was to last that long, it would take them 25 years to see a 'profit' on their investement they were aghast...:D

edit: to give you some idea of the level of 'sophistication' of our 'programmer, this is the model we have:

macman

I wasn't suggesting changing the boiler. The Danfoss is a perfectly good mechanical timer, but all it does is allow you to program 2 on/off cycles per day, extremely basic.
You might easily recoup the cost of a modern 7 day digital programmer inside a year, because it allows so much more control over timing and temp.
Something like the Honeywell CM907 (or the wireless equivalent CM927).

MillicentBystander

I wasn't suggesting you were suggesting changing the boiler, I was just demonstrating the thinking of some folk to saving money. I genuinely don't think a new programmer would actually be economically viable for us and our usage etc. Of course, if and when our trusty old Randall breaks down then that's a different matter. Not that i think it ever will. seems to me that, unlike cars that have gotten more sophisticated over the years as well as more reliable, central heating appliances have only gotten more sophisticated...

I guess I'm a bit of a closet Luddite at heart.

cbrpaul

ah yes the oldies are the best eh millicentbystander

my boiler is now nearing 35 years old , in those years its had the x2 pumps updated to grundfos @ £60 each , a couple of thermocouplers @£4.00 a pair, and serviced, gas safe checked ,Flue safe checked, and water re-treated once a year, £60

Oh and parts are still available for it , well there isnt really that many parts to ,


Although I recently change the mech timer, only to allow me greater control of the timings , which i con now adjust seperately each day,. including different timings for weekends when we are at home most of the day and not at work like we are m-f , it also give me the "boost" facility for HW on an hour count down ,

i fitted this myself for £30 got it from Scewfix
link
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/11225/Plumbing/Central-Heating-Controls/Horstmann-Centaurplus-C27-Programmer

BargainMad_3

Hi cbrpaul - don't ever trade that boiler in - the new ones are designed to wear out within a few years as I have found to my cost !!!


I remember once being told to leave the heating on 24/7 as it is "cheaper in the long run" (!).....

I now switch the heating off at night and have plenty of duvets and blankets. I don't even set it to come on in the morning. If it is cold I switch it on manually but even try to prolong this as long as possible.

The thing I hate about my combi boiler is that is comes on a few times in the night (using up gas) to keep the plate warm and I have been told this cannot be over-ridden.

I would switch it off every night but knowing my luck this would probably cause more harm than good.

It's a bit like those emailer phones that Alan Sugar used to sell - they rang a premium number in the middle of the night to download your emails. And people wonder why he is so rich

MillicentBystander

BargainMad wrote: »

Hi cbrpaul - don't ever trade that boiler in - the new ones are designed to wear out within a few years as I have found to my cost !!!


I remember once being told to leave the heating on 24/7 as it is "cheaper in the long run" (!).....

I now switch the heating off at night and have plenty of duvets and blankets. I don't even set it to come on in the morning. If it is cold I switch it on manually but even try to prolong this as long as possible.

The thing I hate about my combi boiler is that is comes on a few times in the night (using up gas) to keep the plate warm and I have been told this cannot be over-ridden.

I would switch it off every night but knowing my luck this would probably cause more harm than good.

It's a bit like those emailer phones that Alan Sugar used to sell - they rang a premium number in the middle of the night to download your emails. And people wonder why he is so rich

Same here! That's why, for us as stated earlier, having a newfangled timer/programmer would be a waste of time/money. OK, we would wake up to a warmer house but we would be paying for MORE gas. I'm from an age when you could see your breath in the morning INSIDE the house :eek:. No central heating in my parent's house till I was in my teens. Just had a full medical at work and i'm in perfect health for my age, apparently so can't have done me any harm. People today are so pampered. :cool:

// Comes out of Monty Python Four Yorkshiremen Mode//

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo

macman

You would not 'wake up to a warmer house' unless you set the programmer to achieve that!
What you would do is be able to control your CH much more finely (both temp and on\off times) and that should more than save you the cost of the programmer over a season or two.
A 1C reduction in room temp can knock 10% of your heating bills, and a modern programmer can control the temp in 0.5C increments.
If you don't want to be 'pampered', why not just switch off the whole system and revert to coal fires and a tin bath in front of it? But if you have CH installed then surely it makes sense to be able to control it properly?

MillicentBystander

macman wrote: »

You would not 'wake up to a warmer house' unless you set the programmer to achieve that!
What you would do is be able to control your CH much more finely (both temp and on\off times) and that should more than save you the cost of the programmer over a season or two.
A 1C reduction in room temp can knock 10% of your heating bills, and a modern programmer can control the temp in 0.5C increments.
If you don't want to be 'pampered', why not just switch off the whole system and revert to coal fires and a tin bath in front of it? But if you have CH installed then surely it makes sense to be able to control it properly?

Now you're talking! Thanks for the advice. I control my CH all I need to myself. I don't see the problem, personally, but you seem to think there is one. If you're happy and I'm happy, surely that's all that matters?