Any money saving boiler tips?

sho_me_da_money

My nan's house has the following boiler installed.

http://www.ravenheat.co.uk/pdf/manuals/RSF841Print.pdf

This boiler is constantly powered on. I assume this consumes electricity, gas or both (forgive my ignorance).

My question - Is it best to leave the boiler powered on 24/7, turn it off from the mains switch when not in use or turn it on/off as and when required (providing I do it about 30 mins before I need it)?

The situation holds true for my parents house. They too have their boiler powered on all night every night. The temps are set and their dial points to the water/heat symbol. I know they too have a switch on the wall that is labelled CTRL HEATING. Is it best to flick this off during the night?

I can only assume switching it off saves me money? How much exactly?, I do not know. Is it worth the hassle or no?

Thanks!

penrhyn

It is usual for the central heating to be controlled by a programmer or possibly a programmable room thermostat. It is not usual to have to manually switch the system off and on.

sho_me_da_money

penrhyn wrote: »

It is usual for the central heating to be controlled by a programmer or possibly a programmable room thermostat. It is not usual to have to manually switch the system off and on.

I don't think there is a thermostat in any of the rooms. In my parents house, there is a manual dial but not in my nans.

Of the following options, which is the best from a money/energy saving point of view:

1. Leave the boiler powered on and pointed to the TAP position for Water and leave it there 24/7.

2. Leave the boiler powered on and pointed to the TAP/RADIATOR position for Water/CH and leave it there 24/7.

3. Leave the boiler pointed to the "0" symbol i.e. Powered off but not from mains and flick it on as an when I need hot water or heating.

4. Switch OFF from the mains and have the whole thing shut down.


Thanks,

davidgmmafan

Argh NOOOOOOOO

*Head explodes*

This topic comes off very often, and it often leads to some heated debates...

sho_me_da_money

davidgmmafan wrote: »

Argh NOOOOOOOO

*Head explodes*

This topic comes off very often, and it often leads to some heated debates...

Since you've had the pleasure of reading those wonderful threads, what is your conclusion, if any?

Cheers buddy.

Accountant_Kerry

is it a combi boiler or a system boiler?

Does your nans house have TRV's fitted to the radiators? (thermoststic radiator valves?

Does the boiler have a built in timer or is there a seperate timer?

Do you mean the heating is on all the time or the boiler is on?

You should not turn the boiler off, although you don't need the heating on constantly.

Accountant_Kerry

argh justy looked at the manual so its a combi boiler, it will only heat the water when the water is actually running.

sho_me_da_money

Accountant_Kerry wrote: »

is it a combi boiler or a system boiler?

Does your nans house have TRV's fitted to the radiators? (thermoststic radiator valves?

Does the boiler have a built in timer or is there a seperate timer?

Do you mean the heating is on all the time or the boiler is on?

You should not turn the boiler off, although you don't need the heating on constantly.

1. Combi Boiler

2. If TRV's are those funny knobs that you can turn with numbers on that allow high and low, then yes we have them.

3. There doesn't seem to be a separate timer unit elsewhere therefore I assume it is built in.

4. The boiler position is in the WATER position and it it is powered on from the mains.

There are 3 positions on the boiler - 1) TAP 2) TAP&HEAT 3) 0 (OFF)

There is also a mains power switch to the boiler on the wall.

So what your saying is to not switch off at the mains, keep the temps programmed in and leave the knob on the boiler pointing towards the TAP right?

I'm just curious as to what the "0" (ZERO) position serves if the best way to save is it leaving it in the TAP position permanently.

Accountant_Kerry

2. yep these are trv's these serve as individual thermostats for each room and can be adjusted to which rooms you want warmest, these are known to be the most economical of thermostats.
3. you should have a timer fitted, looking at the boiler manual its not built in, a timer should be / have been installed. Your only option if you don't want the heating on constant is to turn to tap&heat when you want heat, really you should have a timer, personally I have my heating on low all the time and just turn it up when needed.

i wouldn't switch your boiler off at the wall, you might save literally a few pennies in electricity (it wont be using gas) a week at best and boilers are not built to be constantly switched on and off by the mains.

The zero position if often used for resetting the boiler and is part of the process of lighting the pilot.

davidgmmafan

Well some people say that, logically it must be more expensive to run it all the time, some people deny this. I'm siding with the first lot but its going to be a balances between cost and comfort.