Most cost effective method - gas heating

caz2703

Long story short, the husband and I split a few months ago and I'm now left with a heating system I don't really understand. There are a number of options I could go with but I'm sure if I looked up the controller I could figure it out but what I want to know is what is the best method of keeping the house warm.

Option 1: Program the heating to come from say 6am and keep the house at a certain temperature during that time (I can't see any way just to set the heating to come on without a temp being set).

Option 2: Have the heating set to auto whereby the house should always be a certain temp e.g. 20C

I ask this because the last few mornings it has been icy outside and the heating has been on full pelt when I get up. Around 9am however it turns off when it reaches the set temp and barely comes back on during the day. Is this the best way to do it? I'm thinking that by having the heating set to keep a constant temp it doesn't have to come on full blast for as long to maintain the temperature compared to telling it to boost the house from 16C or colder during the night to 20C during the day.

Does that make sense? And no, I can't ask the ex!

rogerblack

Simplifying a bit.

The amount of heat needed to heat the house evenly will be some number times the difference in temperature between the inside and out.
So it might work that in order to maintain a temperature of 15C over the outside temperature, you need 10kW.
If the temperature inside drops by 7C overnight, then the heat loss at the end of this period is 5kW.

If you let the temperature inside drop, overnight then yes, it takes extra power to bring the house back up to temperature, but this extra power it takes is exactly matched by the amount you saved by initially turning down the heat.
Over the period where the temperature in the house was lower, the heat loss through the walls was lower, so you've saved on the bills.

Cardew

With any heating system it is always a compromise between comfort and cost.

Put simply:

The lower the temperature you have in the house - the lower the bills.

The shorter the period when the heating is operating - the lower the bills.

caz2703

rogerblack wrote: »

Simplifying a bit.

The amount of heat needed to heat the house evenly will be some number times the difference in temperature between the inside and out.
So it might work that in order to maintain a temperature of 15C over the outside temperature, you need 10kW.
If the temperature inside drops by 7C overnight, then the heat loss at the end of this period is 5kW.

If you let the temperature inside drop, overnight then yes, it takes extra power to bring the house back up to temperature, but this extra power it takes is exactly matched by the amount you saved by initially turning down the heat.
Over the period where the temperature in the house was lower, the heat loss through the walls was lower, so you've saved on the bills.

So are you saying it's 6 of one, half a dozen of another?

The gas heating has only been in a year but the provider was switched recently so I have no historic data to go on as it was all in the ex's name. What I don't want is a nasty shock when the meter gets read but with 2 young kids and me on maternity and therefore in the house during the day, I need to have the house warm all day as opposed to only when I'd be home from work.

The ex would have let the temp drop to such low levels that it hurt to get out of bed in the morning it was that cold so I'm worried that my direct debits are maybe too low as I prefer to not see my breath when I get up during the night!

caz2703

Cardew wrote: »

With any heating system it is always a compromise between comfort and cost.

Put simply:

The lower the temperature you have in the house - the lower the bills.

The shorter the period when the heating is operating - the lower the bills.

The first bit is obvious, the second bit is the conundrum. The heating is ticking over at this minute with the radiators just about on but I know when we would come in from work the radiators would be scorching to the touch most of the evening trying to get heat into the house only to get up the next morning freezing again. I'm trying to figure out if blasting the heating at full pelt for a few hours a day would be more cost effective than having it on very low on and off all day if you know what I mean?

Pincher

I have a digital programmable thermostat that does not have ON and OFF. It's either COMFort temperature or ECOnomic temperarture.
It might appear to be on 24 hours a day, but setting ECO to 10 degrees is more or less OFF.

Leave your central heating on 24 hours a day, November to April. Manually adjust the thermostat to suit your mood.

When you leave the house, turn it down to 10 degrees, which is more or less OFF. Overnight, 14 degrees is a good compromise. So all you have to think about is the thermostat.

Record your gas meter readings. These days, one imperial unit is roughly £1. It's pretty obvious how cozy you can afford to be.

rogerblack

caz2703 wrote: »

So are you saying it's 6 of one, half a dozen of another?

No!
If you let the temperature drop, then the amount of heat flowing through the walls drops.
This will save money.
The colder you have it, for longer, the more you save.

Consider turning down - not off - the heat during the evening when you're the only one up, and getting nice thick duvets so the kids stay nice and warm, then set it up to get warm in the morning again.

Also - make sure you've done the other simple things that pay off fast.
Draught-sealing doors, letterboxes, and windows.
See if the house is suitable for any of the free or low-cost offers on insulation.
For example, cavity wall, or topping up the attic insulation.

Look at previous bills, and ensure you're on the best deal.

caz2703

rogerblack wrote: »

No!
If you let the temperature drop, then the amount of heat flowing through the walls drops.
This will save money.
The colder you have it, for longer, the more you save.

Consider turning down - not off - the heat during the evening when you're the only one up, and getting nice thick duvets so the kids stay nice and warm, then set it up to get warm in the morning again.

Also - make sure you've done the other simple things that pay off fast.
Draught-sealing doors, letterboxes, and windows.
See if the house is suitable for any of the free or low-cost offers on insulation.
For example, cavity wall, or topping up the attic insulation.

Look at previous bills, and ensure you're on the best deal.

Ahhh ok thanks. Unfortunately the house is owned by my ex so I'm restricted as to what I can do. He was also the sole named account holder for everything so the fun I've had as he just cancelled stuff without prior notice and I couldn't get any info as my name is not on anything so previous bills are out of the equation (data protection and all that).

As for insulation, he got space blanket stuff to put in the attic and also above the stairs but never did it (chalet bungalow and no insulation in the area above the hall & stairs). I need to buy more strip draught excluder as the blinds in some rooms literally sway inches away from the windows when it's windy - yet another job that never got done.

I'll go and have a look online for a manual and program the heating as opposed to having it set to an automatic temperature.

Thank you for all the answers folks. I'm a complete novice to all this kind of stuff but I'll get the hang of it.

macman

caz2703 wrote: »

So are you saying it's 6 of one, half a dozen of another?

The gas heating has only been in a year but the provider was switched recently so I have no historic data to go on as it was all in the ex's name. What I don't want is a nasty shock when the meter gets read but with 2 young kids and me on maternity and therefore in the house during the day, I need to have the house warm all day as opposed to only when I'd be home from work.

The ex would have let the temp drop to such low levels that it hurt to get out of bed in the morning it was that cold so I'm worried that my direct debits are maybe too low as I prefer to not see my breath when I get up during the night!

But if you do what you're supposed to (read and submit your own readings at least every 3 months) then you won't get any shock at all-you'll know exactly what you are using from your own readings, and so you will be able to calculate your bills precisely. The utility co. are only obliged to read your meter every two years.

Pincher

caz2703 wrote: »

As for insulation, he got space blanket stuff to put in the attic and also above the stairs but never did it (chalet bungalow and no insulation in the area above the hall & stairs). I need to buy more strip draught excluder as the blinds in some rooms literally sway inches away from the windows when it's windy - yet another job that never got done.

Talk to your energy supplier. They are supposed to help you with loft and cavity wall insulation.

You might get it for free if you have elderly living in the house, or are on benefits. If not, it's typically £100 to £200. They get a subsidy from the government.

All they do is put down some fibreglass or wooly rolls, about 200mm to 240mm thick. If you have Cavity wall, they inject something fluffy into the gap. Can make a big difference.

dogshome

Hi caz2703 - If the supplier has closed the original account in your husbands name, and opened a new account in your name, the likelyhood is that they are treating you as a 'New' account and have put you on an expensive 'Standard' tariff .

Whilst the old account was in your husbands name, what the supplier will do if asked, is tell you what the Annual consumption were figures in the previous year - Get these and visit some Switch sites for better deals than the one you are on