New to gas

susi

Hi folks, I have always had solid fuel central heating but have recently changed over to a gas condensing boiler. Until now I have never dealt with gas as I cooked with electric. Can you tell me the most economical way to use it (apart from switching it off :-) ) at the moment I have the timer set to come on three times during the day, couple of hours in the morning an hour in the afternoon and from 4.30 until 10.30 at night, it is set at 21. Is it better to have it at a lower setting and run it all day? I really havent a clue and dont want a BIG shock when my bill comes in. Thanks in advance for any info

jd87

The idea of "cheaper to leave it on all day" is one great big myth which has been discussed and disproved many times here. Just have it on when you need it.

macman

As above. The longer it's on, the more it will cost you.

Kazipoo

Mine is on constant, I leave it to sit at 15 - 17 degrees through the day, depending on if someone is in, on a night and when we are out its on 14, my bills aren't particularly scary.

macman

They will be once the ambient room temp drops below that level-which is very low anyway. Most people prefer living areas at 19 to 21C. Your house may be relatively well insulated.
None of this alters that fact that leaving it on 24/7 will greatly increase your bills.

susi

Thanks for that, I guess I will just wait for my first bill, havent a clue what to expect eeeekkkkk!!!

JasX

You can work out what to expect by looking at your meter every week or so and cutting back if you think its clocking up more than you can afford.

Basically

1-The shorter you have it on the cheaper it is
2-The higher you have it set the more espensive it gets -exponentially so if you turn it up to silly levels above 20-21 degrees (as you lose heat faster from a hotter house)

Depending on the insulation I'd have it constantly set for something very low like 4 deg / 7 deg or something so its basically 'off' unless your house is getting so cold your pipes might burst.

See if you can avoid it comming on in the morning at all. in the evening see how low you can live with it and late on/early off you can get away with.

If you *must* get up to and come home to a boiling hot house expect to pay for through the nose for each of these.

Anything you can do to improve your insulation and reduce heat loss will save you money long term (ie keeping doors closed, curtains closed in unused rooms, exclude draughts where possible -basically if you walk round the inside perimeter of your house and anywhere feels 'cold' you're losing heat there and might want to consider bumping up your insulation)

bengasman

Condensing boilers are decidedly more economical on lower radiator temperatures. Do NOT turn the boiler up to max.

aggypanthus

My timer is set for 4 hours am, then 4 -9 evenings. 3 months till this week came to £122.
Sept usage was less than above.
i think its a bit high and going to check suppliers.
why not put yours off at 9 as that long enough to keep warm till bedtime.

Kazipoo

macman wrote: »

They will be once the ambient room temp drops below that level-which is very low anyway. Most people prefer living areas at 19 to 21C. Your house may be relatively well insulated.
None of this alters that fact that leaving it on 24/7 will greatly increase your bills.

I'm not saying it never goes over 17 degrees, its just generally where it sits, the hubby is a heat freak so he sneaks it on higher if I am out, but I am a proper tight wad.

My last statement just came in at £131 the summer months (June to December), the statement before that was £218 for last winter (December to June).

I have no idea how the house is insulated. I know we do have very good insulation in the loft, but the house itself is a prefab type, so I am unsure as the whether standard cavity wall insulation is used.

Where we lived previously (5 years ago) we were consistantly getting extremely high gas bills, our boiler was programmed for both central heating and hot water, we now have instant hot water and constant (thermostat controlled) central heating and our bills have easily halved. My heating may 'click on' several times through the day or evening, but it is never on for hours, so in my opinion it works out cheaper because we only pay for the 10 minutes that it takes to heat the house up, and not a 4 hour stint.