How to use oil heating economically?

falko89

Our outside boiler has a gauge of 1-6, It used to be set at 4, I put it down to 1.5 but I find that the boiler never really gets going, Say you put the heat on for an hour, it takes the hour to heat the radiators until warm to touch then it turns of. When I had it at 4 the radiators where boiling to touch with 5-10 mins.

Also whats the best way to use the heating? Is it best left on for a few hours at a time or an hour here or there? The thermostats in our house are set at 25, is this ok?

Cardew

The control on the boiler simply sets the temperature of the water in the CH system. Having it set so low(1.5) gives no economy advantage. When you have it a maximum it doesn't use more oil overall as it shuts off quicker.

You say thermostats(ie plural) - how many do you have?

25C is well above the temperature most people would set a wall themostat; 20C to 21C would be more normal - but it depends on a number of factors, including location of thermostat. You should have TRV(Thermostatic Radiator Valves) on your radiators and they determine room temperatures as well.

falko89

Cardew wrote: »

The control on the boiler simply sets the temperature of the water in the CH system. Having it set so low(1.5) gives no economy advantage. When you have it a maximum it doesn't use more oil overall as it shuts off quicker.

You say thermostats(ie plural) - how many do you have?

25C is well above the temperature most people would set a wall themostat; 20C to 21C would be more normal - but it depends on a number of factors, including location of thermostat. You should have TRV(Thermostatic Radiator Valves) on your radiators and they determine room temperatures as well.

Right so the control on the boiler simply does the water? The makes sense as even when on an hour it was never really that warm. I have 2 thermostats inside, 1 down stairs one up.

Cardew

falko89 wrote: »

Right so the control on the boiler simply does the water? The makes sense as even when on an hour it was never really that warm. I have 2 thermostats inside, 1 down stairs one up.

Yes the boiler control is for the water in the CH system - radiators etc. I have mine(on a gas boiler) at max(82C) so the house warms up very quickly. You need to be careful if todlers can come into contact with the radiators.

The temperature of the water for taps/showers etc depends on your plumbing and/or boiler.

If you have a hot water tank you usually will have a thermostat on the tank which is normally set at about 60C. When the temperature in the tank reaches that set temperature a valve diverts the hot water from the boiler.

Other systems have a separate water temp control on boiler.

On some older systems the control on the boiler determines the temperature in both the CH system and HW tank - in this case do not have control at Maximum as water will get too hot.

If you can find the make/model No of boiler you can usually find an instruction manual on-line.