48kwh per day for 2 hours heat!!!

lovinituk

becksfaz wrote: »

That's what most people say when I tell them but the clown from BG said 'that's how they work by topping up' to which I said 'but there's nothing to top up if it's at temperature I want. The ways it's working means that despite my stat displaying correct temperature for say 4 hrs, my boiler would still kick in and out and cost me money!' The reply I then got was 'must be how yours works then...' !!!!!!!

We also have wall and loft insulation.

I spent all last winter looking for a solution and started this winter the same and feel like I'm getting no-where

If our stat read the correct temp for 4 hours then the boiler wouldn't come on at all in that time. Perhaps its down to your thermostat as WestonDave says above, although I think that would only work if the stat could read fractions of a degree.

jalexa

becksfaz wrote: »

...The ways it's working means that despite my stat displaying correct temperature for say 4 hrs, my boiler would still kick in and out ...

When the boiler is doing that is the stat clicking on and off as it normally would?

Instead of switching off at the boiler (as you said) if you set the stat back a couple of degrees does that stop the boiler?

What model of stat do you have?

notbritishgas

becksfaz wrote: »

Yes water is by gas but I know that we only use minimal amount for this (0.5 cubic metres) per day based on our summer bills so I know the vast amount is heating.

I know it's heating from cold but surely having it on longer than an hour each time is going to cost me more?
I'm soooo confused!
I've been told so many different things - timer is better AM and then PM, have it coming on in the morning and then staying on until evening and then off at night and also the 24/7 thingy....
I've tried lowering the stat but not to much avail...
It's only Oct and my current gas useage is approx £15 per week!!!!

My point was to try and justify your "apparently" high usage of 48kwh for 2 hours use. The boiler would be working very hard for those 2 hours.
Of course if you had it on for longer, eg all day, and the thermostat called for heat then yes it would cost more.

WestonDave

becks - to clarify, just because our thermostat is set at 14C overnight, its unlikely the temperature falls that far. Obviously on seriously cold night it will and then the heating will have to kick in to maintain the temperature. I would guesstimate it takes around 30 minutes to raise the temperature 1C, but that is with an all new (well 4 years old) system right down to pipework and radiators.

Our thermostat will tend to show say 17C as the current temperature, and still be calling for heat from the boiler for a while even when its set to maintain 17C so its perhaps not that surprising yours is doing something similar.

The other clue to your situation is the difference between your hall and lounge temperatures. I realise that was down to sun heat in the lounge which might be misleading, however if your hall is particularly cold/draughty, then setting your hall thermostat to be 18C is likely to mean you are actually heating your rooms to a much higher temperature - this could be the real cause of your high usage. If in fact you are actually say heating the house to 22C (taking the same 4C differential) then that is obviously going to cost more than actually heating the house to 18C (even though that potentially means setting the hall stat to 14C or 15C). I suspect a bit of experimentation with your "new friend" might lead you to some answers.

becksfaz

jalexa wrote: »

When the boiler is doing that is the stat clicking on and off as it normally would?

Instead of switching off at the boiler (as you said) if you set the stat back a couple of degrees does that stop the boiler?

What model of stat do you have?

Yeah stat clicks on and off as it should but runs for say 3-4 mins then stops. So costing money but doing nothing to my rads!

Sorry Jalexa, not sure sure what you mean by set the stat back a couple of degrees? If I turn it down (if this is what you mean) won't that keep the boiler going cos I'm lowering the temp that it's calling for heat at?

It's a BG PT plus.

becksfaz

notbritishgas wrote: »

My point was to try and justify your "apparently" high usage of 48kwh for 2 hours use. The boiler would be working very hard for those 2 hours.
Of course if you had it on for longer, eg all day, and the thermostat called for heat then yes it would cost more.

And you are indeed correct cos it is having to work flat out in those 2 hours (although it only kicked on for 30 mins last night as it was milder yesterday).

notbritishgas

becksfaz wrote: »

Yeah stat clicks on and off as it should but runs for say 3-4 mins then stops. So costing money but doing nothing to my rads!

Sorry Jalexa, not sure sure what you mean by set the stat back a couple of degrees? If I turn it down (if this is what you mean) won't that keep the boiler going cos I'm lowering the temp that it's calling for heat at?

It's a BG PT plus.

Are you saying the stat clicks on and off in very quick succession.

If so that would start the boiler and then switch it off, however modern boilers have a pump overrun facility (I think that is what it's called) whereby the pump runs a further 3 minutes (on my Worcester Bosch) so that the heat is dissipated from the boiler.
So if that is the case it will not be using any gas.

However if the stat is doing that then something is wrong.

jalexa

becksfaz wrote: »

Yeah stat clicks on and off as it should but runs for say 3-4 mins then stops. So costing money but doing nothing to my rads!

Sorry, are you saying the stat is clicking on and off after reaching the setting temperature while still displaying the setting temperature?

...not sure sure what you mean by set the stat back a couple of degrees? If I turn it down (if this is what you mean) won't that keep the boiler going cos I'm lowering the temp that it's calling for heat at?

Yes, that is what I mean. You are lowering the temperature the stat is satisfied, therefore should be OFF.

It's a BG PT plus.

Think that is a rebadged Drayton. Not sure which one. If you are convinced the stat is clicking on and off after reaching the setting temperature, I would say the stat is faulty (technically low hysteresis) but first I would eliminate the possibility of a low battery.

becksfaz

WestonDave wrote: »

becks - to clarify, just because our thermostat is set at 14C overnight, its unlikely the temperature falls that far. Obviously on seriously cold night it will and then the heating will have to kick in to maintain the temperature. I would guesstimate it takes around 30 minutes to raise the temperature 1C, but that is with an all new (well 4 years old) system right down to pipework and radiators.

Our thermostat will tend to show say 17C as the current temperature, and still be calling for heat from the boiler for a while even when its set to maintain 17C so its perhaps not that surprising yours is doing something similar.

The other clue to your situation is the difference between your hall and lounge temperatures. I realise that was down to sun heat in the lounge which might be misleading, however if your hall is particularly cold/draughty, then setting your hall thermostat to be 18C is likely to mean you are actually heating your rooms to a much higher temperature - this could be the real cause of your high usage. If in fact you are actually say heating the house to 22C (taking the same 4C differential) then that is obviously going to cost more than actually heating the house to 18C (even though that potentially means setting the hall stat to 14C or 15C). I suspect a bit of experimentation with your "new friend" might lead you to some answers.

Thanks WestonDave - I understand your clarification. It took ours 30 mins last night to bring hall from 15-16c.
Yes that's the reason for purchasing the little thermometer. A little bit if trial and error to work out the best temperature for the hall. Results so far:
Stat set to 17.5c yday morning (Hall 14.5 when we got up). 1.5 hours of heat to get hall to 17.c which took lounge to 21.4c.
Dropped stat 16.5c last night - 30 mins of heat. Lounge 19.8c.
However this morning, hall stat 15.5c when got up. 45 mins of heat to get it to 16.5 but lounge only got to 18.1c (?)

However even when we have sorted stat temperature, it still won't solve my problem of my boiler kicking in in (very) short blasts, which costs me money but doesn't generate heat. Becuase of this, even when we have worked out the best temperature for the stat in the hall, I won't be able to leave the stat to do it's thing like everyone else does cos it will continue to cost me. Argh!

becksfaz

notbritishgas wrote: »

Are you saying the stat clicks on and off in very quick succession.

If so that would start the boiler and then switch it off, however modern boilers have a pump overrun facility (I think that is what it's called) whereby the pump runs a further 3 minutes (on my Worcester Bosch) so that the heat is dissipated from the boiler.
So if that is the case it will not be using any gas.

However if the stat is doing that then something is wrong.

Yeah sometimes it does - my washing machine is in my garage (where my boiler is) and I've put washing in and then boiler has come on, run for 3 mins (timed it on the clock next to the boiler) and then it's gone off. It does this frequently.
It's not a modern boiler.