Energy myth-busting: Is it cheaper to have heating on all day?

victor2

Just looking at my subscribed threads on the new forum when I realised this thread didn't raise itself from the ashes this/last year!

I knew my life was missing something!

Depech242

Would it be more economical to heat the hot water at the same time as having the heating on?  My thinking is that if the hot water is on during the night, when the heating is usually off (set to 18 when sleeping) then some heat may leach into the house, via the pipes between the boiler and hot water tank. When we had a cat , it would sleep on warm patches on the landing. 

Talldave

But perhaps that leached heat prevents the heating kicking in which it might do otherwise. Hot water heating is a pretty rapid affair though, I set the hot water so that it's up to temp at the earliest time we'll need a shower in the morning. 

orrery

There is much heat wasted in a standard central heating system in the pipework - mine seems to traverse the house about 3 times for some parts. It would be better to run the water heating at the same time as this heats the pipework only the once.

Shellywelly53

I have found out since I had smartmeters fitted that my gas central heating is loads cheaper than electric. If i have it on all day i usually have it high for an hour then turn it down a bit for rest of day if its winter. Before smartmeter i was using a little electric heater in 1 room. Im on dualfuel and I actually use now with heating on and lamp telly and usual kitchen appliances and broadband i use 5p an hour on full then 3p an hour after. My old heater and blanket cost a lot more. My only problem is the standing charge still charged every day even if I don't use any at all

orrery

At least one positive report for Smartmeters then.

You talk of turning the heating up and down - do you mean the thermostat? What controls do you have?

Most modern controls don't have on and off periods, but instead have a time and temperature which allows the type of control you are doing manually. I have a slight increase in temperature (about half a degree C) programmed just for breakfast time and evenings.

4caster

The trouble with having a "main thermostat" is that it will override the radiator thermostats in all other rooms. I don't want the radiators in the bathroom or dining room to go cold just because the lounge has attained the temperature set on the main thermostat. The whole point of having adjustable thermostatic radiators in each room is to heat each room to the temperature required for that room. An overriding main thermostat thwarts that intention.

4caster

The loss of heat by conduction through walls and closed doors and windows is proportional to the difference in temperature between the inside and outside surfaces. Therefore more heat will be lost from a warm room than a cooler room, so turn the heating off when you go out for the day. If you want to return to a warm house, set the timer to bring the heat on a while before you expect to return. If you are going away for a whole week or more, then it might need to come on for a whole day or more, because it takes a long time to re-heat the internal structure of the building and its furniture and other contents. It's still more ecumenical than to leave it on all the time. In a severe winter we should still take frost precautions of course!

4caster

Correction: "economical", not "ecumenical". God forgive me!

Sued1951

I have warm air central heating, which I believe is more efficient as it sucks in the air, heats it up and chucks it back out again. My house can warm up in 5 minutes. I dont heat water to heat radiator to heat air so the whole process is quicker. I also have a direct from the mains water heater so that means no tanks and I only heat the water I need. My energy bills are very low as my house is very well insulated including cavity wall insulation. I use very little electricity as I have solar panels. I dont think that there is anything else I could do to conserve energy and keep my bills down apart from having storage batteries for my solar. As these are very expensive I am not sure that they would be cost effective enough for the investment needed.