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

peat

Anyone know the pros and cons of drying clothes with a clothes horse and dehumidifier compared to a tumble-drier?

Cardew

wantanswers wrote: »

May I ask you a question please just out of interest.

You say your heating comes on at (say) 7am. Do you know how long it takes for you to raise the temperature of your house to 20C and what units of gas you use during this time?

Should add during this cold spell of zero day and night temperatures.

Sorry, I have no idea - but as said above, it would use less gas than maintaining the house at 20C all night!

However even if I did know, it would be of little use to anyone else as there are so many variables. e.g.

Size of house.

Thermal mass of house,

Insulation standard.

Efficiency of boiler.

Water temperature set on boiler.

How much heat introduced into house by,Electrical Appliances, cooking, baths and showers etc .

Cardew

laptop80 wrote: »

I used to switch off partly to save electricity and partly because my first router burnt itself out and probably would've caught fire if I hadn't been there to switch it off.

Ah! but the compensating factor would be that the heat from the burning router would have reduced your gas consumption;)

wantanswers

Cardew wrote: »

Sorry, I have no idea - but as said above, it would use less gas than maintaining the house at 20C all night!

However even if I did know, it would be of little use to anyone else as there are so many variables. e.g.

Size of house.

Thermal mass of house,

Insulation standard.

Efficiency of boiler.

Water temperature set on boiler.

How much heat introduced into house by,Electrical Appliances, cooking, baths and showers etc .

That's fair enough, anyway each to their own I suppose...upwards and onwards, i'm off for some of that internal warmth and leaving the physics behind (till morning maybe)

Slinky

kanemars wrote: »

When u go on holiday in winter, is it best to

1) put your heating on for half an hour a day so you don't come back to an ice cold house
2) turn heating totally off then when you come back blast the house with heat until it warms up

Keep your heating on lowish but not too low. We made this mistake when moving between houses in the winter, the house we were moving into we owned for a week but weren't living in. Husband turned the thermostat down to 5C to stop it freezing up. When we moved in, he whacked up the heating, later went into the loft to put some stuff away and found condensation dripping heavily off the underside of the roof as the warm air was meeting the cold surfaces. Wouldn't make that mistake again.

grahamc2003

Newway wrote: »

As someone coming to this country for a PhD in physics, I started to
wonder if I have make a huge mistake...

I don't think you have. A UK Doctorate (assuming from a Russel Group or at least not from one of the duff Unis) in any science or engineering discipline in very well regarded throughout the world (with the excepton of the uk itself which, as I expect by now you have gathered, doesn't value science or engineering, hence our eroding relative wealth).

You've probably also gathered by now that any numerate research area is mainly (or at least highly) occupied by non-uk nationals, meaning such research is quite a decent foreign currency earner for the uk. Shame most of the talent and numerate expertise then usually returns to other countries with their new degrees, leaving a dearth of talent in the uk.

Pje39

Before I buy and install an Energy minder boiler controls will they actually save me money? Does anyone have any real facts regarding this product.

Cardew

Pje39 wrote: »

Before I buy and install an Energy minder boiler controls will they actually save me money? Does anyone have any real facts regarding this product.

It appears to be a very sophisticated boiler control system that monitors flow temperature and is Energy Saving Trust recommended.

All of the case studies are for commercial buildings.

May I suggest you do a 'Google'.

WHICH don't like their articles being copied but there is a similar question to yours, and the WHICH reply starts

Whilst this MAY be a reputable product, I would recommend caution, or, at least
scepticism.

I have no idea of the effectiveness of this product, but I would consult your boiler manufacturer first.

totally_bonkers

:Thank God, someone with common sense! We have rented out our old stone cottage for the past 5years and on a recent inspection visit we were horrified to find condensation trails running down from all the upstairs coving. The tenant was hanging all her wet washing on the large towel radiator in the bathroom!! Anyone with a grain of sense should know how unhealthy this is. Leaving the heating on low during the night keeps the cottage warm, but tenants are ill-informed. Solution, I bought them a brand new washing machine and a condensing tumble dryer and tried to convince them to keep the cottage warm.
I grew up in Canada and c/h timers just aren't used - they know enough to realise that a cold house costs,ore to heat up than keeping the heating on low when out.

Should I use a tumble dryer, or place washing on an airer with heating on?

a. An airer is better because tumble dryers use a lot of energy.

Try timing it so you put your washing out on a clothes horse during the hours your heating comes on. Normally, that way you wouldn't use any more energy.[/B]

To anyone who's property either has, or is close to having, high humidity and/or damp problems, this is without doubt extremely bad advice, and the the last sentence is simply incorrect.[/QUOTE]

steve-L

Cardew wrote: »

It appears to be a very sophisticated boiler control system that monitors flow temperature and is Energy Saving Trust recommended.

All of the case studies are for commercial buildings.

May I suggest you do a 'Google'.

WHICH don't like their articles being copied but there is a similar question to yours, and the WHICH reply starts



I have no idea of the effectiveness of this product, but I would consult your boiler manufacturer first.

My brother has a very sophisticated system.
Each radiator has individual controls (for temperature and time ) and I think it also controls the actual flow through valves.
It could well, knowing my brother be an industrial system.

He has 6 bedrooms and his heating bill is far less than my mothers 3 bed semi. However its a rebuild and he also has the best thermal insulation he could when he rebuilt. (Not to mention his walls are solid stone and 3' thick).

Point of this is the modern and very sophisticated systems do provide very good economy when done properly and combined with good insulation.
Quite whether changing the boiler alone will help is another matter?