Energy myth-busting: Is it cheaper to have heating on all day? 4 December 2012 at 7:43PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Energy 1.1K replies 161.7K views

grahamc2003

lisa701 wrote: »

I decided to test the theory about it being cheaper to have the heating on all day. My hubby thought I was mad checking the meter and temperature of each room every day morning & evening.

After a week of it being on timer, and a week of it being on constant I found I used much less gas with the heating on constant. House was a lot more pleasant to be in too.

Doesn't it concern you that, assuming the weather and everything else were similar during the two weeks, and your data collection methods produced accurate results, your results seem to be at odds with scientific laws?

Of course you may have produced the results you did if the weather were different and/or your methods were poor and/or measurements inaccurate and/or there was a systemic bias to a particular result.

(Don't worry unduly, a certain branch of (so called) science suffer from the same attributes these days, but thermodynamics never has).

hubb

The laws of Physics have been changed on this thread ;-)

Oh, and there is extra electricity running a boiler constant and wear and tear on the boiler resulting in it being repaired/replaced sooner.

macman

lisa701 wrote: »

I decided to test the theory about it being cheaper to have the heating on all day. My hubby thought I was mad checking the meter and temperature of each room every day morning & evening.

After a week of it being on timer, and a week of it being on constant I found I used much less gas with the heating on constant. House was a lot more pleasant to be in too.

Sorry, but this is complete nonsense. For that to be remotely scientific, the ambient temp profile would have had to be the same for the whole of each week, which it wasn't.
It would work only if your insulation was 100% efficient.

kanemars

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

grahamc2003

hubb wrote: »

The laws of Physics have been changed on this thread ;-)

Oh, and there is extra electricity running a boiler constant and wear and tear on the boiler resulting in it being repaired/replaced sooner.

Yeah, strange isn't it. I wonder if this 'on all the time is cheaper' just applies to heating, or whether is applies generally?

For example, if we go round to the houses of people who have measured their consumption and know it to be less if on all the time, leave their tumble dryer on all the time because it's cheaper than turning it on and off. Are all their lights on constantly because it's cheaper? Is their the car engine left running 24/7 because it uses less petrol that way? TV on through the day and night to save electricity? Oven on all the time? (tried that with my AGA, which should dispell any myths about that being cheaper!).

Hmbeez

On the subject of electrical items in standby, I am told that many Sky + boxes use 22 watts in standby! That's around £25 a year for most users, when not using it! It does give you an instant start, however. If you can live with just free-to-air channels only, get a Freesat PVR in place of you Sky box. It's a straightforward swap, and in exchange for a slow start you'll save power, as well as a Sky subscription. You can get an extra device from Triax or others to network the system through the house, if your sky setup included this. We did just this, and have never regretted it! Only downside is that Sky's remote control is was easier to use than any other.

macman

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

I assume this is a joke, right?
If you are away for a week, how is having the heating on for half an hour 6 days prior going to have any impact upon the temp when you return?
And 'blasting the heat' will not warm it up any quicker at all, it'll just overheat it beyond the temp you require.

amiehall

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

I would never leave my heating OFF for an extended time in the winter. What if your pipes freeze? I would leave it on with the thermostat at 5-10 degrees so it will kick in before there's a disaster.

That issue aside, why anyone would want to heat a vacant house so it's not cold when they get home just completely escapes me.

elcid1

I am away for 2 weeks over Christmas and been advised to leave my new Vaillant condensing combi on permanently but with the room stat in my hall set to 10. My frugal mind says leave heating set to come on 8a.m. to 10a.m. early morning and say 11p.m. to 1a.m. at night. My house was flooded 2 years ago due to old system having storage tank in the loft and I was away at Christmas for 2 weeks having left heating set as above, but it was not enough to protect pipe above loft insulation. New boiler now so that cannot happen again but which setting is advised. Plumbers all say leave permanently on but 10deg.on room stat.

ariba10

When we go abroad in the winter, the heating is set to come on for an hour 3/4 o'clock in the morning (The coldest time)

Never had a problem or any concerns.