15 minutes on, 15 minutes off technique, combi boiler - halving winter fuel bill?!

pault123

spinningsheep wrote: »

The thermostat on the boiler is set far too low, at that setting the flow temp of the boiler is about 30 degrees, ideal for underfloor heating that is on all the time, but unless you have huge oversized radiators, I cannot see how you are getting any level of useable heat into the room from what must be tepid radiators. The temperature of the hot water is preset at about 50 degrees on the 24i, cannot be controlled. Why not try 2 hours set to about 3 o clock on the thermostat, in 3 bursts as the day goes along?

Hi Spinningsheep,

The reason I have it so low is any higher its too hot :rotfl: on that minimum setting the radiators get hot enough to burn your hand if you rest it on there. Hence why i'm considering turning it on and off to save even more gas.

My gas bill is £468 a year, for a 3 bed semi detached.

penrhyn

Your best bet would be to have a room stat fitted. Your system was clearly installed by a bunch of cowboys.

pault123

penrhyn wrote: »

Your best bet would be to have a room stat fitted. Your system was clearly installed by a bunch of cowboys.

Really? surely its a pretty good setup if I can heat the house on minimum temp setting with a low bill each year

penrhyn

You may well think that. I don't.

spinningsheep

There must be an issue with your thermostat if your radiators are too hot to touch at such a (perceived) low setting.The thermostat may be set low, but it doesn't mean the temperature is as low as you think. But if it works for you and your bills are as low as you say, whats the problem? I'd be cockahoop if my bill was just over £400 a year.

pault123

update

well the 15 min on and off did cool down too quickly over the week long cold spell, so changed it to 30 min on and 30 min off, house was more than warm enough. Compared usage on the meter over two seperate days and just under half the units were used on the 30/30 setup.

macman

A room 'stat costs about £20, a decent digital programmer about £60. With better control you'd save that back in one winter.
If the install is only 5 years old then it did not meet Building Regs at the time.