Silly question but do more radiators on = higher heating bill?

martin2345uk

I'm trying to understand how gas central heating works... so presumably there is a set amount of water in the central heating system that gets pumped round and round.

The water gets heated as it goes through the boiler and when it goes through the radiators it heats them up (itself getting cooled in the process).

So if you close the valve on, say, all but one radiator... surely it doesn't affect the flame in the boiler doing the heating, and therefore uses no less energy/gas?

Am I fundamentally misunderstanding it?

:o

HappyMJ

martin2345uk wrote: »

I'm trying to understand how gas central heating works... so presumably there is a set amount of water in the central heating system that gets pumped round and round.

The water gets heated as it goes through the boiler and when it goes through the radiators it heats them up (itself getting cooled in the process).

So if you close the valve on, say, all but one radiator... surely it doesn't affect the flame in the boiler doing the heating, and therefore uses no less energy/gas?

Am I fundamentally misunderstanding it?

:o

The boiler will cycle more...it'll be off but it'll still be pumping round hot water till it cools down enough then it'll fire back up again. Turning radiators down to the frost setting or off saves money.

Avoriaz

martin2345uk wrote: »

I'm trying to understand how gas central heating works... so presumably there is a set amount of water in the central heating system that gets pumped round and round.

The water gets heated as it goes through the boiler and when it goes through the radiators it heats them up (itself getting cooled in the process).

So if you close the valve on, say, all but one radiator... surely it doesn't affect the flame in the boiler doing the heating, and therefore uses no less energy/gas?

Am I fundamentally misunderstanding it?

:o

The simple answer to your thread title is yes, but it is more complicated than that.

The amount of water in the system is a set amount but the amount of water that is heated and circulated depends on how many radiators are turned on.

If you turn off one radiator then the water in that radiator and the pipes that feed it will not be circulated and so will not be heated. That will reduce the energy demand on the boiler.

If you turn off all radiators bar one then only the water in that radiator and the pipes that feed it will be circulated and heated.


If you want to save money on heating then either turn off radiators and close the doors of rooms that you don't want heated or fit thermostatic valves to all your radiators (except for one as you must have one radiator always open) and set them according to how warm you want those rooms to be.

That is a somewhat simplified summary so Google for more detailed advice.

daveyjp

Yes you are wrong. If the rad stats are closed the water isn't entering that radiator so no heat is being lost from that part of the circuit.

Modern boilers modulate, so they use as much gas as is necessary to get the water to temp. From cold the burner will be high, once up to temp it uses a lower burner output to keep the water at the set temp.

martin2345uk

Thanks guys! I always make sure only the required radiators are on, so I just wanted to check I'm not wasting my time doing that!:beer: