Gas Central Heating - tips? 11 June 2004 at 1:36PM in Energy 18 replies 2.1K views

gloria

Have recently moved into a new house with Gas Central Heating. I would welcome any tips on usage. Am currently having the hot water on for an hour in the evening and an hour in the morning, but someone told me that it only takes about 15 mins to heat a tank of water! Can someone help please with any tips on how long the heating should be on for and the hot water. My first bill is working out at a lot more than my previous Oil Heating bills and I know thats not right! Thanks

pennymakespounds

now that's a really good question... and i hope that someone in that business can give us a knowledgeable response.
We have gas boiler ..
for the central heating which when needed is left on all day/evening but with thermostat set at about 18 degrees i am fairly relaxed that this is the way to run it ...ie the thermostat will keep even temperature automatically....

but with the water ... my lot put it on from first thing .. 6.30 till they go to bed say midnight... and i hear the boiler running a lot of the time and i wonder whether we are just wasting energy ??

hansi

Have recently moved into a new house with Gas Central Heating.  I would welcome any tips on usage.  Am currently having the hot water on for an hour in the evening and an hour in the morning, but someone told me that it only takes about 15 mins to heat a tank of water!  Can someone help please with any tips on how long the heating should be on for and the hot water.  My first bill is working out at a lot more than my previous Oil Heating bills and I know thats not right! Thanks

it depends on the boiler, I would hazard a guess that you have a combination boiler, not sure how these work. I have a Glow Worm boiler (20 years old) and I have it on for 20 minutes in the morning for a shower and shave and half an hour in the evenings. My gas bill is very low but goes up and down different times of the year. I am convinced this is the cheapest way to use it.

Taffy_Boy_3

Combi boilers are the cheapest for hot water on demand as they only heat the water when you use it, there is no storage tank that needs continual heating, the only draw back is that if you lost electric your water would be cold until it was restored, apart from that I would recommend a Combi, I recently replaced my old Tank system for a Combi, takes a lot less space and only heats water on demand.

MimiJane

I'm going to have to replace my (ancient) boiler sometime in the future. I often hear combis praised, but do like to have a "warm" airing cupboard for newly washed stuff and of course I wouldn't have this with a combi, which is a real downside for me.

As a point of interest, I had my boiler serviced a few days ago and the gas man warned me that, from next year, new "environmentally friendly" boilers will be the only ones on the market. The one big drawback with these is they may be good for the environment, but will be hard on the pocket (costing up to about £1500) and, more importantly, will only be made to last up to about 8 years.

Sonic314

Having replaced my boiler in the last six months I too heard a lot about the environmentally friendly boilers. Had a few quotes from various tradesman and no-one mentioned these. However, spoke to Central Heating Advisory Service which is based in Strathclyde who tried to scare monger me into forking about a grand over my average price for one of these. Thankfully found out that these will be mandatory only after middle of next year (I think!) and yes they are more expensive. However, till that time there is nothing to stop you getting a combi boiler and these will still be serviceable and have parts available for some considerable time. Don't know about the life span of the energy efficient boilers so can't help you there.

Haggy_3

Having had a combi boiler, I found that though it was great efficiency wise, hard water would fur up the heat exchanger within a year. With a new heat exchanger at £100 + fitting etc then the actual savings were very limited. Also bear in mind that even though the replacement is very easy us mere mortals without a licence to print money a corgi certificate are not allowed to touch it. Plumbers I have spoken to all love combi boilers because it keeps them a regular supply of work. Just have a look on any of the DIY site forums around for plumbing problems - I guarentee that at least 95% of the problems are with combis.

tru

Is there a way to prevent hard water furring up the heat exchanger? We had a combi put in last week. I've never heard of this before, sis-in-law has had a combi for a few years, she's never had a problem.

Taffy_Boy_3

I have a combi and have had it for over 5 years, I live in a hard water area and have never had a problem, I would suggest that if you are worried about maintenance you take out a maintenance plan, I know British Gas do one, look around there maybe cheaper, as for the warm airing cupboard, mine is lovely and warm with the heat the Combi gives off, failing that fit a small radiator in the cupboard this should solve that problem.

M.M.

tru

Thanks Money Mad ;D I live in a hard water area too, if yours has been ok, that's good enough for me. BG are not having any of my money, my plumber is great on prices, I'd rather pay him if there's any probs ;D

MimiJane

BG are not having any of my money, my plumber is great on prices, I'd rather pay him if there's any probs ;D

troo, may I please have the telephone number of your plumber ... I've never known one who's "great on prices".

;D ;D