Most efficient timings for heating + water?

Reue

Hello everyone,

I have just moved into a new house which has a boiler on timer and hot water tank. Im used to having a combi boiler so not sure what to set the timers for.

Im able to set seperate timings for the central heating and hot water, however if the boiler is having to be in use to do one of them.. is it worth just having them both running at the same time?

Also, just got our first bill for our first 49 days in the property at the Gas has came to a usage of 3367kWh, This seems amazingly high to me! Can anyone advise if this is high or normal for a non-combi boiler?

Thanks.

Gratis

The bill is what they want to charge you.

Your own meter’s readings will (unless it’s faulty) tell you what you’ve actually used.

A figure of 3,367 KwH of gas for 49 days in winter (even a mild one) is by no means exceptional. It equates to about 2,130 KwH a month. My family uses about 23,500 KwH a year: weighted for seasonal temperature that’s a higher consumption than yours.

If you have the facility to do so separately from your central heating, switch off the hot water when you won’t actually be needing it. Set it to switch on again about half an hour before you will.

matelodave

Theres is no advantage in heating the house or the water when you don't need it so you should try timing the water to turn on about half an hour before you need it and off about half an hour before you finish using it. If you don't have enough hot water then start a little earlier - the optimum is to have it hot when you want it but not wasting energy by storing or heating hot water all day or night if you aren't using it.
It's a bit of trial and error. Make sure the tank is well lagged, even a foam lined one will benefit from an extra insulation jacket (try B&Q, Homenase or Wickes).


Don't waste hot water by letting it run down the sink whilst washing & rinsing and reduce the amount of time you are in the shower or take shallower baths. You can fit flow restrictors to the taps & shower which slow the water flow and save not only water but energy as well.

Likewise with the heating, don't turn it on too early and make sure it's timed to go off about half an hour to an hour before you go out or go to bed. A programmable thermostat can help you adjust the timings & temperatures to suit your lifestyle.
The ideal being to make sure the place is warm enough when you get up in the mornings but starting to cool before you go to work/school. The same at night, starting to warm up when you get home but cooling down when you go to bed - if you can optimise your timings you can save quite a bit of money.


Ideally you should be keeping a record of your meter readings - set up a spreadsheet and try reading them weekly. You'll then have a good idea of when and how you are using energy and will be able to monitor how well your energy saving measures are working.
Always check your bills against the meter readings and make sure you get them corrected if they are wrong. Also ensure that your direct debit are covering your consumption - it doesn't take long for a couple of wrong estimates to translate into ginormous bills.

penrhyn

Good advise above, I'd just add that http://www.imeasure.org.uk/
Is a handy place to record your weekly meter readings.
In addition to costs it will monitor your heating controls efficiency against changes in the weather.

macman

You don't save any gas or money by heating the hot water and rads at the same time: it takes a fixed amount of gas to heat the hot water or the house by x degrees from y degrees. Run both circuits and more gas is burned.
Conventional boilers don't burn any more gas than combi's.
The greatest efficiency you can make is to ensure that your hot water tank is properly insulated-add a lagging jacket if required.
Your quoted consumption is perfectly normal. For the coldest winter months-you can expect to use up to 75% of your annual total in the coldest 3 moths of the year.

Gratis

All excellent advice on eliminating wastage and reducing energy expenditure.

However, I read the original posting as also being a query as to whether the OP’s consumption was abnormal and in regard to this I should have added two further points:

Firstly, there may be an error if the OP did not take meter readings on the day that the OP moved into the house. Some of this bill may relate to the period before that.

Secondly, it’s impossible to judge whether the OP’s consumption is indicative of any profligacy without knowing the size of the house, the nature of the house and the amount of time during which it is occupied by those who reside in it (whose hours of doing so may not coincide or overlap).

But the figure quoted by the OP for consumption of gas is certainly credible and not, in itself, a cause for concern. It depends upon circumstances and factors of which we have not been apprised.

One tactic the OP might wish to try is altering the timer settings, individually for heating and for hot water, paring back progressively, every few days, the hours at which these run, until the point is found at which they feel cold in the house and the point is found at which the water is insufficiently hot when they need it. Then move the timer settings back to the last points at which they were satisfactory.