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How to use gas heating

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Nebulous2
Nebulous2 Posts: 5,672 Forumite
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We started 20 years ago with a new central heating system, which had thermostatic valves on each radiator. It gradually deteriorated and the boiler was chuntering away, so we have bitten the bullet and had a new boiler, power flush and the hive installed this week. The trouble is it seems a step backwards in terms of usability, though it might save us some money in gas.

Our timer had long given up, so we left our heating on all the time through the winter, and off all summer, adjusting room by room with thermostatic valves. Bedrooms were on fairly low, with doors kept closed all day and opened a while in the evening. In very cold weather we might turn up the valve a smidgen to individual preference.

Now we have a thermostat in the living room and the heating goes off and on with it. The main radiator in the living room doesn't have a TRV. So we set the heat at 20 or so during the day and 12 overnight. That means we don't get any heat in the bedrooms though as the whole system is now controlled by the lounge. House is fairly well insulated so the temperature only drops to about 14-15 overnight, meaning bedrooms don't come on at all.


So am I missing something? We've moved ahead 20 years to get something less usable than we had before. It may not be helping that we've had the coldest weather of the year so far in the few days since we had it installed. Any tips on how to control it? Surely we don't have to keep the lounge really hot all the time to get any heat upstairs?
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  • Is it not expensive having it on all that time? We use the timer and leave it off all winter - but I always wonder if this is more expensive?
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  • bryanb
    bryanb Posts: 5,030 Forumite
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    You should get heat in the bedrooms when the boiler is on provided the bedroom TRVs are open. Admittedly it will also be heating downstairs, but heat rises.
    This is an open forum, anyone can post and I just did !
  • Nebulous2
    Nebulous2 Posts: 5,672 Forumite
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    Is it not expensive having it on all that time? We use the timer and leave it off all winter - but I always wonder if this is more expensive?

    I assume you mean all summer?

    We're fortunate in having a reasonably well insulated house. Gas has gone up a bit recently, but we're around £50 a month for all our heating, hot water and our hob. The hope is that a new efficient boiler will save a bit on that.
  • Nebulous2
    Nebulous2 Posts: 5,672 Forumite
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    bryanb wrote: »
    You should get heat in the bedrooms when the boiler is on provided the bedroom TRVs are open. Admittedly it will also be heating downstairs, but heat rises.

    It doesn't come on all night though. The thermostat switches from 20C at 10.30 to 12C and the heating doesn't come on again until it kicks up to 20C at 5.30. The standard setting had it on a frost setting only overnight, so we bumped it up a bit to 12.
  • bryanb
    bryanb Posts: 5,030 Forumite
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    edited 6 December 2014 at 9:21PM
    Nebulous2 wrote: »
    It doesn't come on all night though. The thermostat switches from 20C at 10.30 to 12C and the heating doesn't come on again until it kicks up to 20C at 5.30. The standard setting had it on a frost setting only overnight, so we bumped it up a bit to 12.

    Yep, the only way to get heat upstairs is to have the thermostat downstairs call for heat.
    I wonder if you could modify the system to have a wireless thermostat that you could take up with you, but even so it would heat downstairs unless you fitted TRVs downstairs and adjusted them down when going to bed.
    Not a very practical suggestion I know but the only real solution is to zone the pipework and have seperate controls up and down. There are many of us living with systems that are not ideal simply because the solution is too expensive/impractical.
    Our system is similar to yours, we have the down thermostat at 16 overnight and the heat rarely comes on, only when it's really cold. It's a compromise but it encourages cuddling so can't be bad.
    This is an open forum, anyone can post and I just did !
  • Pincher
    Pincher Posts: 6,552 Forumite
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    Yes, you are missing a trick by putting the thermostat in a warm room. Traditionally they put it in the hallway because it was cold, and so does not switch off too soon.


    My hallway radiator has no TRVs, but I adjust the lockshield valve so it flows slowly, so the hallway thermostat does not switch off too early.
  • victor2
    victor2 Posts: 8,138 Ambassador
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    A timer is essential to reducing gas usage. No point heating any part of the house when you're tucked up in bed.
    Our main thermostat is in the hall and we have TRVs on most of the other radiators. Takes a bit of experimenting, but I've found that by adjusting the valve on the hallway radiator (nearest the thermostat) so that it doesn't get too hot, I can have the thermostat at 20 and get reasonable warmth in the rest of the house via TRV controlled radiators, before the main thermostat shuts the pump off.
    It seems to be the last half turn before fully closed that gives the control over the radiator temperature. Takes a bit of trial and error, but works for us...

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  • Robwiz
    Robwiz Posts: 364 Forumite
    Your Hive thermostat is wireless, so you could take it upstairs with you when you go to bed. Set the thermostat for the temperature you want in your bedrooms. The drawback then would be that you will be wasting heat downstairs – more so because heat losses increase when the temperature difference to outside is higher, which is over night.

    A better option may be to leave it as is and use an electric blanket. You can be into bed so fast that you don't feel the cold.
  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,060 Forumite
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    Nebulous2 wrote: »
    Now we have a thermostat in the living room and the heating goes off and on with it. The main radiator in the living room doesn't have a TRV. So we set the heat at 20 or so during the day and 12 overnight. That means we don't get any heat in the bedrooms though as the whole system is now controlled by the lounge. House is fairly well insulated so the temperature only drops to about 14-15 overnight, meaning bedrooms don't come on at all.


    So am I missing something?


    No you are not missing anything. The siting of the thermostat is always going to be a problem.


    As you have it in the sitting room, you have no real control over the other rooms in the house. Have it in a cold hall and that controls all the other rooms in the house.


    A wireless thermostat isn't the solution unless all the occupants are in the room, to be controlled by that thermostat, at the same time.


    For instance in my house we always have heating on in two occupied reception rooms - often three - and in addition kitchen and bathrooms. Often my adult daughter goes early to her bedroom to her own internet/TV/music.


    So there is just no way to control the heating individually to those occupied rooms, by recommended economical use of central heating.


    My method is exactly as I have seen recommended in some plumbers websites. I have my wall thermostat in a large hall, with stairs leading off. I turn off all heating in the hall and crank up the wall thermostat to maximum(which means the temperature will never reach that level) and all rooms have their temperature controlled by their TRVs. Every radiator has a TRV which isn't a problem with a bypass valve.


    This of course means the pump is running all the time when heating is switched on(it is of course timed) and the boiler only switches off when the water in the CH system is at the set temperature, and shock horror! it no doubt short cycles; but as situated in an outside boiler room isn't a noise problem.


    I have recently replaced my water pump for the second time in over 26 years and am still using my original 26 year old boiler.


    In hindsight, the best solution would have been to have the central heating zoned when I had the house built.
  • Nebulous2
    Nebulous2 Posts: 5,672 Forumite
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    Thanks for your input folks. I'm still not sure why we need to have a wall mounted thermostat at all. The previous system with TRVs everywhere was actually quite usable.

    I think part of the problem may simply be that humans don't like change, and this is different. We didn't often use the bedroom heaters, so the annoying bit is that we feel now that we can't use them and overnights this week have been below freezing point.
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