Using boiler clock to save energy

horsbox

I have a Worcester Bosch boiler with a clock that has four marks each hour that can be set to the 'on' or 'off ' position. If I set each one to be alternately 'on' then 'off ', am I saving money, or does firing the boiler up each half hour use more fuel than keeping it running constantly? To set them like this wouldn't reduce the heat drastically in the house, as, by the time the radiators had begun to cool down when the marks are in the 'off ' position, the boiler would be nearly ready for coming on again.

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.


A boiler switches on and off automatically when either the room temperature or water temperature reaches the set level; it may do this many times an hour. So there is no penalty in the boiler firing up and switching down.


A wall thermostat has a tolerance. e.g if the thermostat is set to, say 20C it might turn off the boiler at 20.5C and turn it back on at 19.5C.


Your procedure of 'manually'(by the clock) turning heating off/on every 15 minutes is doing little more than replicating the automatic procedure.


I assume you don't have a combi boiler, but a hot water tank. Boilers are set to give priority to either heating or hot water. Your suggested procedure might interfere with this function.


In summary I feel that there is little to gain with your suggestion.

horsbox

Thanks for such a comprehensive reply.

System

If it's this clock then I am not surprised that the OP is confused:

m.youtube.com/watch?v=lfqTG2QCABA

Unless you are in at home all day, then most people would just set two on/off periods: one in the morning starting just before you get up. The other in the evening just until you go to bed.

macman

Let the timer control the hours when you want any heating at all (e.g. off overnight). Then use the room 'stat and TRV's to control the temp during the 'on' hours.

horsbox

My circumstances aren't exactly as contributors imagine. I am a pensioner and therefore at home most days. The boiler is a fairly new combi boiler. I don't have a room thermostat, just heating controls on the boiler itself. Does this make any difference to the replies? By the way, what is a TRV?

Decorcladdingcentre

A thermostatic radiator valve (TRV) is a self-regulating valve fitted to hot water heating system radiator, to control the temperature of a room by changing the flow of hot water to the radiator.

Rubidium

Decorcladdingcentre wrote: »

A thermostatic radiator valve (TRV) is a self-regulating valve fitted to hot water heating system radiator, to control the temperature of a room by changing the flow of hot water to the radiator.

Smells like SPAM

r2015

The boiler is a fairly new combi boiler. I don't have a room thermostat

Well you should.

I am an OAP in all day as well.

I had new heating installed last March and the installer didn't want to install a thermostat but I insisted.

Room heats up boiler goes off, room cools down boiler comes on.

Robin9

If all your rooms have TRV's fitted then there probably wont be a room stat

OP as has been suggested just set the boiler to come on before you get and stay on until you go to bed.

If you need heat in the middle of the night just press the overide switch and the boiler will go from off to on.

r2015

Without a room stat the pump stays on all the time, My sister had that system, TVRs on all the radiators and you could hear the pump running in the background all day.


When she saw my heating with a thermostat and found out that the pump stopped and started she got a thermostat fitted.


She saw a slight decrease in her electric and gas usage.


She is home all day as well.


It might not matter all that much if the heating is on a timer and only on for 5 or 6 hours a day with the house unoccupied during the day but when the heating is on from 7:30 AM to 11:00 PM it does.