Is my central heating system using any gas for on-demand heating this way?

rollon65

At this time of year, when the need for my central heating to be on depends on what kind of (weather) day it is, we have been turning the room thermostat off the scale at the low end when the temperature is OK.
I have been trying unsuccessfully to ascertain on-line, if using this setting I am consuming any gas at all for the heating mode of my combi-boiler (Glow-worm Flexicom 15hx) when the programmer reaches the "ON" point.
It's so much easier for the "lady of the house" just to use this simple dial control for on-demand heat, than to go upstairs to the loft door and be perplexed by the multiple controls that are available on the programmer.
I'm looking to save unnecessary gas consumption, so that takes priority, but if using the room thermostat in the way I have described has the same outcome, I just need to sign the "approval document" to get her neck off the block and she can use use that method!
If anyone has an informed response to this issue, I would be very grateful to hear from you.
Many thanks.

silverwhistle

Not sure I understand the situation. Does the boiler come on and does the gas meter show gas being consumed?

For what it's worth I mainly use my wood stove, but when I go away on holiday in winter I just keep the boiler on constant with the thermostat very low - effectively a frost setting - and that works for me in those circumstances.

Cardew

Assuming that your boiler isn't an older model with a pilot light, turning the room thermostat right down is effectively the same as turning off the heating. i.e. the pump won't run and the boiler won't fire as there is no demand for heating.

That said, even if it has a pilot light it would be on in all situations.

rollon65

Thanks for the information both.
As it's a combi-boiler silverwhistle, the boiler comes on randomly throughout the day to maintain the hot water temperature, but I guess I could specifically look for any activity that coincides with the programmed "ON" sequence timings.
I guess that I could have asked "Can my room thermostat override the central heating programmer?"
Of course, it can - but what I was really angling at was whether, when the room thermostat was turned completely down, the programmer will still trip the ignition sequence and initiate a short burn until it communicates with the room thermostat to establish that no heating is required. Sorry, but I have yet to find a more succinct way of describing this issue.
I don't believe my 5-years old boiler has a pilot light, Cardew, or there would be provision to view it, I imagine and there isn't - just a digital display of temperature, etc
The whole thing (to wobble just a little off-topic) is a part of looking for some counter-measures to combat the fall in interest rates on my Santander 1-2-3 account, which is going to see me slightly under £150 per annum out of pocket, as of this month!

firefox1956

Using the thermostat as you describe will not 'initiate' even a short burn.
If you are looking for savings on your gas usage why not look at why you want the hot water temperature maintaing all day ??
I don't really know anything about combi boilers but why not set the programmer to provide hot water only when you need it ??
If you are all out of the house all day why do you need hot water.......??
Just a thought to help you in your quest for savings !!

Cardew

firefox1956 wrote: »

Using the thermostat as you describe will not 'initiate' even a short burn.
If you are looking for savings on your gas usage why not look at why you want the hot water temperature maintaing all day ??
I don't really know anything about combi boilers but why not set the programmer to provide hot water only when you need it ??
If you are all out of the house all day why do you need hot water.......??
Just a thought to help you in your quest for savings !!

A combi boiler produces hot water for baths/showers/taps on demand; so they don't fire until water is demanded.

However one problem with a combi is that it can take some time for hot water to reach the point of use(taps etc.) To overcome this some models have a small internal tank where water is kept heated. This means that the boiler will fire occasionally to keep this tank at the correct temperature. This facility can usually be disabled.

matelodave

A quick look at the Glowworm Flexicom HX shows it to be a condesnsing sytem boiler not a combi.

That would explain why it kicks on and off all day to keep the hot tank hot. If you've got a hot tank then it's not a combi.

The best way to use your boiler is to heat the tank for an hour or so in the morning before you get up, so there's hot water for ablutions. Iif you get the on time right and the tank is well insulated then you should have enough hot water to keep you going until the next day. If not then just give it another boost for half an hour in the evning so there's enough hot water for for your night-time ablutions. There's no advantage in having the hot water on all day.

The room stat should turn the boiler on & off, so it wont heat or fire the boiler when it's turned right down. I like programmable thermostats which allow you to have different temperatures at different times during the day (and on different days as well). The other advantage is that you cannot inadvertantly leave it turned on all the time if you've turned it up and forgotton about it.

rollon65

Grateful thanks to all for the wealth of information you have come up with.
Apologies to all for my "red herring" in stating that my Glow-worm appliance was a combi-boiler. I had assumed that this term was used to describe a boiler that supplied both heating and hot water. My face is now suitably glowing red!
firefox1956 - thank you very much for your response. We are "senior citizens" who are at home for a large part of the day and have offspring who frequently ask for assistance with laundry washing (can't think how "she and me" sorted all that out by ourselves, back in the day!) and as such a rigid hot water regime would be none too easy to adhere to - but I do see where you are coming from, thank you.
Cardew - you appear to have been the main victim of my "mis-categorizing" of the appliance and I offer my sincere apologies for leading you up the garden path!
matelotdave - you have the air of an "expert" in this subject and I am very grateful for the enlightenment you offer. Our programmer is set for "Constant" hot water. Set by the installer, I might add (an installer in the commercial market). Your suggestion in respect of the hot water supply is certainly worth me having a trial run to see how we fare. I guess that shall need to check whether our Hotpoint Aquarius WMF520 washing machine is a hot or cold fill appliance, in respect of the need to "boost" the hot water supply or otherwise.
Once again, thanks to all for your time and the energy spent assisting me.

Cardew

rollon65 wrote: »

Grateful thanks to all for the wealth of information you have come up with.
Apologies to all for my "red herring" in stating that my Glow-worm appliance was a combi-boiler. I had assumed that this term was used to describe a boiler that supplied both heating and hot water. My face is now suitably glowing red!
firefox1956 - thank you very much for your response. We are "senior citizens" who are at home for a large part of the day and have offspring who frequently ask for assistance with laundry washing (can't think how "she and me" sorted all that out by ourselves, back in the day!) and as such a rigid hot water regime would be none too easy to adhere to - but I do see where you are coming from, thank you.
Cardew - you appear to have been the main victim of my "mis-categorizing" of the appliance and I offer my sincere apologies for leading you up the garden path!
matelotdave - you have the air of an "expert" in this subject and I am very grateful for the enlightenment you offer. Our programmer is set for "Constant" hot water. Set by the installer, I might add (an installer in the commercial market). Your suggestion in respect of the hot water supply is certainly worth me having a trial run to see how we fare. I guess that shall need to check whether our Hotpoint Aquarius WMF520 washing machine is a hot or cold fill appliance, in respect of the need to "boost" the hot water supply or otherwise.
Once again, thanks to all for your time and the energy spent assisting me.

Your washing machine is cold fill, very few(any? ) machines are hot and cold fill these days.

As indicated above, you will need trial and error to see how long you need to have the Hot Water switched on.