Portable Thermostat

Homeownernew

Hi all,

I've recently moved into my first home and have a few heating questions... There's been a few posts but nothing that seems to answer my issue, so here goes.

It's a three bedroom semi-detached.. 1940s house.
A three year old worcester combi greenstar boiler

I have a hive movable thermostat, installed when I moved in due to the current digital stat not working. I had been keeping it in the living room and having the temp set to 20c, but the last few days the winter has started to hit and the heating always seems to turn off before the rest of the house gets up to a nice heat (due to the cosy living room)... So I've started putting the stat in our dining room, which is open to our kitchen... I've set the temp at 19.5 and this seems to get the house to a lot nicer temp.. my only issue is it now takes quite a while to get up to temp. Our heating is on for around 4 hours in the evening (5-9) and from 5 till about 8 it is constantly on as it's getting up to the correct temp.

My question is, is that a very long time to have your heating constantly on for? Both me and my partner earn a ok wage, so I'm not too worried about the cost, i like being comfortable in my home, but I'm a little worried I'll be wacked with a big £200 bill or something like that.

P.s the original stat was attached to the wall in our hall, I don't think that would be much better than the dining room as it's about 5 foot from the front door

tacpot12

If it is taking 4 hours for the house to get up to temperature, then this indicates that there is some problem somewhere. It takes our (big, old, cold) house about an hour to get up to a comfortable temperature.

Does the dining room radiator have a TRV? If so, this needs to be turned up to the highest setting. If it is set too low, the dining room will never get up to the temperature that the thermostat is set to.

The stat should really be in the room that is the slowest to heat up, so the hallway might have been the best place for it.

You might also check for draughts and the level of insulation you have. Anything that allows heat to escape more quickly from the room with the stat than the radiator can add heat will cause the heating to be on constantly.

PeterGr

If you take your own regular meter readings (say monthly) you would know what it is costing you. You could also compare the consumption for your thermostat in different locations or at different settings.

Homeownernew

PeterGr wrote: »

If you take your own regular meter readings (say monthly) you would know what it is costing you. You could also compare the consumption for your thermostat in different locations or at different settings.

Thanks Peter, probably my best option. I have been doing monthly readings, however we only moved in in July, so this is the first month we've really used the heating regularly. At the minute we pay £77 a month direct debit and haven't used anywhere near that in July, August and September. I was just worried we may get a massive bill this month if we have been using it 4-5 hours a day... Guess we'll just have to see

Homeownernew

tacpot12 wrote: »

If it is taking 4 hours for the house to get up to temperature, then this indicates that there is some problem somewhere. It takes our (big, old, cold) house about an hour to get up to a comfortable temperature.

Does the dining room radiator have a TRV? If so, this needs to be turned up to the highest setting. If it is set too low, the dining room will never get up to the temperature that the thermostat is set to.

The stat should really be in the room that is the slowest to heat up, so the hallway might have been the best place for it.

You might also check for draughts and the level of insulation you have. Anything that allows heat to escape more quickly from the room with the stat than the radiator can add heat will cause the heating to be on constantly.

Thanks, yes it's a strange one. We've had the boiler serviced and have been told its an excellent one with no issues. The heating takes 20 minutes or so for the radiators to heat up fully, I've been told this is due to smaller pipes, which is probably a future issue to fix.

Robin9

I would be taking meter readings more often than monthly to see what the effects are of moving the stat.

What is the temp of the boiler set at. I don't know the Greenstar but has it two dials for water heating and radiators with a letter E as part of the dial ?. Try turning the radiator dial up.

I don't know when cavity walls came in but does your 1940's house have cavity walls; double glazing, loft insulation ?

I run with Nest stat in my hallway and that is set at 21 when i'm at home.

PeterGr

Homeownernew wrote: »

I have been doing monthly readings, however we only moved in in July, so this is the first month we've really used the heating regularly. At the minute we pay £77 a month direct debit and haven't used anywhere near that in July, August and September. I was just worried we may get a massive bill this month if we have been using it 4-5 hours a day... Guess we'll just have to see

You shouldn't get a "massive bill" because your monthly direct debit payments should have been contributing towards the higher consumption that occurs in winter. Your payments will be based on a predicted annual consumption. You have 6 months history, and hopefully you've used between 25% - 33% so far. In the next 3 months you may use 50% of your annual consumption. Take some weekly readings in January and you'll be able to make a reasonable estimate of your annual consumption. It is also early enough to take steps to reduce it if you want, or to put some money aside if it that seems prudent.

MeterMan

Open the valve fully on the radiator that takes the longest to heat up. and leave the radiator in the room that warms up the quickest about quarter open. repeat for all room/radiators in the house to balance the system