Help!!! Energy Bills

Imperial1847

Alnat1 said:

I know your son wants to get "the job" (the dream one where he earns a lot doing something he loves) but until that comes along he needs to get "a job" (warehouse/pub/supermarket where he earns something to contribute to his keep)

Your wife needs to get some nice thick jumpers/sweatshirts and get used to the house only being heated to 18C from 30 minutes before you get up until 1 hour before bed, off overnight and whenever there's nobody home. TRVs used to keep rooms you spend less time in cooler, unused rooms (spare bedroom, rarely used dining room etc) heating off or very low if damp is a problem.

Only fill the kettle for the number of cuppas you are making, all eat together so the oven is only used once a day. Use the Eco settings on the washer/dishwasher. Use tumble dryer sparingly, hang out whenever possible.

The most important part is to get the whole family on board with the energy saving. You need to make them realise that their way of living is no longer affordable and changes have to be made. 

To be fair he worked at McDonalds part time whilst he was studying but mostly in the evenings, he's planning to take more hours in the day time if something doesn't crop up soon. 

funny.money

Coffeekup said:

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* Have the thermostat in the room you spend most time in, as then the boiler will switch off when up to temp, instead or trying to heat a cold and draughty hall way.

.................

We've been in our house for nearly 20 years,  for all of that time I've been regularly saying 'this thermostat is useless'. Now I realise why,  it's in the hallway,  which has no radiators,  right outside the kitchen which also doesn't have a radiator! I imagine it's quite a job to move a thermostat?

Magnitio

funny.money said:

Coffeekup said:

...............

* Have the thermostat in the room you spend most time in, as then the boiler will switch off when up to temp, instead or trying to heat a cold and draughty hall way.

.................

We've been in our house for nearly 20 years,  for all of that time I've been regularly saying 'this thermostat is useless'. Now I realise why,  it's in the hallway,  which has no radiators,  right outside the kitchen which also doesn't have a radiator! I imagine it's quite a job to move a thermostat?

Many smart thermostats can be installed anywhere in the house and communicate wirelessly with the boiler e.g. Google Nest, Netatmo, Hive etc. They provide better control and monitoring of the temperature in your house, including the ability to turn the heat up/down when you are not in the house.

pochase

Should not be a huge job, just extending the wires, but it will not look great.

Better solution might be to go to a solution like Hive, there you have a wireless thermostat, plus additional benefits programming your heating and hot water.

Magnitio

Coffeekup said:

Thermostat's are marketed to save you money in your bills but they dont know when you out the house so could be heating your home whilst your at work, visiting friend's or trundling around Morrison's. Pay attention to the thermostat and make a conscious decision on warmer winter days to manually turn it off or down. Heating the home to 17/18C is all that needed.

Some smart thermostats will detect when your mobile phone has left the property and alert you if the heating is still on or turn it down automatically.

The_Fat_Controller

You don't even need to go "smart", a simple battery powered wireless thermostat will work, mine allows 6 setting periods per day.

When I was working I programmed the thermostat for my next set of shifts and left it to its own devices.

Relying on an internet connection is fine as long as you have a stable connection.

Alnat1

Have a look at Screwfix  or similar sites for wireless thermostats to see options and prices to suit you. 

[Deleted User]

The_Fat_Controller said:

You don't even need to go "smart", a simple battery powered wireless thermostat will work, mine allows 6 setting periods per day.

When I was working I programmed the thermostat for my next set of shifts and left it to its own devices.

Relying on an internet connection is fine as long as you have a stable connection.

Yes this is what I use, an ESI make - very neat piece of kit and not expensive.  Usually stays in lounge during the evening  (esp in winter).  No wiring needed from the boiler to thermostat.  Only wiring from boiler to receiver unit.

https://www.esicontrols.co.uk/assets/esrtp4rf--esi-tech-sheet-web.pdf
 

rrl28

frugalmacdugal said:

rrl28 said:

Can't alter previous post

Should be

TRVs are only useful if the doors to the rooms where they are fitted are kept closed all the time.

Hi,

to edit post, hit the wee gear wheel in top right hand of message, sometimes need to refresh page first.

I am not allowed to edit posts being a "new" poster.


I think I need to make another 10 posts before I can edit posts.

wild666

Coffeekup said:

I had an ideal boiler fitted 4 years ago replacing a 22 year old biasi boiler. L Anyhow after having it fitted the installer said wow it's 98% efficient, not many you see above 97% he said, and went on his merry way. I was hoping it would save me a 25% on my gas usage over the year, especially as it was marketed as more efficient etc etc.
Anyhow after taking meter readings over the next 8 months and comparing them with the previous year's I could quite clearly see that it made little to no difference at all. 

Moral of the story look at you energy usage, cut back where you can if you don't like you monthly costs, especially if your heating the house whilst asleep or heating the garden. 

* Have the thermostat in the room you spend most time in, as then the boiler will switch off when up to temp, instead or trying to heat a cold and draughty hall way.

* If the heating  is on in September or October and even early November these day's you should learn it's going to cost you, the same goes for having heating on in march April (Unless extreme weather).

Thermostat's are marketed to save you money in your bills but they dont know when you out the house so could be heating your home whilst your at work, visiting friend's or trundling around Morrison's. Pay attention to the thermostat and make a conscious decision on warmer winter days to manually turn it off or down. Heating the home to 17/18C is all that needed.

Dare I say it.... Don't show your partner how the thermostat work's, in my experience it'll ramp up the bill's.

IMHO it doesn't matter what make the boiler is or its efficiency it's about the temperatures you set on the boiler too for water and heating that matters. Aiming for 50 degrees for water and 55 degrees for heating, this figure could be lower if wanted, it just means the heating takes longer to get up to temperature.
As for the temperature of the thermostat it could be 18 degrees but if after a week you are still feeling the cold turn it up one degrees if on the other hand you're feeling hot turn it down 1 degrees. I have one friend who never has the heating above 15 degrees and another who has it at 21 degrees. It's just whatever you're comfortable with.