Cheapest way to keep house warm. Heating on when cold or keep at a set temp

[Deleted User]

Chrysalis said:

Am I the only one here who has central heating without a thermostat?

I wonder how many just turn it up to a number rather than seeing what they can tolerate whilst wearing multiple layers of clothes.

Have a read if this link:

https://www.beama.org.uk/static/3908603b-f725-4301-b72a6d1bad8d6f8f/19334c40-7c85-4180-91d4891606e01cff/Saving-energy-with-heating-controls-householder-guide-Final-draft-3.pdf

The tests were carried out in Salford University’s Test House.

Spoonie_Turtle

BUFF said:

I have done it the other way, seeing how low a setting I can tolerate & how low is comfortable (for me that extra 1C for comfort is worth it atm). Both whilst wearing layers - knowing that means that I don't just turn it up to a number, I know what I am doing.

That's pretty much how we settled on our thermostat setting.  In the depths of winter we might put it up a degree for half an hour as a bit of a boost, but that's only if we're still uncomfortable after putting on yet more layers.  The cost is worth it to us (although I recognise we are very fortunate to be able to afford to have noticeable heating on at all, let alone above the barest minimum), as getting cold makes two of us extra unwell.  

BUFF

Dolor said:

Chrysalis said:

Am I the only one here who has central heating without a thermostat?

I wonder how many just turn it up to a number rather than seeing what they can tolerate whilst wearing multiple layers of clothes.

Have a read if this link:

https://www.beama.org.uk/static/3908603b-f725-4301-b72a6d1bad8d6f8f/19334c40-7c85-4180-91d4891606e01cff/Saving-energy-with-heating-controls-householder-guide-Final-draft-3.pdf

The tests were carried out in Salford University’s Test House.

& as a follow on, even how further significant energy savings can be made by changing the type of thermostat https://www.beama.org.uk/resourceLibrary/salford-tests-on-load-and-weather-compensation-.html

If you are so inclined it is interesting to read how even in a laboratory environment they ran into a few issues.

Chrysalis

[Deleted User] said:

Chrysalis said:

Am I the only one here who has central heating without a thermostat?

I wonder how many just turn it up to a number rather than seeing what they can tolerate whilst wearing multiple layers of clothes.

Have a read if this link:

https://www.beama.org.uk/static/3908603b-f725-4301-b72a6d1bad8d6f8f/19334c40-7c85-4180-91d4891606e01cff/Saving-energy-with-heating-controls-householder-guide-Final-draft-3.pdf

The tests were carried out in Salford University’s Test House.

It didnt show what i was expecting to see.

My boiler does have temperature controls, but its just a 1 2 3 4 and the ability to go in between numbers, so it still goes on and off to meet a target temperature instead of just been constant full blast, by no thermostat I meant nothing on the way with temperature targets set so more like blind adjustment.

The article seems to just be a basic confirmation that by adding the ability to control temperature it saves energy?

k_man

Max68 said:

Mid Terrace here.  Not saying it's right but this is what I did last year.  Tried in December to save by only having the heating on one hour a day but I found it too cold, condensation was bad, and the house felt damp.  Changed it to two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening but limited it at 18.5c.  To be honest I didn't use much more than only having it on for an hour, maybe something to do with the fact that using it only an hour a day meant it took longer to warm up to thermostat temperature.  Still more than halved my gas usage compared to the previous year.  18.5 was still chilly though so fleeces, throws and a fleece duvet were saviours.

How was the heating setup the previous year?
(And last winter was considered a mild one, although not to the extent of halving heating bills).

Qyburn

Chrysalis said:

Am I the only one here who has central heating without a thermostat?

We don't have a sensible place for a single thermostat so we don't have one.  The thermostat is me, switching the heating on only when I think we need it.

Going ahead I intend to fit one of the smart radiator systems which should have the same effect but also allow individual rooms to be timed separately.

Max68

k_man said:

Max68 said:

Mid Terrace here.  Not saying it's right but this is what I did last year.  Tried in December to save by only having the heating on one hour a day but I found it too cold, condensation was bad, and the house felt damp.  Changed it to two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening but limited it at 18.5c.  To be honest I didn't use much more than only having it on for an hour, maybe something to do with the fact that using it only an hour a day meant it took longer to warm up to thermostat temperature.  Still more than halved my gas usage compared to the previous year.  18.5 was still chilly though so fleeces, throws and a fleece duvet were saviours.

How was the heating setup the previous year?
(And last winter was considered a mild one, although not to the extent of halving heating bills).

Was probably set up to 22c in recent years without really thinking about it, which is one good thing t come out of all this really because you do realise, or I have, on how much we waste.  

February 2022, I used 33 imperial units of gas.  Previous years for the same period it was 75, 66 and 73.

BUFF

Chrysalis said:

Dolor said:

Chrysalis said:

Am I the only one here who has central heating without a thermostat?

I wonder how many just turn it up to a number rather than seeing what they can tolerate whilst wearing multiple layers of clothes.

Have a read if this link:

https://www.beama.org.uk/static/3908603b-f725-4301-b72a6d1bad8d6f8f/19334c40-7c85-4180-91d4891606e01cff/Saving-energy-with-heating-controls-householder-guide-Final-draft-3.pdf

The tests were carried out in Salford University’s Test House.

It didnt show what i was expecting to see.

My boiler does have temperature controls, but its just a 1 2 3 4 and the ability to go in between numbers, so it still goes on and off to meet a target temperature instead of just been constant full blast, by no thermostat I meant nothing on the way with temperature targets set so more like blind adjustment.

The article seems to just be a basic confirmation that by adding the ability to control temperature it saves energy?

Your boiler temp controls will be controlling the temp of the water leaving the boiler but they won't be controlling the boiler in terms of shutting off the boiler when the room(s) reach the desired room temp. & then bringing it back on when it cools below that. Whilst I am sure that can be done manually a room 'stat will do a better/more consistent job & be more convenient (you won't have to keep going to the boiler).

I have run a system without a room 'stat (but it did have TRVs) & now have one with a room 'stat (class IV) +TRVs. Used properly the room 'stat makes a significant saving - for most people (depending upon your consumption & what you fit) it will pay for itself easily over it's life especially at 10p/kWh for gas.

Astria

The heating come on this morning for the first time, for approx 30 mins as the house temperature was below 15c. The sun is shining so it'll now remain off until tomorrow morning at the earliest. At least it works

I did bleed the radiators after it switched off as it seemed there was quite a bit of air in the system.

[Deleted User]

Chrysalis said:

The article seems to just be a basic confirmation that by adding the ability to control temperature it saves energy?

More information here:

https://hub.salford.ac.uk/uprise-applied-buildings-and-energy/wp-content/uploads/sites/166/2020/06/pdf1-Energy-House-brochure.pdf

Have a look at page 7. The savings are significant if a home is fitted with a thermostat and TRVs.