The Great British "not put my heating on yet" brag

Marvel1

Mine came on end of October that's when I felt cold in the morning.

I got mine set to come on for 1 hour in morning and evening.

I am away, so made sure each radiator was on and working before I left.

No idea want people mean when they say set to 18/19/20, I don't have anything on the walls, only this as a timer programmer https://www.mphmerchant.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/large-rdj10-rfset-gb.jpg

QrizB

Marvel1 said:

No idea want people mean when they say set to 18/19/20, I don't have anything on the walls, only this as a timer programmer https://www.mphmerchant.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/large-rdj10-rfset-gb.jpg

That's a thermostatic programmer. The instructions tell you how to set the temperature to 18, 19, 20C or whatever:

https://assets.new.siemens.com/siemens/assets/api/uuid:a42c620a5df1d02e5029fb689e8d365040e82259/rdj10rf-instruction-manual.pdf

B0bbyEwing

debitcardmayhem said:
which masses said turn down all the rads?

Those who replied when I asked. Sorry I never kept names as I never thought I'd be asked. 

It'll be somewhere in the depths of MSE.

Are you going to say that I was advised wrongly?

debitcardmayhem

B0bbyEwing said:

debitcardmayhem said:
which masses said turn down all the rads?

Those who replied when I asked. Sorry I never kept names as I never thought I'd be asked. 

It'll be somewhere in the depths of MSE.

Are you going to say that I was advised wrongly?

Not at all I was hoping someone would stumble across the thread and enlighten me 

QrizB

B0bbyEwing said:

debitcardmayhem said:
which masses said turn down all the rads?

Those who replied when I asked. Sorry I never kept names as I never thought I'd be asked. 
It'll be somewhere in the depths of MSE.
Are you going to say that I was advised wrongly?

I'm certainly not able to say that, not from the info you've provided.

debitcardmayhem said:

Why turn all the rads down? I would be pleased if someone else could answer that one too.

Assuming the radiators have TRVs, if you turn down the main room thermostat without touching the TRVs you might not reduce the temperature of the rooms that don't have the room 'stat in them.

Turning the TRVs down will allow you to keep the differential in temperatures between the warmer parts of your house (eg. the living spaces) and the cooler ones (usually the bedrooms and circulation spces).

B0bbyEwing said:

I had them all up at 5, full whack. 
Now some are 3, some are 2.

That will mean the rads turn off at a coller temperature, rather than a hotter one (or possibly not at all, negating the point of having them). It should save fuel.

Whether it's actually worth doing will depend on what other consequences there are. If for example reducing the house temperature means humidity is allowed to rise and you end up with mould everywhere, it might've been cheaper and easier to heat more and clean/decorate less.

B0bbyEwing said:

But what I noticed last year - black mould around the house, more than years gone by. 
Is this just something all the "not put my heating on yet" people battle or am I just unlucky that I was experiencing this mould more than usual?

I get a bit of mould from time to time in the bathroom and on my single-glazed windows. In both cases it's due to condensation. It cleans off easily enough without causing any damage.

B0bbyEwing said:

Go months & months, let's say April-October/November without putting it on because the temps are warm & then battle through December-March to not put it on or put it on very very little. Is that even good for the heating system?

Provided you don't let it freeze, and are continuing to use it for hot water, as far as I'm aware a conventional wet central heating system won't care.

markin

Every property and system is a little different, But 2-3 should save money without getting mould and blowing plaster, The key is to take meter readings so you know if you are actually saving for the outside temps.

Some go too extreme setting too many unused rooms to frost at around 6c, Often getting lower than that.

techno12

Mine isn't on yet as it's not quite cold enough. I'm mid 50s, just wear a jumper, and Primark leggings under jeans around the house...

Thermometers say 14.5 - I tend to crack when it gets to 13 and I can see frosty breath.

80s childhood up north no central heating maybe hardened me a bit...

I'm in a semi-basement flat, rattly single glazed sash windows. I think it retains a bit of heat in the bricks perhaps...

I'm trying the "cling film" type secondary glazing (after a friend raved on about it) this year - seems to work amazingly well could defer "heating on" day by weeks!

Chrysalis

RelievedSheff said:

We don't do being cold at home. Our heating went on mid October when I was off work for a few days with Covid and we have not turned it off since.

We have built up a fair amount of credit on our account over the summer months to see us through the winter months comfortably.

Luckily our home is very well insulated and takes very little heating but it does feel chilly if it drops below about 17 degrees. We have the heating on a timer and a thermostat and it only comes on as necessary.

We do genuinely feel sorry for those who can not afford to heat their home. But have no sympathy for those who can but see it as some sort of brag that they have managed without. It really isn't something to be proud of! 

I dont think its about bragging.

To heat my flat with CH costs about £16 a day at 7p unit rates due to its efficiency and heat loss.

The problem for me, if I turn on the CH, I then become accustomed to it, this would then make turning it off difficult, and suddenly I am spending half a grand a month on heating.  For some of us thats a lot to stomach.

I will however turn it on if I think my health is at risk, last year in that early December cold spell my flat went below 6C, that was too much, and it of course got turned on.   However if I turn it on at mid teens, it would cost me a fortune, and I have alternate ways of keeping my body warm.

Of course if I had a million sitting in the bank I wouldnt be doing it as some kind of sad challenge, but at same time I would own my own home, which I would make sure is proper insulated with an efficient heating system so then wouldnt cost me £16 a day either.

EssexHebridean

@Chrysalis - it’s not always about bragging, and clearly not in your case, and most of the others on this thread. There are always a few folk who use it as an excuse to tell everyone how “hard” they are though, or to boast about their super-insulated home that retains a shorts-and-tee-shirt temperature in the depths of winter with no need for the heating at all… in almost all cases, those latter group entirely forget that as a general rule it is a high level of financial privilege that allows them to be in that position. That is quite tough to swallow for those who through no “fault” are not in that position, nor are able to be! See also those who tell others that because they can live in very cold temperatures with no heating, “everyone else can - they just don’t want to” 😬

QrizB

Chrysalis said:

To heat my flat with CH costs about £16 a day at 7p unit rates due to its efficiency and heat loss.

Wow that's quite some energy use