Central Heating-cost effective use of

simonhgreen

Does anyone know the answer to this?

Is it more cost effective to time my gas central heating to come on between 5 & 8 in the morning and 4:30-10:30pm, or to leave it on all the time, given that the house will cool down between the times if I use the timer?

Any advice would be gratefully received

grumbler

Without doubt this is more cost-effective than to heat house around the clock.

bruce2110

it all depends on your daily routine, type off system, amount off people who live with you etc, example: if you have large family comming and going at all times, i would recommend you leave it on constant through the winter as your room thermostat will detect temp drops and come on as and when required.

if you live on your own or just a couple etc, it would make sense to time the heating to come on genrally 1hr before getting up for work and 1hr before you return from work which should ensure a warm house when you need it!

let us know what type off system you have eg combi boiler or system boiler (boiler in kitchen/utility area and water cylinder in airing cupboard or similar) and we could offer better advice.

bruce2110

MarkyMarkD

I agree with both of the above. Heating losses are greater the higher the temperature differential (between inside and outside) so it's pointless to keep the house warm when it's empty. Boilers are also more efficient working at higher output (e.g. warming up the house from cold) than running on tickover all the time.

simonhgreen

Thanks guys.
It appears that it would be better to leave the system on timer rather than all day.
In answer to a couple of questions I live on my own (I bet you're surprised!), but I also live in Wales, so timing it to come on 1 hour before getting up/getting home might not be enough!!
Anyway i'm grateful for your advice and will follow it & see what happens.
Take care & stay warm!

bruce2110

just a quick note, ensure you have sufficient loft insulation etc, ensure your front and back doors close well, use a weather strip for going around the doors for example (very cheap from most mainstream diy chains) or the old reliable draft excluders for internal doors helps to stop drafts and helps retain heat in the rooms you use the most...

also if you have very little loft insulation, you may be able to get grants towards having this done for you, your local council should be able to point in the right direction...

myrnahaz

'Constant' works for us - and helps us save money.

My house (and gas boiler) is ancient, with stone walls and the odd bit of damp (yes, we're in Wales), and was so cold that we had to buy electric heaters to supplement the gas heating. But, during a very cold snap about 6 years ago, we decided to bite the bullet and leave the heating on the 'constant' setting as we just couldn't get warm. We kept a close eye on the meter but were actually amazed to see that we used much less gas than we had on the 'twice daily' setting. Our next gas bill (February) was much lower than we expected - I can't remember the exact amount but it was not much more than the spring/summer bill we had previously had for 'water only'.

We had always had to keep the thermostat on 'maximum' (number 6) when we used the timed setting as the house was so bitterly cold, but keeping it on 'constant' meant that the heat just built up and up, and the house became so warm that we had to keep turning the boiler thermostat down until we ended up with it on the lowest setting (about 1/2 way between one and 'off').

This has now become a standard in our house - the heating is switched on when the cold weather starts (today, actually) and is not switched off until the spring, but we use the radiator thermostats to regulate the temperature at the beginning and end of the winter (they're left on 'full' between December and February). The bills are lower, the water is always hot and the house is never cold.

There is a down side of course; I used to make huge vats of lamb, leek and veg soup (cawl) that I left on the stove and heated up every day, but the house is now so warm that the cawl starts to ferment if I don't refrigerate it. The same goes for the ostrich sized turkey we get at Christmas, so i've had to buy another fridge.

Altarf

I replaced the thermostat in my house with a programmable one, which allows you to set different temperatures at different points of the day (and for each day of the week).

For example I can have the temperature at 16C overnight, rising to 21C at 7am, dropping back to 18C during the day and rising back to 21C late afternoon. You get the benefit of the house never getting freezing cold and taking all evening to warm up. It certainly makes the house more comfortable, and savings a lot of fiddling with the timer and thermostat.

The amazing part is that the thermostat doesn't turn the heating up to 21C at 7am, it works out what time it needs to turn on before 7am so that it is 21C at 7am. And it varies this automatically as we go from autumn into winter so it turns on earlier and then as spring comes it turns on later, thus saving gas.

MarkyMarkD

That's very nice, Altarf. We have thermostatic radiator valves on each radiator, which does quite a good job of keeping the house warm, but we still need to vary the on/off time on the boiler timer depending on the ambient temperature.

Mr_Proctalgia

I agree with myrnahaz, my heating is on 24/7 and I live in a big solid money pit of a place, no subtlety to the controls either! When it feels a bit cold we turn the boiler stat up a bit and wait a few days, my boiler does not cycle a lot (it is programmable) so it goes for a long burn then shuts off for about 40 mins or so. So far we are seeing savings of just over 10% averaged over the year.
I guess it depends on whether you have a "Heat soak" house or a "Quick responder" it depends on how it is built. This old place has definately been better for a constant low level of heat and is much better to live in now.

wizzer

So as the cold weather approaches, is it best to:

a) leave the central heating on low most of the time or

b) only have it on when needed?

I've always been told a) because it takes less energy to maintain a steady temperature than it does to raise the temp from cold to hot.

We're out at work most of the day so the dilemma is leave it on low or turn it off and time it to come on an hour or so before we come in.

Thanks