MERGED: Should heating / water be left on?

racht70 · 21 October 2004 at 8:11AM

hi there....i was wondering is it cheaper to have the heating set on low heat alll the time rather then turning it on and off all the timewhen it gets too hot......also is it cheaper to have my water swited on all the time rather then turning it on say like when we need a bath or ect? thanks very much xx

System · 21 October 2004 at 11:22AM

This is an argument my wife often persues so I will watch and learn with interest. Also, she will often tell me NOT to constantly switch off lights as this can cause "surges".

new2it · 21 October 2004 at 3:15PM

Me too. I hear so many conflicting stories - more economical to leave the heating on low all day rather than switching it on twice a day when I'm home or vice versa. Totally confused about what I should be doing. Same thing with water. And does the argument for water on all day or not apply to both summer and winter, or is it different for each season?

I look forward to reading some definitive answers!

???

loon_2 · 21 October 2004 at 3:19PM

It Takes approx. 6kw/h to heat water and 0.5kw/h to keep it hot.

It depends how much hot water you need to use.

new2it · 21 October 2004 at 6:17PM

I don't need a lot, but have a big storage tank. I live by myself, in a two bedroomed house and am out at work 5 days a week. Only need to wash dishes every night, approx 3 loads of washing each week and showers.

Winter - I have to have the hot water on for the heating to work.

comdw · 21 October 2004 at 8:14PM

I was thinking of asking this very question and stumbled on this topic. Unfortunately I don't have a thermostat for the central heating (apart from the one on the boiler), but I do have full control of whether I have just heating, just water, or a combination of the two.

As we have a dishwasher and an electric shower, we don't usually need hot water at all, although I'm sure the washing machine is more efficient if it doesn't have to heat up the incoming water supply (tangent question: should you run the hot tap nearest the washing machine until its hot before starting the machine so that it has hot water right away?).

Mainly I'd be interested to learn whats best to set my boiler termostat on for the heating. At the moment its on 2 (out of 4). Should I have it lower with the heating on longer or all the time (don't forget the electric pumps that run the heating will be on more!), or should I turn it up to max and have the heating on for much shorter periods?

I tend to think the latter is better, but have no scientific backup. Any experts on the subject??

purplepatch · 24 November 2004 at 2:16AM

Bumping this up as its of interest to me - was about to ask the question. C'mon, any experts? Martin???

Also, where does an immersion heater fit into the equation - we've got a switch in the airing cupboard that heats up the hot water, or can get the boiler to do it. Guessing the immersion heater is more expensive but not really sure why I think that.

Also how long do you need to heat the hot water for to get enough for 2 showers and one kid's bath each day?

As you can see, I'm totally clueless. Any help much appreciated.

MATH · 24 November 2004 at 3:19PM

My immersion is cheaper to run than heating water by gas but this is the exception nrather than the rule cos I've got a really old inefficient boiler.

To heat a full tank of water (5 showers and 1 load of washing - american machine using loads of H water) takes 1 1/2 hrs using my immersion. HTH

In the summer I time the immersion to come on for 3 1/2 hrs on econ 7 during which time we all have showers and the tank re-heats for odds 'n' sods in the day. Do not ususally need to turn it back on in the afternoon. In the winter I have to use gas cos central heating will not run without hot water being on.

johncann · 15 February 2005 at 4:55PM

Is it cheaper to keep the central heating on low/med 24 hours a day, or putting it on automatically for 6 hours twice a day

johncann · 15 February 2005 at 5:00PM

Can you please tell me is it cheaper to leave the the central heating on 24 hours a day, or putting it on for 6 hours twive a day?

swizzlebabe · 19 February 2005 at 9:32AM

Someone has told me to put themostats on my radiators which I already have,but old some work,some don`t.
And that if I do this and have them on low all the time it`s cheaper than just putting the central heating on for a few hours each evening. The central heating boiler is just for heating, have another for water.
Has anyone done this?
Don`t put heating on all that much,trying to save money, but it does get cold upstairs so do put it on for a few hours before kids go to bed. If it was on more, should I could dry washing on raditore etc which would save the tumble dryer.Buting having it on 24/7 6-9 months of the year seems alot. Ideas please.
Just changed to London Energy which is supposed to be cheapest for me.

MERGED: Should heating / water be left on?

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