Heating costs

[shaneystar2]

We live in a three bed semi and have gas central heating ,double glazing ,insulation etc.
My son was here yesterday and we got a lecture on the fact that we turn the heating on and off :)
He says it's better to have it on a lower temperature .eg approx 16 to 18 and leave the doors to the rooms we use open and have it on constantly .Mr S says this is nonsense . However ,today we tried sonny jims method and the whole house is lovely and warm .Previously it took ages to get warm in the kitchen ( which is a big room) but the lounge was stifling .Today it's a much more even warmth all round .
Who is right and will this method cost us more ?

[ummmm]

I remember being told years back that it's better to keep the heating on low 24/7. I think the invention of combi boilers changed that.

[The Builder]

What controls do you have Shaney? Thermostatic rad valves? Roomstat?

[shaneystar2]

We've got a combi boiler Ummmm but we still have to control the temperature by the thermostat in the lounge .

[Tilly2]

I will be looking forward to the answers to this shaney, as we were told the same thing by a plumber who did some work for us recently.
Are you going to turn it off when you go to bed?

[bookbinder]

I live in a detached 3-bed bungalow. I had the same idea a few years ago, so I experimented over 2 winters. I found that it's cheaper to keep the heating on constantly (24/7) from about end of Oct to begin April, rather than have it switch on and off twice a day. Turn the room thermostat down at night, to about 16 degs. Centigrade, and the same if you're all out of the house during the day. When the house is occupied, turn the thermostat up to about 18.20 degs. If you have the heating coming on twice a day, then twice a day the boiler has to fire for a long time to heat the house up from being stone cold, and that uses more gas. So, keep the heating on 24/7, but turn it down at night and when you're out, and turn it up a bit when you're in.

[shaneystar2]

No valves on the rads TB .Just the thermostat in the lounge .

[shaneystar2]

Also we are mostly at home all day being old fogeys .I need the warmth for me old bones :))

[boxtops]

we too have a combi boiler with a wall thermostat - unless we are away, our thermostat is always at no less than 17-18 degrees during the day. It wastes a lot of energy reheating the water in the pipes each time you need it.

We don't turn ours off when we go to bed, otherwise the house is freezing, but I do sometimes turn it down to about 15.

[ummmm]

I used to work for a heating engineer but I can't remember exactly what he said.

I think he said with the old style boilers the main cost was it heating up...with a combi it's instant so it's cheaper to have it on timer rather than 24/7.

I could have got that mixed up though :-/

[boxtops]

bookbinder, thanks - your post is almost the same as mine, so we are in full agreement!

[tamborine]

24/7 & regulated temp does me and stops freezing pipes - so far ;)

[The Builder]

I thought so :o( That explains why your lounge is stifling, and the kitchen not so warm.
Money very well spent on having TRVs fitted to the rads. It gives you almost complete control.

The 24/7 debate will depend on the age of the house. Any idea?

[bookbinder]

boxtops, isn't a shame that people can't just look this kind of info up, instead of having to wonder, and scratch their heads about it?
Also, someone once said something about wise minds think alike...

[keithg]

Always thought the thermostat should never be fitted in the lounge it should be in the coolest part of the house usually the hall.

[jomifl]

I use Bookbinder's approach, whether it is cheaper or not I have no idea, but if the whole house is heated gently with the iunternal doors open then draughts are reduced and don't get cold corners where condensation occurs. If you have an upper floor then you will have to keep the downstairs doors closed to prevent the warm air from rushing upstairs.

[bookbinder]

keithg, I can't speak for others, but our thermostat is in the inner hall (being in a bungalow, we have 2 halls, one outer and one inner), and it seems to work quite well.

[shaneystar2]

The house was built in 1932 .
It may be a good idea to have these valves fitted TB .
This is another thing my son suggested we do .He's a know all :)
We don't have the heating on in the bedrooms though but today having left the doors open it's warm enough up there whereas before it's been like an ice box .

[Mosaic]

Another factor to bear in mind is that constant low-level heating will in all areas rather than not heating certain rooms will avoid condensation and mould.

[friedgreentomato]

We don't have a thermostat at all and if we left the oil burning we would be bankrupt within months!

[The Builder]

OK........ 1932, so, unless a lot of insulation has been added, a different approach is needed from that with a modern super-insulated one.
Your walls will be cavity masonry, brick or block. That takes a long time to heat up, but it acts as a "heat store". When heating is off or low, the masonry releases it into the room.

A modern house is so well insulated that when the heating is off it goes stone cold quickly, but re-heats almost instantly.

The modern house would benefit from 24 hour heating because of the low demand.

With an older house, I would go for comfort during the day, then maybe wind it up a bit in the evening. Overnight either turn it off, or reduce the roomstat to a low level. Unless you live in The Outer Hebrides, the house won't cool down completely. When the morning heating comes on, it'll soon top up.

With an older house, the plan is to never let it cool right down completely. It's a balance between keeping the fabric of the house warm, and not spending a fortune.