Central Heating - do you leave it on whilst at work?
Discussion
With the falling temperatures, is it advisable to turn down the knob to minimum and leave it on all day whilst at work?
(Im thinking about the safety aspect not the willies) will that reduce the chances of burst pipes and frozen pipes and so on? what do you do with your CH?
From a cost point of view, some say it costs more leaving it on all day, but others say it costs more to warm up a cold house than keep a temperature constant, so which is it? Im with British Gas...
And lastly, do those free standing Oil radiators really save money? I use one as an immediate way to heat the room whilst waiting for the CH to kick in, they say it only costs 3/4p electricity /hour....is that true?
Thx
(Im thinking about the safety aspect not the willies) will that reduce the chances of burst pipes and frozen pipes and so on? what do you do with your CH?
From a cost point of view, some say it costs more leaving it on all day, but others say it costs more to warm up a cold house than keep a temperature constant, so which is it? Im with British Gas...
And lastly, do those free standing Oil radiators really save money? I use one as an immediate way to heat the room whilst waiting for the CH to kick in, they say it only costs 3/4p electricity /hour....is that true?
Thx
It depends on the house construction. Modern (properly built) houses are well insulated and little heat is absorbed by the main structure. These will reach a nice temperature quite quickly.
Older houses with brick or stone construction will take longer as the main structure will 'soak up' the heat, but they will tend to take longer to cool down also as the heat radiates back out of the walls.
Older houses with brick or stone construction will take longer as the main structure will 'soak up' the heat, but they will tend to take longer to cool down also as the heat radiates back out of the walls.
if you're worried about burst pipes, look at the controls for the boiler. i have a basic combi and the heating side can either be switched of totally or set to protect against pipes freezing.
had mine on continuous for the last couple of days but this is rare for me. still moping around after becoming single so the duvet and a bottle of single malt is doing a good job of keeping me warm!
had mine on continuous for the last couple of days but this is rare for me. still moping around after becoming single so the duvet and a bottle of single malt is doing a good job of keeping me warm!
We have ours off during the day but the timer is set so that it kicks in an hour and a half before we get up, and 2hours before we get home from work that way the house is warm either way and as soon as we get through the door we lay the fire and light it and just keep adding the wood as we go, switch the heating off about 10pm and the fire heats the rest of the house along with the arga pumping the heat out in the kitchen.
miniman said:
My heating has been on constant for the last month at least, set at around 20degC. Frankly I would rather pay a few extra quid than have to wait for the house to warm up when I come in, or wake up in the night freezing my nads off.
We have a Honeywell thermostat that you can program with different temperatures for different times of day (and you can program each day in the week separately). So for example you can set it to 15degC while you're out, and 20degC for when you normally get back in. A smart feature is that it learns how quickly your house warms up, and it will put the heating on *before* a programmed rise in temperature, so by the time you get home the house is already up to your target temperature.Dave
Never leave the central heating on - you must be a gayer!
We live on a very exposed hillside about 135m above sea level - next land much above 100m in the SW (prevailling weather) direction is the Wrekin, which is 20 miles away - and we've only just stopped leaving the bedroom window ajar. Granted, when it's down below -5C then we might just put the bedroom radiator on 2/5ths max but otherwise, if you're struggling invest in some goose fat and a some decent jumpers.
Jim Royle: Put yer coat on Barabara.
Barbara: Ooh why are ye taking me out?
Jim Royle: No but I'm off to the pub, so I've knocked the heating off.
We live on a very exposed hillside about 135m above sea level - next land much above 100m in the SW (prevailling weather) direction is the Wrekin, which is 20 miles away - and we've only just stopped leaving the bedroom window ajar. Granted, when it's down below -5C then we might just put the bedroom radiator on 2/5ths max but otherwise, if you're struggling invest in some goose fat and a some decent jumpers.
Jim Royle: Put yer coat on Barabara.
Barbara: Ooh why are ye taking me out?
Jim Royle: No but I'm off to the pub, so I've knocked the heating off.
daveake said:
miniman said:
My heating has been on constant for the last month at least, set at around 20degC. Frankly I would rather pay a few extra quid than have to wait for the house to warm up when I come in, or wake up in the night freezing my nads off.
We have a Honeywell thermostat that you can program with different temperatures for different times of day (and you can program each day in the week separately). So for example you can set it to 15degC while you're out, and 20degC for when you normally get back in. A smart feature is that it learns how quickly your house warms up, and it will put the heating on *before* a programmed rise in temperature, so by the time you get home the house is already up to your target temperature.Dave
Electronic programmable thermostats are definitely the way to go. The old fashioned mechanical stats are next to useless.
pp
Mc Lovin said:
Did turn ours off whilst we where all out, but the wife is home again with my daughter so its on low all the time now.
And high when you get in....meanie 
As already said, new houses heat up quickly and old ones take ages. We live in a 1900 property, heating on from Septmeber on 18C 24 hours a day, much more economical for an old house. Usually turn it up to 19C when we get in, for some reason that one degree is pretty noticable, nice and toastie.
RJE1966 said:
Mc Lovin said:
Did turn ours off whilst we where all out, but the wife is home again with my daughter so its on low all the time now.
And high when you get in....meanie As already said, new houses heat up quickly and old ones take ages. We live in a 1900 property, heating on from Septmeber on 18C 24 hours a day, much more economical for an old house. Usually turn it up to 19C when we get in, for some reason that one degree is pretty noticable, nice and toastie.
We don't have an option 
There are always at least two people at home during the day and the house is stone built Georgian with extremely thick walls so once it's cold it takes an age to heat up. We have it on 24/7 and the furthest bathroom from the boiler room is quite a distance so there is a pump constantly circulating hot water in a loop so it doesn't have to draw too much to get the hot water. On top of that are twenty six radiators which means we have a stinking £287 per month direct debit for gas alone
There is also a £130 per month direct debit for heating oil for the AGA which does cooking, heating in the kitchen, and domestic hot water for the kitchen and one bathroom. Hopefully that will come down after the next delivery as the last DD change took into account the huge hike in oil prices which have since fallen significantly.
We've spent a fortune on insulation etc. but there's only so much you can do to a house this age so it's a case of pay up or shut up and suffer the cold.
Mind you, in the really hot summers it's nice and cool so all I can say is carry on driving 4X4's and bring on global warming
Fortunately the AGA is a conversion job so doesn't rely on electricity like the central heating, but we also have a couple of woodburners in different rooms so even when there's a power cut, which is not uncommon here in the coldest weather because of overhead lines, we still have some heat, and I've bought a portable generator which I can plug an extension into to tie into the electrics for the heating, but I've never had to use it in anger yet - touch wood.
There are always at least two people at home during the day and the house is stone built Georgian with extremely thick walls so once it's cold it takes an age to heat up. We have it on 24/7 and the furthest bathroom from the boiler room is quite a distance so there is a pump constantly circulating hot water in a loop so it doesn't have to draw too much to get the hot water. On top of that are twenty six radiators which means we have a stinking £287 per month direct debit for gas alone
There is also a £130 per month direct debit for heating oil for the AGA which does cooking, heating in the kitchen, and domestic hot water for the kitchen and one bathroom. Hopefully that will come down after the next delivery as the last DD change took into account the huge hike in oil prices which have since fallen significantly.
We've spent a fortune on insulation etc. but there's only so much you can do to a house this age so it's a case of pay up or shut up and suffer the cold.
Mind you, in the really hot summers it's nice and cool so all I can say is carry on driving 4X4's and bring on global warming
Fortunately the AGA is a conversion job so doesn't rely on electricity like the central heating, but we also have a couple of woodburners in different rooms so even when there's a power cut, which is not uncommon here in the coldest weather because of overhead lines, we still have some heat, and I've bought a portable generator which I can plug an extension into to tie into the electrics for the heating, but I've never had to use it in anger yet - touch wood.
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff