Central Heating - do you leave it on whilst at work?
Discussion
Hoppy2008 said:
bigTee said:
Poledriver said:
bigTee said:
Hoppy2008 said:
bigTee said:
just been home and put mine on 20 24/7 !!
Can you pop round my house and do mine for me?The key is under the Rottweiler!
I’ll take my Rohypnol. !!!!
It's the same stuff really!!bigTee said:
Hoppy2008 said:
bigTee said:
Poledriver said:
bigTee said:
Hoppy2008 said:
bigTee said:
just been home and put mine on 20 24/7 !!
Can you pop round my house and do mine for me?The key is under the Rottweiler!
I’ll take my Rohypnol. !!!!
It's the same stuff really!!
Jetl3on said:
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...
It takes quite a bit to get the pipes frozen. But a weekend away in this weather (with the heating off) might prove interesting when you get home. And trust me, you do not want burst pipes.(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...
So as a precaution, it probably is worth leaving the heating on low. . With a simple timer, you could leave it on 24/7 or run the "Once" setting (starts on the morning on, then runs through to the evening off). Then adjust the thermostat before you go out. A min 5 degrees should be fine because all you're trying to do is prevent freezing.
Tip: stick a note by the door latch with the word "Thermostat" in big letters.
As others have mentioned, there are funkier solutions available.
Cost wise, it should be a bit more expensive, but clearly in some circumstances it can actually be cheaper (clearly, because some people have shown it to be so). It seems to depend on how well insulated your house is and how you use the heating system (and a host of other factors).
Obviously, the boiler will be doing some work in the daytime (and perhaps at night). But if you've set a low temp, it's not that much.
Conversely, the boiler will only be coming on fully when you get home in the evening (and wind the thermostat up to 20 degrees), rather than at a preset time. It will also get comfortable faster as the house is being warmed from an already passable temperature, and less of the 'new' heat is being radiated straight into freezing cold walls. So you could find you save money on this bit, and it could even outweigh the daytime costs.
How much it costs you is going to be down to your own circumstances - how well insulated the house is, how long is the heating normally on for, etc. The only way to know is to try it. Either take meter readings, or wait for a pleasant/nasty surprise when the bill comes in.
HiRich said:
It takes quite a bit to get the pipes frozen. But a weekend away in this weather (with the heating off) might prove interesting when you get home. And trust me, you do not want burst pipes.
So as a precaution, it probably is worth leaving the heating on low. . With a simple timer, you could leave it on 24/7 or run the "Once" setting (starts on the morning on, then runs through to the evening off). Then adjust the thermostat before you go out. A min 5 degrees should be fine because all you're trying to do is prevent freezing.
Tip: stick a note by the door latch with the word "Thermostat" in big letters.
As others have mentioned, there are funkier solutions available.
Cost wise, it should be a bit more expensive, but clearly in some circumstances it can actually be cheaper (clearly, because some people have shown it to be so). It seems to depend on how well insulated your house is and how you use the heating system (and a host of other factors).
Obviously, the boiler will be doing some work in the daytime (and perhaps at night). But if you've set a low temp, it's not that much.
Conversely, the boiler will only be coming on fully when you get home in the evening (and wind the thermostat up to 20 degrees), rather than at a preset time. It will also get comfortable faster as the house is being warmed from an already passable temperature, and less of the 'new' heat is being radiated straight into freezing cold walls. So you could find you save money on this bit, and it could even outweigh the daytime costs.
How much it costs you is going to be down to your own circumstances - how well insulated the house is, how long is the heating normally on for, etc. The only way to know is to try it. Either take meter readings, or wait for a pleasant/nasty surprise when the bill comes in.
With an empty house (I have one for sale/rent that's empty), is it worth turning the water off altogether? So as a precaution, it probably is worth leaving the heating on low. . With a simple timer, you could leave it on 24/7 or run the "Once" setting (starts on the morning on, then runs through to the evening off). Then adjust the thermostat before you go out. A min 5 degrees should be fine because all you're trying to do is prevent freezing.
Tip: stick a note by the door latch with the word "Thermostat" in big letters.
As others have mentioned, there are funkier solutions available.
Cost wise, it should be a bit more expensive, but clearly in some circumstances it can actually be cheaper (clearly, because some people have shown it to be so). It seems to depend on how well insulated your house is and how you use the heating system (and a host of other factors).
Obviously, the boiler will be doing some work in the daytime (and perhaps at night). But if you've set a low temp, it's not that much.
Conversely, the boiler will only be coming on fully when you get home in the evening (and wind the thermostat up to 20 degrees), rather than at a preset time. It will also get comfortable faster as the house is being warmed from an already passable temperature, and less of the 'new' heat is being radiated straight into freezing cold walls. So you could find you save money on this bit, and it could even outweigh the daytime costs.
How much it costs you is going to be down to your own circumstances - how well insulated the house is, how long is the heating normally on for, etc. The only way to know is to try it. Either take meter readings, or wait for a pleasant/nasty surprise when the bill comes in.
Pickled Piper said:
That's it exactly. Doesn't effect the hot water or boiler controls. You just leave the CH boiler control as permanently on. IIRC it just makes or brakes a circuit (you can change it to do either) so it just replaces the existing thermostat. I fitted mine myself.
pp
pp
Thanks!
NDA said:
With an empty house (I have one for sale/rent that's empty), is it worth turning the water off altogether?
If it's got no heating at all I'd turn the water off. At least then if you do get a burst pipe the place won't get flooded, although you won't be able to tell if your pipes have split until you turn the water back on. An even better option would be to turn the water off and drain the system down altogether. No risk of pipes bursting then..bigTee said:
bigTee said:
just been home and put mine on 20 24/7 !!
f
k me i was hot in the night.Had to get up and turn the b
d off. Turned it off though and not back to timed so froze my nuts off this morning.Does make it nice to sleep in though
trooperiziz said:
bigTee said:
bigTee said:
just been home and put mine on 20 24/7 !!
fk me i was hot in the night.Had to get up and turn the b
d off. Turned it off though and not back to timed so froze my nuts off this morning.Does make it nice to sleep in though
Boy did she moan when i said 'PH said we should leave the CH on all the time - it's cheaper'
HiRich said:
Jetl3on said:
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...
It takes quite a bit to get the pipes frozen. But a weekend away in this weather (with the heating off) might prove interesting when you get home. And trust me, you do not want burst pipes.(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...
So as a precaution, it probably is worth leaving the heating on low. . With a simple timer, you could leave it on 24/7 or run the "Once" setting (starts on the morning on, then runs through to the evening off). Then adjust the thermostat before you go out. A min 5 degrees should be fine because all you're trying to do is prevent freezing.
Tip: stick a note by the door latch with the word "Thermostat" in big letters.
As others have mentioned, there are funkier solutions available.
Cost wise, it should be a bit more expensive, but clearly in some circumstances it can actually be cheaper (clearly, because some people have shown it to be so). It seems to depend on how well insulated your house is and how you use the heating system (and a host of other factors).
Obviously, the boiler will be doing some work in the daytime (and perhaps at night). But if you've set a low temp, it's not that much.
Conversely, the boiler will only be coming on fully when you get home in the evening (and wind the thermostat up to 20 degrees), rather than at a preset time. It will also get comfortable faster as the house is being warmed from an already passable temperature, and less of the 'new' heat is being radiated straight into freezing cold walls. So you could find you save money on this bit, and it could even outweigh the daytime costs.
How much it costs you is going to be down to your own circumstances - how well insulated the house is, how long is the heating normally on for, etc. The only way to know is to try it. Either take meter readings, or wait for a pleasant/nasty surprise when the bill comes in.
I tried switching to permanently on mode 2 days ago at its minimal setting, and it makes such a difference, not just to the room, but walking on the wood bathroom floor when you cannot find your grandad slippers is no longer a painful experience, and I dont need to make any adjustments to the minimum setting as I can plug in the Oil Radiator for a top up in the Lounge if required.
I read on MSN that Cling flim is a good draught excluder, them old Sash windows are impossible to Proof. Gonna give that a try also, but obviously only the back bedroom windows, as it looks bluddy awful.
Jetl3on said:
...them old Sash windows are impossible to Proof...
A little thing to try, if your sash windows rattle a bit (the 'rails' are a bit wider than the panels). At B&Q or Robert Dyas you can find little 2" rubber wedges in the general hardware section. Just small enough to go in the gaps between panes and rails, you'll at least get a wood-on-wood seal which will significantly reduce draughts (and stop the windows rattling in the wind).Trevelyan said:
NDA said:
With an empty house (I have one for sale/rent that's empty), is it worth turning the water off altogether?
If it's got no heating at all I'd turn the water off. At least then if you do get a burst pipe the place won't get flooded, although you won't be able to tell if your pipes have split until you turn the water back on. An even better option would be to turn the water off and drain the system down altogether. No risk of pipes bursting then..Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff