heating system; constant ambient temp or on/off when needed?

how do you run your heating system?

  • constant ambient

    Votes: 5 35.7%

  • on/off when needed

    Votes: 9 64.3%
  • Total voters
    14
strumstrum

strumstrum

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No
had a new boiler fitted yesterday (Vaillant ecoTEC Pro) apparently the 19 year old Worcester Bosch was running 65% efficient so was time to get a new one..

anyhoo we never had a room stat with the old system and we do with this on, plus all the rads were flushed out etc etc.. and apparently we will wasting less money..

does anyone leave their heating system on 24/7 at a lower ambient temp so the house never goes too cold nor too hot? if you do, have you noticed an increase, decrease or just the same with the bill?

Ta
 
The age old question, I think its been established its better to on/off as required.
 
That is so spooky as I'm right in the middle of thinking about replacing my 19 years old Worcester Bosch combi as it has a leak - one that has been looked at three times in the past ten years and keeps coming back. Or shall I try mend and make do and hope for the best? Bear in mind that Worcester charges £180 just for a call out.
However, as a homeowner and carer looking after an elderly mother, I may try and get some financial help with it as there does appears to be plenty of options on that front so it may be worth giving that a go - and if all else fails then I'll have to apply for an extension to my mortgage and class it as home improvement.
 
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twist said:
The age old question, I think its been established its better to on/off as required.
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why better though?

for instance the room therm is currently telling me the temp is 21, I have it set to not go below 19 so it isn't currently having to do any heating so even though system is set to constantly on it isn't having to do anything at the moment..??

I know I am probably being dumb but I have never had a room therm before so trying to get my head around it, I have TRV's apart from the one they had to remove in the hallway so it doesn't conflict with the room therm.

obviously there cannot be one definitive answer as houses are different but I am just trying to work out why I would need to turn the heating switch to off on the boiler as currently it isn't having to do anything anyway.
 
strumstrum said:
why better though?

for instance the room therm is currently telling me the temp is 21, I have it set to not go below 19 so it isn't currently having to do any heating so even though system is set to constantly on it isn't having to do anything at the moment..??

I know I am probably being dumb but I have never had a room therm before so trying to get my head around it, I have TRV's apart from the one they had to remove in the hallway so it doesn't conflict with the room therm.

obviously there cannot be one definitive answer as houses are different but I am just trying to work out why I would need to turn the heating switch to off on the boiler as currently it isn't having to do anything anyway.
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Cheaper. When its actually working, not during summer lol. You can leave it on at its set temp/minimum, itll just not kick in and wont cost you anything as youre not consuming any gas.
 
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We previously just used the boilers in-built timer. (on @ a certain time, then off etc) but a couple of years ago got one of those wireless room-stats fitted.
Not only is it more convenient, it's worked out more economical.

You need to play about & try different temps which suit you at certain times.

Some of the better room stats will fire the boiler earlier than the time you've set it to come on, if the temp is really cold in Winter, so it's nearer your chosen temp when you get out of bed.
 
strumstrum said:
for instance the room therm is currently telling me the temp is 21, I have it set to not go below 19 so it isn't currently having to do any heating so even though system is set to constantly on it isn't having to do anything at the moment..??
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Yep, pretty much what we do.

We have it set at 16 ATM, but it felt cool this morn so I upped it to 19.
At night i's set lower so it doesn't fire up.

Come the Winter we set the temp for overnight to about 16, them Morning to about 20.
 
In effect (in answer to your question) it is On/off.............. but that depends on the temp you set @ certain times.
 
We use the boiler's inbuilt timer with individual stats on the radiators. In summer we get enough hot water from a short morning and longer evening switch on, but the rads stay off. Useful in weather like this when they do come on to take the chill off this glorious summer that we are having.
 
Ian D J said:
That is so spooky as I'm right in the middle of thinking about replacing my 19 years old Worcester Bosch combi as it has a leak - one that has been looked at three times in the past ten years and keeps coming back. Or shall I try mend and make do and hope for the best? Bear in mind that Worcester charges £180 just for a call out.
However, as a homeowner and carer looking after an elderly mother, I may try and get some financial help with it as there does appears to be plenty of options on that front so it may be worth giving that a go - and if all else fails then I'll have to apply for an extension to my mortgage and class it as home improvement.
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Just saw an advert on tv with Johnny Ball. Possible free boilers. (y) Think the # was 0800 903 888
 
OldCarlos said:
Just saw an advert on tv with Johnny Ball. Possible free boilers. (y) Think the # was 0800 903 888
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Cheers! I do recall that advert so I'll add that to the growing list.

Sorry for hijacking this thread for my own needs. :angelic:
 
The real answer is a smart thermostat like the Tado. It works out optimum heating strategy. I had this for half the winter last year, house was warmer and it cost less money than only having it on for a few hours a day. When you leave it on the fabric of the building also warms up. I kept my old worcester boiler. It was about 80% efficient on full blast so it isn't that far off the modern ones only without all the extra guff they have on them.

Tado will also turn down the temperature when everyone is out so you aren't heating an empty house.

I did notice that when the tado was in charge the over night temperature didn't fall as far as when it was left to go on and off on the previous timed settings. After a few weeks it was about 2 degrees warmer in the house over night than previously. The heating would also often only need to come on for 10 minutes here and there during the day and it kept it warm.
 
Ian D J said:
That is so spooky as I'm right in the middle of thinking about replacing my 19 years old Worcester Bosch combi as it has a leak - one that has been looked at three times in the past ten years and keeps coming back. Or shall I try mend and make do and hope for the best? Bear in mind that Worcester charges £180 just for a call out.
However, as a homeowner and carer looking after an elderly mother, I may try and get some financial help with it as there does appears to be plenty of options on that front so it may be worth giving that a go - and if all else fails then I'll have to apply for an extension to my mortgage and class it as home improvement.
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If it is the 240RSF or similar the air pressure switch thingy can leak. I had it happen. Water dribbles out of the bottom of the boiler. Normal gas engineers will just lie and claim it's beyond repair then quote about £2k for a new one. Even my maths isn't so bad as to think a £200 repair isn't good value! They also lie and say they can't get the parts. Personally I'd get worcester out as I think with some of their call out options they'll replace quite a few things for you so if there are a few things wrong with it then it can be better value than playing pot luck with a local heating engineer.

Also make sure all the TRVs are working and they're on all but one of the radiators. I saved a lot that way as well.
 
OldCarlos said:
Just saw an advert on tv with Johnny Ball. Possible free boilers. (y) Think the # was 0800 903 888
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I heard a story about those free boiler offers.
Apparently you get a free boiler. Good. Bad news is that your gas bills don't go down. The company calculates the savings and takes that from you until the cost of the boiler is paid off. Only then do your bills go down.
Even worse...if you want to sell your house the purchaser has to accept responsibilty for any outstanding amounts.
Or so I was told, by my brother in law who made enquiries about the scheme.
 
We have a thermostat set to 19*C in the landing. The thermostat timer is set for 530am to 830am and 530pm to 1030pm. This means if the temp is below 19*C during those times, the boiler comes on. Over the last few weeks, because of the warmer weather, the heating hasn't been on all day but I haven't touched anything.
 
srichards said:
If it is the 240RSF or similar the air pressure switch thingy can leak. I had it happen. Water dribbles out of the bottom of the boiler. Normal gas engineers will just lie and claim it's beyond repair then quote about £2k for a new one. Even my maths isn't so bad as to think a £200 repair isn't good value! They also lie and say they can't get the parts. Personally I'd get worcester out as I think with some of their call out options they'll replace quite a few things for you so if there are a few things wrong with it then it can be better value than playing pot luck with a local heating engineer.

Also make sure all the TRVs are working and they're on all but one of the radiators. I saved a lot that way as well.
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Actually, funny you should say that as since I dropped off my first comment in here, I had an email back from Worcester saying that because the makes of boiler (I gave them the model number) is now obsolete, they will not be able to provide the parts needed to fix it and thus will not attend to it. Instead they advised on a third party engineer to do the work.

I'll get my sister to handle this as she's better on the phone than I am. :D
 
mickledore said:
We use the boiler's inbuilt timer with individual stats on the radiators. In summer we get enough hot water from a short morning and longer evening switch on, but the rads stay off. Useful in weather like this when they do come on to take the chill off this glorious summer that we are having.
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Do you have a room stat? Trv's won't control the boiler so you should have a roomstat as well.
You should also be able to time the hot water seperately from the heating, so the rads don't come on regardless of having trv's on the rads.
 
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Ian D J said:
Actually, funny you should say that as since I dropped off my first comment in here, I had an email back from Worcester saying that because the makes of boiler (I gave them the model number) is now obsolete, they will not be able to provide the parts needed to fix it and thus will not attend to it. Instead they advised on a third party engineer to do the work.

I'll get my sister to handle this as she's better on the phone than I am. :D
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That's annoying. Wouldn't surprise me though as manufacturer support for older models is often poor. They did have a twitter thing recently boasting about the oldest Worcesters still in use. I'd take them to task!
 
I have a programmer that allows the domestic hot water (stored in a cylinder) and heating to be controlled separately. The hot water is set for twice a day, 6:30 am 30 minutes and 2:30 pm 20 minutes, which is sufficient for our needs.

The central heating is programmed to be on 24/7, winter and summer, but is controlled manually from a room stat, which is located in the hall near to the front door, in fact I did turn the heating on just after lunch today.

We live in a bungalow, which was built in 2001 and our heating/water is from an oil fired boiler. We have the boiler serviced annually and find the above works perfectly for us...:)
 
srichards said:
That's annoying. Wouldn't surprise me though as manufacturer support for older models is often poor. They did have a twitter thing recently boasting about the oldest Worcesters still in use. I'd take them to task!
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:D In which case, I'd call bul . . . . horse manure on that. I have to find that and place a tweet in it. Anyway, it had helped me with my decision making at least.

PS: Back to the matter of this thread. In the winter, I have the timer set between 7 am and 9 pm and the hallway thermostat at 19 C but never have the heating on at night as it gives me a headache and dry throat, no matter how cold the night. If a house is well insulated with every little gap sealed up and every door are shut to keep the draughts down then it should be fairly easy to maintain a fairly warm house without running up a large bill.
Mind you, it also depends on your location. For example, here at this coastal end of Kent, the climate is fairly benign for the most part - apart from obviously the occasional gales - but prolonged snow, frost and ice are rarely an issue at my sea level location so the demand on heating is less than those who live at high ground such as Capel Le Ferne about 6 miles away and 450 feet above sea level where the climate is more harsher. I've also noticed there is more dampness at high ground (more algae and the ground seems to be permenantly moist) while it feels "drier" at sea level despite living next to the sea.
 
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I do not understand why they often put the main thermostat in the hall.
I do not care in the least if the hall temperature fluctuates.... I am only concerned that the sitting room stays comfortable, so that is where I have the control thermostat.
The rest of the rooms have thermostats on the radiators. (For them to do any good you need to keep the doors shut.)
I had a new Glowworm boiler fitted last year, to replace an ancient one (at least 40 years old). So far I am using at least 35% less Gas, and warmer into the Bargain.

I took out numerous quotes for the supply and fitting, and the variation was staggering, With the highest more than double the mid range quotes. They were all for the same unit, mag filter, pump, plumbing, flushing, fitting and flue brickwork and guarantee.
British gas including their discount were the second highest. Those that specialised in fitting and repairs for the insurance world were the most competitive and in the mid range. I threw out the two lowest as they were out of line with all the details on their quotes. (they might have cost me more in the long run)

There is a lot to be gained in having a fairly aggressive quotation process . You can use the detailed lists they produce in their surveys and detail in the initial round of quotes, to refine a working list for the final three quotes. so they are exactly like for like.

Works for me anyway.
 
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Had a new boiler fitted in 2012 shortly after we moved into our new house (1930s 3 bed semi with solid walls, double glazed and decent loft insulation), we only use gas for heating and water and in the first month on the old boiler (march/april) we used £100 worth of gas!!!!

The new boiler is a Potterton which is slightly bigger than we really need and it came in at around £1000, my brother's a plumber so we got it at cost).

We currently pay £67 p/m for gas & electric although that'll probably go up as we now have a baby and the wife's been at home with her since June last year so it stands to reason that we're heating/lighting a lot more of the time.

We have a wireless room stat that lives in the lounge and it's set at 15c for "low" and 19c for high. Low is set between 23:00 - 05:00, 07:00 - 16:00 with high taking over in between times.

May have to revisit that this winter as the little one will be more mobile but last year Rachael just boosted it for 30mins whenever she felt chilly.

Seemed to work well in our house although if I had the funds I'd like to try one of the more automated systems on the market
 
In the summer we switch it off as it is just not required. In the winter I would just set s temperature and let it do its thing. And my wife would constantly manually override it ;)

The concept comprehension will not happen so I won't engage on that battle. I mean she says the system does work as it is too cold; hmmm yes you've left the wireless room thermostat next to the open fire, it will switch off the boiler because it thinks it is hot. Or it is boiling, as she left the thermostat by the front door hallway where it is cold and it never gets to temperature.

Grr just leave it where it's holder is and all will be fine and balanced ;)
 
Ian D J said:
Mind you, it also depends on your location. For example, here at this coastal end of Kent, the climate is fairly benign for the most part - apart from obviously the occasional gales - but prolonged snow, frost and ice are rarely an issue at my sea level location so the demand on heating is less than those who live at high ground such as Capel Le Ferne about 6 miles away and 450 feet above sea level where the climate is more harsher. I've also noticed there is more dampness at high ground (more algae and the ground seems to be permenantly moist) while it feels "drier" at sea level despite living next to the sea.
Click to expand...

Wowsers, Michael Fish by name Michael Fish by nature :D
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
I do not understand why they often put the main thermostat in the hall.
I do not care in the least if the hall temperature fluctuates.... I am only concerned that the sitting room stays comfortable, so that is where I have the control thermostat.
The rest of the rooms have thermostats on the radiators.
I had a new Glowworm boiler fitted last year to replace an ancient one. So far I am using at least 35% less Gas, and warmer into the Bargain.

I took out numerous quotes for the supply and fitting, and the variation was staggering, With the highest more than double the mid range quotes. They were all for the same unit, mag filter, pump, plumbing, flushing, fitting and flue brickwork and guarantee.
British gas including their discount were the second highest. Those that specialised in fitting and repairs for the insurance world were the most competitive and in the mid range. I threw out the two lowest as they were out of line with all the details on their quotes. (they might have cost me more in the long run)

There is a lot to be gained in having a fairly aggressive quotation process . You can use the detailed lists they produce in their surveys and detail in the initial round of quotes, to refine a working list for the final three quotes. so they are exactly like for like.

Works for me anyway.
Click to expand...
The reason the thermostat is usually in the hall is that it's normally the coldest room, and once that's up to temp, the rest of the house will be.
If the stat is in the lounge, and the lounge heats up, the heating will go off and you may find that the rest of the house is not warm enough.
 
I think it very much depends on your house. We leave ours on at around 20 degrees in the winter and at night the boilers timer switches the boiler off, but if it detects a drop below 16 degrees it will kick in and up the temperature. I never heard it fire up during the night though so the house is keeping the warmth in.

In the summer the rads and underfloor are off permanently with the boiler just coming on for a couple of hours in the morning and evening to heat the water.

This was our first full winter in this house and it didn't seem to cost that much, but then again it was a fairly mild winter and the oil prices did drop towards the end of the year.
Will have to see what happens this winter.
 
Bobsyeruncle said:
The reason the thermostat is usually in the hall is that it's normally the coldest room, and once that's up to temp, the rest of the house will be.
If the stat is in the lounge, and the lounge heats up, the heating will go off and you may find that the rest of the house is not warm enough.
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My hall is very small with no room even for a radiator. I find the rest of the house stays with in a working temperature anyway with the rad stats.
I work on the principal that the sitting room is the only room where you are doing nothing and needs to be the warmest, all the other rooms can be colder with the possible exception of the bathroom.
The radiator there is on the same circuit as the boiler tank, so heats up when the hot water is calling for heat. This is timed for getting up in the morning and early evening.
It also come on when I have a bath as the tank is then calling for heat. so as I run the bath the room warms up. I have the bonus of warm dry towels even in summer.
 
Bobsyeruncle said:
The reason the thermostat is usually in the hall is that it's normally the coldest room, and once that's up to temp, the rest of the house will be.
If the stat is in the lounge, and the lounge heats up, the heating will go off and you may find that the rest of the house is not warm enough.
Click to expand...
It is still a daft place in my opinion as that part of the house doesn't need to be warmed up, and each time a door opens the temperature drop is significant and will cause the system to be on for an area where it is largely irrelevant. The only benefit is economical and to the fuel companies ;)
 
And we are talking about central heating in July because? :D

My house is largely open plan, and the stat is in the dining room, that seems to work well.
As for the settings, as the house is empty all day, it comes on for an hour or so in the mornings to take the chill off when I get up,
and a couple of hours about the time I'm due home, it works well, if its really cold, I'll over ride it or stick the back up fire on for a bit,
but as above usually works in all but the really coldest of winters.

I had a new boiler about 3 years ago now, *I didn't save any money, on heating but the house got up to temp quicker and stayed warmer :D

edit* that's probably not quite true but not enough to buy more that a beer or two,
Plus the cost of the new boiler and and an additional rad, I doubt that I'm in front anyway ;)
 
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My heating came for the first time since April this morning. Flippin eck. Nice to have a dry towel after the shower tho.
 
I leave the boiler on permanently (timer bypassed) and control it soley with a (self installed, because it's not rocket science) wireless thermostat which is set to 15C overnight and weekday daytimes, 20C when I'm there. It's in the lounge which is also the room that needs most heating due to three external walls so the TRVs on the two radiators are set at maximum. I then have the TRVs on the other radiators set to give comfortable temperatures in the other rooms when the lounge is comfortable.

I seem to be using a lot less gas than when I had the old dial type stat in the hallway and the house is warmer. I had cavity wall insulation put in around the same time which no doubt is a significant contribution to the reduce gas bill, so I can't say how much is accounted for by the change of thermostat. Either way, I like having the house comfortable which didn't always happen with the hallway stat (terrible location for it) and boiler timer combination.
 
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