How long do you guys have your heating on for?

[D1nhs]

Since moving into my first home ive noticed its very cold! Its a EOT 3 bed house.

Ive recently gone round the whole house seeking and closing up draughts, and even raised joist and installed 27cm of insulation in the loft.

Its imporved, but ive noticed that the only time my house is warm is when i have the heating on, when its off the temp drops within an hour or so. Its especially cold downstairs (concrete floor).

I have my heating on 3 hrs in the morning and 6 hours in the evening.


Just curious to how long you guys have your heating on, and whether i should just get used to having it on all day.

Thanks

 

[mrgtv]

My house (semi) seems to have the same problem i.e. noticable heat loss about one to two hours after the heating goes off.

One room takes ages to heat up but once warm the CH keeps it toasty. This room has a wooden floor, wall to ceiling windows and vertical blinds. So I guess it's a) not well insulated b) doesn't have "warm" surfaces. It used to be carpeted and I didn't notice the cold so much then.

I may go down the Cavity Wall insulation route to minimise the heat loss but just now it is cheaper putting the CH on a little longer.

But to answer your question...
heating on 0.5 hours in the morning (to heat the bedroom - up shower and off to work) then on for 4-5 hours in the evening.

Don't have it on all day 'cos IMHO (watch the debate start) there is no point using gas when I'm not in. It only takes an hour to heat the house.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Don't have it on all day 'cos IMHO (watch the debate start) there is no point using gas when I'm not in. It only takes an hour to heat the house.

Agree with your IMHO, but.....
only if the CH is switched on a reasonable minimum temp, like 15 degrees. It will keep the cold out when it's really cold in the day time (and at night time when we're all tucked in warm beds) and when we do get in/ up and about the CH doesn't have to burn that much gas to bring the temperature up to around 20-21 degrees.

 

[JohnD]

in an EOT, cavity wall insulation will help a lot.

 

[^woody^]

Mine is not on a timer, but is controled by a thermostat so that it comes on and off when necessary

Its set for 21° in the morning 6-9, 18° from 9-3 and then 20° 3-1AM then 14° till 6. Weekends have a different pattern as we are in more often.

Its much better to have it on a thermostat as even in the warmer months there are still cold snaps and there is no need to faff about with a timer

 

[mrgtv]

Don't have it on all day 'cos IMHO (watch the debate start) there is no point using gas when I'm not in. It only takes an hour to heat the house.

Agree with your IMHO, but.....
only if the CH is switched on a reasonable minimum temp, like 15 degrees. It will keep the cold out when it's really cold in the day time (and at night time when we're all tucked in warm beds) and when we do get in/ up and about the CH doesn't have to burn that much gas to bring the temperature up to around 20-21 degrees.

As I said watch the debate begin.
Your right in that it doesn't burn as much gas to bring the temp back up to the required level if the heating is maintained a couple of degress lower however, it depends on how long you are out as to this being economical.

There is no point my CH burning gas, even at a low rate for 8 hours during the day and 8 hours at night if I can blast it for an <hour to achieve the same temp.
It's a bit like keeping your car on idle all day just so it's warm when you get in it after work.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Don't have it on all day 'cos IMHO (watch the debate start) there is no point using gas when I'm not in. It only takes an hour to heat the house.

Agree with your IMHO, but.....
only if the CH is switched on a reasonable minimum temp, like 15 degrees. It will keep the cold out when it's really cold in the day time (and at night time when we're all tucked in warm beds) and when we do get in/ up and about the CH doesn't have to burn that much gas to bring the temperature up to around 20-21 degrees.

As I said watch the debate begin.
Your right in that it doesn't burn as much gas to bring the temp back up to the required level if the heating is maintained a couple of degress lower however, it depends on how long you are out as to this being economical.

There is no point my CH burning gas, even at a low rate for 8 hours during the day and 8 hours at night if I can blast it for an <hour to achieve the same temp.
It's a bit like keeping your car on idle all day just so it's warm when you get in it after work.

Don't agree with your statement. Depending on the outside temperature, the house insulation etc setting the minimum temp to around 15 degree when you're out or tucked in your warm bed, it will save gas when you need the CH warmer.
And besides that, what if you burn gas for an hour to get it on very cold days from 8 to 20 and when it finally gets warm you leave again. Bad practise IMHO.

Not a debate: common science sense.

 

[JohnD]

Depending on the outside temperature, the house insulation etc setting the minimum temp to around 15 degree when you're out or tucked in your warm bed, it will save gas when you need the CH warmer....
Not a debate: common science sense.

This is not actually correct. Science tells us that heat will move from a warm object (e.g. a house) to a cooler one (the world outside) and the greater the temperature difference, the more heat will be lost. Also, the greater the time period, the more heat will be lost. So keeping your house warm while you are not in it will cause greater loss of energy than letting it cool.

And besides that, what if you burn gas for an hour to get it on very cold days from 8 to 20 and when it finally gets warm you leave again.

This is why most heating systems installed in the last 50 years have had timers fitted. You set then to commence heating before you need the house to be warm, so that it will be ready for your arrival; and to turn off before you leave it.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Depending on the outside temperature, the house insulation etc setting the minimum temp to around 15 degree when you're out or tucked in your warm bed, it will save gas when you need the CH warmer....
Not a debate: common science sense.

This is not actually correct. Science tells us that heat will move from a warm object (e.g. a house) to a cooler one (the world outside) and the greater the temperature difference, the more heat will be lost. Also, the greater the time period, the more heat will be lost. So keeping your house warm while you are not in it will cause greater loss of energy than letting it cool.

Hi John

That's what I mean: keep your house on a minimum around 15 degrees and make sure the house is insulated. 15 degrees IMHO isn't keeping your house 'warm' but making the time it takes to get it warmer when needed shorter (with less gas usage)

 

[JohnD]

(with less gas usage)

less gas usage than keeping at at 20C all day, but MORE gas usage than letting it cool when unoccupied.

 

[Kes]

Not a debate: common science sense.

I don't think it's either common sense or 'science'.

From one extreme, only turning the heating off for one hour a day, it would probably be better to have it on constantly. To another extreme, going on a world tour for three years, it would be better not to have the heating on constantly.

In between those two extremes there are any number of variables, how many in the house, old, young, at work or not, active or couch spud, heat loss from the house, house position, etc.

One energy-saving site I visited recently said that the theory that it's better to have the immersion heater on constantly is a myth, it's more economical to have it on only in the periods of maximum use.

Anyway, any 'science' available on this subject?

Personally I have the heating/hw on from 7 to 9 in the morning and 4 'til 10:30 in the evening, and we are both at home, and sometimes active. In the summer the immersion is on constantly. I must get round to fitting a timer.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Not a debate: common science sense.

Anyway, any 'science' available on this subject?

Is a comparison between two neighbouring houses 'science'? A few years ago that is:

Same house, same insulation and same CH system. We kept our CH on minimum of 15 degrees, the neighbours turned it off completely and switched in on on full blast the minute they came home or out bed.

Our house was comfortable sooner (coming in from the cold into a luke warm house feels better than coming in to a very cold house - and we won't discuss the risk of damp here ) and our gas bill was 15% less.

 

[Kes]

Don't get me wrong, Woody, I wish you were right but I fear that you're not - in my case that is. My heating fuel bill is around 50 smackaroons a week so I don't want to add to that. The problem is that it's difficult to measure in the short term (oil). This is one example when it would be wonderful to be proved wrong and have a warm house all day.

 

[mrgtv]

Not a debate: common science sense.

Anyway, any 'science' available on this subject?

Is a comparison between two neighbouring houses 'science'? A few years ago that is:

Same house, same insulation and same CH system. We kept our CH on minimum of 15 degrees, the neighbours turned it off completely and switched in on on full blast the minute they came home or out bed.

Our house was comfortable sooner (coming in from the cold into a luke warm house feels better than coming in to a very cold house - and we won't discuss the risk of damp here ) and our gas bill was 15% less.

This is not scientific. Far from it. You don't have identical heating requirements to your neighbour.

As I said, it depends on how long you are out and how long it takes to heat up the house. Factors such as insulation and heat loss are applicable to both situations so for the purpose of this discussion you should assume they are equal.

While your house is heating up and cooling down all day, you are using fuel each time the boiler switches on. All these bits of fuel add up. How much they add up, depends on how long you are maintaining a minimum temperature. I only heat my house up once, because I am out for most of the day. The one time fuel blast is less than all the little on off cycles throughout the day. Once we are both at max temp, we are then using the same fuel.
Clearly if you are only out for a short period of time, the situation changes.

 

[JohnD]

so neither of you are willing to use timers

Kes, yes, there is science on it. Loss of heat is proportional to temperature difference x time. So keeping something hotter for longer means greater heat loss.