Most efficient way to fire oil boiler

[making_1998]

Just wondering what your opinions were on the different zoning options etc. for central heating. Which of the following is more efficient?
A) Fire the boiler when a stat calls for heat via the contacts on a zone valve. B) Keep the boiler cycling at its own thermostat setting and just open a zone valve when stat calls for heat.
All opinions appreciated..

 

[Agile]

Well that seems to me that there is only one way to correctly operate the heating which is to only fire the boiler when there is a demand for heat!

Why do anything else?

Tony

 

[making_1998]

By firing the boiler when there is a demand for heat, does that not mean that cold water will be circulated through the rads (cooling them) until the boiler has brought the circulating water up to temp !

 

[Norcon]

I don't think firing your boiler on its own stat in order to act as a heat store would be very efficient.
I have my oil boiler timer set up to heat the HW at 5:30pm every evening and is timed ON for 45 minutes.
This heats the kitchen rad also as its before the zone valves.
On many occasions I arrive home long after the rad has cooled down and find that when I turn on the CH the kitchen rad receives an instant boost of heat which is presumably heat that was trapped in the boiler being released.

 

[BigBurner]

If you want instant heat in the rads in the morning, go for a heat bank thermal store. The boiler heats only the cylinder and when the time clock switches on the CH pump the heat in the cylinder is dumped instantly into the rads. They are brilliant at this, nothing beats them. They also reduce boiler cycling which is inefficient with oil boilers. You can also take the zones directly off the cylinder with a pump on each zone and each zone with its own time clock.