Hi folks. I know very little about heating systems and I've just moved house so I'm trying to understand how the heating/hot water works so I can operate it in the most efficient way. I've included photos and I'd appreciate the guidance of anyone who knows more than me (that's everyone). Thanks!
Here's the boiler in the kitchen - a Thorn 'Olympic'. Reading around, I guess it's about 20 years old or more:
It bangs and thumps for a while after hot water is used. Here's the one user control I see:
Here's the programmer, which is next to it:
Upstairs in the airing cupboard is the cylinder:
Finally in the loft we have these two tanks. Bit of a mess:
The big tank was uncovered so I've moved that sheet of plastic back over it. The little tank is still uncovered:
The guy from the letting agency told me the following as he gave me the keys to the property:
"Leave the boiler on 24/7; that's the most efficient way to run it. Leave it turned up to maximum on the boiler. To adjust the water temperature, adjust the thermostat on the cylinder upstairs."
So here are my questions:
1) Is that true? I don't think we'll use much hot water at all: the shower is a power shower and I was under the impression the dishwasher and washing machine can heat their own water. We don't run baths, so in my mind we can manage without hot water. Since we don't need the heating at all until the weather gets cold, can I just shut the boiler down to save money? I may be naive though!
2) The tanks in the loft/attic are slimey and full of spiders webs, bird droppings and probably various dead animals too. Okay, I'm exagerating but they're not exactly clean and the (very dusty) cover was half off the big tank. Is this a problem? I mean, we're not drinking that water right? But am I showering in it? (I did say I don't know anything, didn't I?)
Many thanks. Sorry if these are very basic: I have tried to read around the topic a bit but plumbing seems very complex to me and I'm just an end-user.
Here's the boiler in the kitchen - a Thorn 'Olympic'. Reading around, I guess it's about 20 years old or more:
It bangs and thumps for a while after hot water is used. Here's the one user control I see:
Here's the programmer, which is next to it:
Upstairs in the airing cupboard is the cylinder:
Finally in the loft we have these two tanks. Bit of a mess:
The big tank was uncovered so I've moved that sheet of plastic back over it. The little tank is still uncovered:
The guy from the letting agency told me the following as he gave me the keys to the property:
"Leave the boiler on 24/7; that's the most efficient way to run it. Leave it turned up to maximum on the boiler. To adjust the water temperature, adjust the thermostat on the cylinder upstairs."
So here are my questions:
1) Is that true? I don't think we'll use much hot water at all: the shower is a power shower and I was under the impression the dishwasher and washing machine can heat their own water. We don't run baths, so in my mind we can manage without hot water. Since we don't need the heating at all until the weather gets cold, can I just shut the boiler down to save money? I may be naive though!
2) The tanks in the loft/attic are slimey and full of spiders webs, bird droppings and probably various dead animals too. Okay, I'm exagerating but they're not exactly clean and the (very dusty) cover was half off the big tank. Is this a problem? I mean, we're not drinking that water right? But am I showering in it? (I did say I don't know anything, didn't I?)
Many thanks. Sorry if these are very basic: I have tried to read around the topic a bit but plumbing seems very complex to me and I'm just an end-user.