Lowering heating bills

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

You can gave all the clever controls you like, but then SWMBO complains that the radiator in such and such a room is off, even tho the room is warm enough,and proceeds to open the auto valves fully

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

There is advice online on savings to be made with gas boilers from reliable sources such as this one.

 

 

 

[Andy StopfordParticipant @andystopford50521]

Some years ago I turned down the flow temperature on my combi boiler, an experiment based purely on having read how they worked and figuring that the efficiency of the condensing feature should improve the lower the temperature of the returning water is.

I was surprised how well it worked, with a considerable reduction in gas consumption. What I hadn’t expected was that it actually improves the perceived comfort – the boiler runs for longer so that rather than giving a burst of heat and then turning off, so the temperature in the room starts to fall which gives a perception of increasing chilliness, the air temperature remains much more constant removing the temptation to bump the thermostat up a bit to recover the previous comfort level.

This means that you may be able to reduce the temperature setting, saving even more.

I don’t know whether the boiler life is affected by running continuously, though at a lower output – since I rent, I don’t really care, but the boiler hasn’t given any trouble, despite the gas inspector being rather sniffy about the manufacturer – “I’m surprised that thing’s still working, they’re the cheapest load of old junk you can get”.

[PlasmaParticipant @plasma]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Andy,  that is exactly the premise behind a heat pump. Lower overall temperature of the rads but constantly so that heating up not only the water in the system but also the cold room is avoided.</p>
And the units are designed for constant use, im not sure about a combi being run continuously,  apart from the cost of gas consumption.

We are moving closer to installing a system having visited a house with one fitted. The outdoor unit was extremely quiet, standing next to it running you could hear birdsong.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Another problem with heating is humans acclimatise.  We get used to being hot, and tend to turn the wick up.  Mother runs her heating at 22°C and my ex insists on 24°C.   A chum who retired to Thailand was amused to see the locals dressing warmly in winter when the temperature dropped below 30°C.   A year later, after getting used to ambient temperatures above 30°C, he too felt cold in their winter, and had to buy coats and jumpers.    And visiting the UK he found a British summer too cold to eat a pub-garden lunch.  I was sweaty in shirt-sleeves, he shivered in an Anorak!

Best way to save money is to keep the temperature down and only run the heating when it’s essential.  We get used to being cool, and I’m comfy with the heating at 18°C.   I find visiting relatives, care homes and hospitals unpleasantly hot.

A friend heats her house like a sauna and opens the windows when the sun comes out.  She can’t comprehend why this is a poor strategy…

To be clear, keeping cool is fine, getting cold isn’t!!!

Dave

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

Thanks, some results which do not involve parafin and some explanations as to why the reduction would work. We only have the heating ser to 17C, and drop it to 15C if the house is to be empty for a while. The latest power saving thing is the new air frier which seems to work as well as we hoped it would.

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