Its a heating one...again

[Saweetie]

I know this has been done to death but I didnt pay attention!

Am i better off keeping my thermostat on a continuous highish temp so it dips on and off all day for a small heat up, or letting it dip low at night (my house reaches around 14 without heating atm) and the timer starting the thermo in the morning?

Whats more cost effective? No smart meter so harder to track.

Help me please!

I’ve found it better to set the thermostat at certain temperatures throughout the day(I can select up to 6 timers) 14 overnight. 18 first thing. Off when i’m at work then 18 in the evening. If the house is above those temps it won’t click on and it’s a bonus.
doing a boost can cost more as it takes a while to build up to that temp.

@Danikm151 I currently have this set up. It turns off st 10pm to 6am but if i wake to go toilet in the night im so cold and my son is in the loft rom which is even colder. Day time i can suffer 15ish but im wondering what saves the most money!

Im constantly adding credit to my account and have built up about £300 so far but its not even that cold yet and the loft room is freezing!

This is what I do, but my thresholds are 15 and 19

Can you get a little electric heater for the loft?

I have 2 but I worry they are a fire hazard overnight. I had one that tripped out and smoked a few years back so get a bit scared to leave them unattended.

Just womdering if that boost up from
14 in the night to 19 in the morning when the thermo turns on is eatinf up more energy than if i kept it at 17 all night?

If your home is very well insulated keep the thermostat on 19C or whatever - the house won't loose much heat so you're just topping up. Like a new build or recent refurb with 30cm loft insulation.

If it's a older home or shite insulation you need to take the use as you need it approach, and shut rooms you don't use.

I'm in a 4 bed new build, keep it at 20C all year, £200/mo combined elect/ gas bill.

Previously lived in a period 3 bed, would never go back.

If you take the top up approach, keep your home sealed. Ie don't leave windows or doors open.
But Keep internal doors open to regulate temp.

@5thCommandment thank you. Its an old property with lots of airvents which i have covered as best i can, its mainly the loft which has the shittest isulation ever, cant go up there in the summer as its too hot and freezing all winter. My summer gas consumption was around £17 a month but the online chart imhas zoomed right up this month so expecting a massive december bill. Going by experience, sons birthday is feb and we're normally snowed in sp just wondering how best to save. Thank you!

Have you tried insulated wallpaper, it is a form of lining paper with a layer of polystyrene on the back, there is a noticeable difference on my walls that have it on and those that don't.

There are several threads on Reddit about this tonight!
One board seems firmly in the only heat the person when the person is in the room and sod the rest of house camp. Whilst the other (more scientific based) thread is firmly in the it varies from house to house camp. Primarily because it depends on too many variable factors such as what rate per unit you are on, orientation of the house, insulating properties, square footage, number of rooms, boiler on high rate or low rate, size of radiators etc etc etc. and the most important factor which cannot be quantified being individual levels of comfort.

The upshot is basically read you meter both before and after (same set period of time and similar outside temps) trying both methods and see which one works best for you.

we found continuous steady temp is best and eradicated the need to factor in repairs needed due to condensation and damp which occur if the heating is set below 18/19 deg in this particular house.

I havent. Im in a rental so limited to what i can do. I recently got my gas guy round to flush all the pipes and radiators and they're working super efficiently atm. Its just whether to keep the heating on a constant medium high or have a huge heat up twice a day instead that i cant work out. Loft does warm up nicely but takes a while.

Thankyou! Ok tomorrow and thursday im off. Im going to sit by meter and check what makes it go up more! I miss when my parents paid for these things 😭

You can get free insulation. I did this with British Gas in a previous home. Had to wait a month of two, but install took a day and made a massive difference.

www.gov.uk/apply-great-british-insulation-scheme

And :

www.britishgas.co.uk/smart-home/greener-homes/insulation-installation.html#:~:text=Looking%20for%20our%20ECO%20scheme,of%20the%20government's%20ECO%20scheme.

@5thCommandment that is so so helpful, thank you so much. Have just filled in the forms so we'll see if they get back to me. Thanks again x

@5thCommandment what did they do when they came out to you? If you dont mind telling me! Was it a loft or the whole house?

Hi, British Gas came and did a survey, saw our loft insulation was only a few inches thick so replaced it with huge fluffy stuff. You need your loft to be empty and ideally without boards down so they can maximise the area for insulation.

I'm not sure about cavity filling but that's usually a spray of foam that spreads out in the gap between your internal wall and external wall.

You can also buy rolls of insulation at B&Q I think that you then unroll in the loft, as an alternative.

Thank you. My sons room has two large storage hatches and when i open the door to them there is a big gust of cold wind so im assuming its there thats the problem. I really hope the forms worked for me! The rest of the walls in the house are really thick stone walls, hoping if they come and survey they can foam up the vents! Thanks again

OP I’m not sure that someone coming to foam up the vents is wise! You’re probably going to end up with hideous problems from lack of ventilation and your landlord might not be too happy! 🫣

😂 downstairs used to be a shop and upstairs (my two top floors) was the flat above. Downstairs is now a new flat. Landlord is a good family friend and mentioned he shouldve got rid of the vents when converting but he didnt bother. Same as the insulation in the loft i assume! Ill let them decide what needs doing but ill defo ask to foam the vents 😂

@JenniferJupiterVenusandMars ok just googled, maybe theh are quite important 😂😭

They won't foam up the vents. They will assess what can be done safely, loft insulation for a start. If they don't put anything on the other side (loft side) of the hatch, tape a couple of inches of polystyrene to it.
Most houses haven't got decent loft fluff insulation so I'd expect you to be fine. You can also phone them I think to book the survey in.

Theres no fluff in the loft at all. When i look in the storage hatches i can see light coming through and its just wood. Theres a panel of celotex (sp) on the hatch doors but thats all..

Bloody hell. You'll get a foot (30cm) of insulation for free. Your bills will drop and your house will be much warmer. If BG refuse (unlikely) buy it from B&Q or Homebase and roll it out yourself. I would phone British Gas and tell them this and get them round whenever their first slot is.

If you do it yourself (which we have) use gloves and a proper facemask as you don't want to be touching or inhaling it. Other than that it's a super easy job

I remember my dad doing his one when i was young, was like sharp candy floss 😂 ive applied for assessment and ill see what they say. If not ill get someone in to do it and landlord will cover the cost, he's good like that. Feeling excited that my sons room could be potentially warm!