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AIBU?

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Original poster

Heating on 140 Hours!

120 replies

Yippiedoo · 30/12/2022 22:09

So from 1st Dec upto today our heating is showing as being on 140 hours. I leave the heating on constant during the day set to 20, then down to 12 overnight.
Based on others usage, does 140 hours for a month seem reasonable or very high? It's the first time I've tried a full month leaving the heating on constant. My husband won't be happy if we have a huge bill 🙈

OP posts:
donttellmehesalive · 30/12/2022 22:11

So about 4 hours per day x 30 days?

Miss03852 · 30/12/2022 22:11

Oh my god I hope you are loaded, what a waste of money! Just buy a 15 tog duvet, there is absolutely no need to have it on at night

Seasidemumma77 · 30/12/2022 22:11

My thermostat is set at 17c, victorian 4bed mid terrace, and I've averaged 47mins a day for December

Merryoldgoat · 30/12/2022 22:11

Less than 5 hours a day then? That seems like hardly anything to me.

homeishere · 30/12/2022 22:11

Well there’s about 720 hours in a month, so yeah, if you have it on constantly 140 would be about right.

Bearblue26 · 30/12/2022 22:12

DF recently left his heating on constant 20 for the day. He has a smart meter and he was £14 in gas usage alone for a 3 bed semi!

I think for newer boilers it is no longer cheaper to leave it on constant all day.

I think a big bill will be coming your way. Your husband benefited from being nice and toasty so remind him of that if he is unhappy with the cost!

donttellmehesalive · 30/12/2022 22:12

I think that sounds about right as an average. Some days it will hardly have been on and some days - like in that very cold week - it will have been on more.

Mulledwineandberries · 30/12/2022 22:13

I don’t think it sounds much really. But I do question why people heat their homes overnight. Seems a waste of money.

AFS1 · 30/12/2022 22:13

That seems a lot to me. Is someone at home full-time?
We’ve had the heating on at 18.5 from 6:30-8am each morning and then again from 4:00-10:00 in the evenings. Sometimes we’ve boosted it up to 19 for an hour. We’ve had it set at 18 degrees at weekends and while we’ve been at home over Christmas. Someone came round to take a meter reading yesterday so I don’t know how much it will cost us, I’m afraid.

Catmummyof2 · 30/12/2022 22:15

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

donttellmehesalive · 30/12/2022 22:15

Mulledwineandberries · 30/12/2022 22:13

I don’t think it sounds much really. But I do question why people heat their homes overnight. Seems a waste of money.

If I set mine to 12 overnight it would never come on. Maybe op is the same, so it's as good as off.

Tinkerbyebye · 30/12/2022 22:15

Mulledwineandberries · 30/12/2022 22:13

I don’t think it sounds much really. But I do question why people heat their homes overnight. Seems a waste of money.

If it’s controlled by a thermostat set to 12 it’s highly unlikely it will come on

woodhill · 30/12/2022 22:16

If it's on 12 then it's not really on surely?

StripyHorse · 30/12/2022 22:17

Miss03852 · 30/12/2022 22:11

Oh my god I hope you are loaded, what a waste of money! Just buy a 15 tog duvet, there is absolutely no need to have it on at night

From what OP has posted though, it isn't usually on at night - only if the temp drops below 12 degrees, and then only to bring it back up to 12 degrees again. That's just good sense.

Original poster
Yippiedoo · 30/12/2022 22:17

Miss03852 · 30/12/2022 22:11

Oh my god I hope you are loaded, what a waste of money! Just buy a 15 tog duvet, there is absolutely no need to have it on at night

I have it set to 12 overnight, so rarely comes on as our house retains heat well. At 140 hours we are averaging around 4hrs heating per day leaving it on constant so hoping that's not too bad, and no, we aren't loaded!

OP posts:
Tinkerbyebye · 30/12/2022 22:17

@AFS1

so that’s 230 odd hours a month then?

Comefromaway · 30/12/2022 22:18

My heating doesn’t turn off the same as many modern systems. Setting it to 12 overnight means it only comes on if it’s freezing outside, just enough to stop the pipes freezing.

20 all day is quite high though. Are you in all day? I set mine to 18-19 when I’m in the house in the day and occasionally only to 20 in the evening.

NewBootsAndRanty · 30/12/2022 22:19

I'd be looking at how much energy you've used instead tbh.

Pp saying nobody needs heating overnight - I've got COPD, the WHO recommend a bedroom temperature of 18°. Thick duvets make no difference to air temperature.

JaceLancs · 30/12/2022 22:19

We have 1 hour in a morning and 4 hours at night but only set to 18
im currently paying £167 a month for gas and electric combined and am about £300 in credit at last reading

Timwith2noses · 30/12/2022 22:20

Mine is set to 14 at night and it never drops that low so doesn’t come on. I set the thermostat to the same in summer. It’s just a frost setting really.

I’m confused by the 140 hours a month though if it’s set all day at 20? Mine is set to 18 from 6-8am and again 5-10pm. That’s approx 196 hours a month - I pay £160/month and that covers my dual fuel - still on a historic fixed rate though so cheaper than price cap.

Original poster
Yippiedoo · 30/12/2022 22:20

Comefromaway · 30/12/2022 22:18

My heating doesn’t turn off the same as many modern systems. Setting it to 12 overnight means it only comes on if it’s freezing outside, just enough to stop the pipes freezing.

20 all day is quite high though. Are you in all day? I set mine to 18-19 when I’m in the house in the day and occasionally only to 20 in the evening.

Sorry! Typo. Set at 18 during the day.

OP posts:
WhatLikeItsHard · 30/12/2022 22:21

Um, 140 hours is irrelevant isn't it?

140 hours at 20oc will be more expensive than 140 hours at 19, 18, 17, 16 etc.

Just see what your bill is for this month and then think about turning it down a degree or two if it's expensive?

I would roast alive at 20oc all day.

Original poster
Yippiedoo · 30/12/2022 22:21

Apologies. Typo in .y post..I have it set to 18 during the day not 20.

OP posts:
ScroogeMcDuckling · 30/12/2022 22:23

It’s been on a few hours a day for probably one of the coldest winters in years!

if the place had frozen up and pipes burst it would be loads of hassle and money spent that wouldn’t need to spend.

If you are worried about the bill, just have a “clear out January”, - eat everything in the cupboards, plenty of winter soups, chick pea curry’s etc.

ThisGirlNever · 30/12/2022 22:25

Yippiedoo · 30/12/2022 22:09

So from 1st Dec upto today our heating is showing as being on 140 hours. I leave the heating on constant during the day set to 20, then down to 12 overnight.
Based on others usage, does 140 hours for a month seem reasonable or very high? It's the first time I've tried a full month leaving the heating on constant. My husband won't be happy if we have a huge bill 🙈

For a modern gas boiler, hours on doesn't equal gas usage.

If the boiler is maintaining a temperature, it will modulate down to a lower output (e.g. 20%).

If it is trying to raise the temperature, it must have to run at 100%.

This means that five hours of 'boiler time' maintaining 20°C might not use any more gas than one hour raising the temperature from 16°C to 20°C.

Your boiler might have also run more efficiently when maintaining the 20°C because the flow temperature never needed to go too high.

You need to look at the meter readings. Those are the only numbers that matter.