So I've had to give in and switch on the heating.

[joelallie]

How do I make it the least environmentally damaging I can? We have plenty of insulation and double glazing. We don't want steam heat just to keep it reasonably livable. I've been told that in old houses it's best to leave the CH on very low all the time, than to switch it on for a few hours at a higher temp as then it has to heat up a load of cold air. Does anyone know if this is just a miff or has it some truth.

Dp says the same. I prefer to blast it and then switch off, but I get so cold I feel I can't bear it unless I whop the heating right up. Make sure you all have plenty of woollen jumpers on as well, then you can turn it down a bit. Thermals are great, too.

We dress up like Michelin men ! Comes from my dad who was banging on about global warming decades ago...but who was also so tight he squeaked .

last year i left my on low constantly, house has no insulation, its rented.this year im too scared tohaveit on as combined bill shot up by double the amount im presuming from having it on all the time.

it was my mother that told me it was healthier and cheaper to leave on low all the time, ermthink she was wrong

our house is not that well insulated (got to sort that out), and our heating isn't very efficient - and the thermostat doesn't work! We've lived in the place a year, and in our last house replaced the heating system for 3 grand. We can't afford to do it again
Has anyone had cavity wall insulation done? Did it help? How much is it?

Ours is freezing atm Need to get the hang of the boiler as i am used to a combi.We have been lighting the fire Cheaper and warm!

any insulation is better than none, and more better than less.

Generally it is more efficient to keep the fabric of the house warm with constant low heat, rather than quick blasts. Assuming you have reasonable insulation.

If you keep the walls of the house warm they act as radiators in their own right - gradually releasing their heat to the room as the air cools down.

We have an open fire which we use sometimes. But not sure how much better that is as so much of the heat goes up the chimney and it's still burning fossil fuels or wood. And it's not really that efficient as far as I can see.

Throckenholt - that's what I thought. I need to try and convince DH now.

We have an open fire which we use sometimes. But not sure how much better that is as so much of the heat goes up the chimney and it's still burning fossil fuels or wood. And it's not really that efficient as far as I can see.

Throckenholt - that's what I thought. I need to try and convince DH now.

Bugger! Keep posting everything twice.....

consider replacing the open fire with a wood burning stove. It is much more efficient, and much warmer because the chimney is sealed and the heat goes into the room rather than up the chimney, and no draughts.

Not so romantic but much more practical

I think burning wood is okay, as it's sustainable, and aparently it releases the same amount of CO2 when you burn it, as it it's left to rot.

If you get cavity wall insulation, make sure you do it through the council energy grant thingy. We got the whole house (3 bed det) done for £139. The loft insulation including the garage cost the same amount with them as well.

Only had it done earlier this year though, so can't tell how much difference it makes to the bills yet - have only put the heating on this week though.

Here's a question on a tangent....when you switch on the heating, does your house/flat smell different? Mine does at the moment, and I can't determine whether it's the heating or something else.

Mine currently smells of burning dust

bramshott - yes wood is better as the CO2 that it releases was only absorbed over the last few decades usually. Fossil fuels are releasing CO2 that was absorbed millenia ago and would have remained safely out of action if not for human intervention. However we have a teeny weeny little grate and wood isn't that practical.

if it isn't practical to get a wood burner (have you checked - you can get some pretty small ones) - then consider blocking up the chimney - it really is a great way to lose heat, particularly if you aren't lighting the fire much.

We don't have central heating at all!We live by the sea in Ireland and have a turf fire and wrap up with extra layers-I'm wearing a scarf today because it is qute cold today

-to0 many "Todays"-sorry

Thanks for your responses.

Next question....how do you stop the bl**dy kids from leaving both back and front doors open when they go in and out with their bikes? I've told them not to and why but the word head, banging and brick wall come to mind.....

aaargggghhh!!!

Can you fit those things that pull doors closed ?

According to the law of thermal conductivity, the rate of heat transfer depends upon the temperature gradient (i.e. how hot it is inside compared with outside) and the thermal conductivity of the material (i.e. your house walls) (knew taking physics would come in useful at some point - first time I've used it since I left college 15 years ago ). So if you heat your house all the time, it will lose heat at a faster rate than if you turn off the heating each time you go out and don't need it. As long as you don't put it on full blast to get it really hot when you come in - get a decent thermostat.

Second question - make kids suffer a few days without CH and tell them you'll put it back on when they learn to close the doors. A couple of cold baths might help as well

ballbaby - Thankyou for that! But does that not imply that the temp of the house has to reflect to a certain extent, the temp outside. Which sounds sensible but not very satisfactory somehow when the night time temp falls below freezing. And if the loss of heat depends on the temp gradient, doesn't turning the heat on higher for a short time mean that just as much heat might be lost as turning it on low for a longer period. More heat would be lost in a shorter period in the latter case, and less heat over a constant longer period in the former?

Think the lack of CH might pass my children by TBH - they are never cold.... Little blighters.....

ballbaby is right about heat loss.
However the heating system itself has an efficiency that depends upon amongst other things the temperature of the water being cycled through the boiler.
Assuming you have gas CH it has to warm up before it can transfer any useful heat, and typically the design means that the efficiency (and pollution) of the system increases when you run it hotter.

Also the radiators work by radiated heat (well that's no shock), and so their ability to warm you up drops off very quickly when cooler, and that's not even slightly linear.

Some larger CH system work well below their peak efficiency because the water circulation is poor due to clogged pipes or weak pumps.

So it's a trade off.

J - I think that as long as when you do heat up the house, you just ask the boiler (?!) to heat it up to, say, 18C, and maintain a constant 18C, you are still definitely better to only heat the house when you're in it. It is only if you come in the house and put the heating on full blast to compensate for the cold you feel i.e. ending up at 25C - that would be less environmentally friendly.

That's my theory anyway - we have a combi boiler so I don't know if what DC is saying applies to us?

I agree. if you keep the temperature constant, then the lower it is, the less energy you will use.
But heating then allowing to cool may well be more inefficient.
Being a comib boiler will affect the ranges of efficiency, but the principles ar the same. Every device has a temperature at which it is most efficient.
My understanding of serious heating systems is that they go for a range that trades off comfort against cost. The equipment for this shouldn't be too expensive these days, being mostly sensors, and of course many of us have wireless networks to connect it to the boiler.
I reckon for 2-300 hundred quid, a system could improve both comfort and economy.
The problem would be configuring the damned thing.
It would have to take into account the many types of CH system and structures of homes, as well as where people wanted to be warm.