Can I have a definitive answer to "what is the cheapest - time switch or leaving the boiler on all the time" please?

[WhizzBangCaligula]

Is there a definitive answer?

Everyone's horrified that I'm leaving my boiler on all the time (just turning it down at night and up again in the morning) but I keep reading/ hearing that that is the cheapest. Then people look horrified and I get uneasy.

Who knows?

Yes I like the sound of that temp timer. Have never heard of them, and my boiler is new (installed in Feb)

brussels

no
glasgow
he can visit nailey

gawd calig - it pisses me off when they do that. It's their f'ing mistake (miscalculating your payments) yet you are now the one who has to sweat about it.

is he home after that?

you should go up to glasgow and surprise him. Get a night in a swish hotel (do they have them in glasgow?).

boiler pumps are not big consumers of current, sag. Maybe same as running a 60W or 100W light bulb ? (Probably a lot less, LOL). Also, they only operate when the boiler is on, and a thermostat cycles that on and off...

hub, unfortunately my landlord didn't exactly pay top dollar for programable boilers.

ours also have the tendancy to randomly shut themselves off

ooh hub
you are a mine of .. erm.............. information!

Well, when my water heater was on gas, then we left it on all the time _ it worked out the same as just having it on for morning and evening.

Our new house has an electric boiler, and we can only afford to heat the water for a few hours each day (I jest not - I kept it on all the time for 6 months and the bill was over £1,400!).

Not sure that that gives anyone a sensible answer...

We have our boiler on all the time the plumber did say that it would be more expensive this way but it does mean that it is always nice and toasty and I have really cold bones and grew up in an igloo so for us it is the best option.

there must be an authoratitive website

do you lot turn your ehating OFF if you go away

Oooo ta hub. I'm off to switch my boiler on!

fis - you can probably buy a thermostatic unit, or a timer / thermostat and get a sparky / plumber to wire it to the boiler, reaplcing the existing timer IYSWIM.

If you're going to be out all day and really want to watch the £, and don't mind wearing a jumper when you get back in, Caligula, you could switch it off. An optimising thermostat could be used and it would guesstimate how early it would need to turn on to make your house 19 degrees by 6pm IYSWIM.

pinkT - doubtless landlord went el cheapo route, by the controllability is usually independent of the boiler control IYSWIM, ie. you can plug a 'stat into most boilers, replacing the on-boiler timer feature (I imagine this isn't always the case, but often manufacturers will have interchangeable modules for the 'controller' part of their boiler and you can choose no control (ie just on / off), timer control, thermostat control, wireless thermostatic control etc.

hth

Cod - stop dreaming a buy that Honeywell unit I mentioned.

LINK to miss honeybun

no, we don't turn the heating off if we go away in case it gets really cold and the pipes freeze

we do put it on a different timing though

(Cod - am trying to find exact number of Watts but failing miserably).

try harder

You could just leave it on frost setting ont he stat. If the pipes are about to freeze, it'll kick in.

Some boilers actually have a frost stat built in,, you might want to check.

am off to examine boiler in detail now, thanks hub

No I'm in all day (work from home) and I hate not being comfortable in my own home. For me, being cold and putting another jumper on is just miserable, because my feet are still cold, my hands are cold, etc. I have to have heat, but I just want to make sure I'm getting it the cheapest way possible. And that does sound like for my circumstances, it's having the boiler on full time.

I think you've all answered my question! But I do still wonder if there is a definitive site. Am becoming a boiler-bore.

But the point is, have the boiler on all the time, but use a programmable thermostat to keep the house tolerably warm (but deffo not 'toasty' when you're out IYSWIM.

Drop down to 16 degrees if you're out, drop down to 18 degrees at midnight say, but if you're home and want to feel non-miserable, keep it at 20 IYSWIM. Lovely boosting to 21 at bath time etc. etc.

hth

Cod - have given up. Please be gentle with me or there's no way I'll come up, install a wireless thermostat in your house and redecorate your hall.

hub2dee we have the system that you describe but we keep it at 23 . Maybe dh has a point when he walks through the door and shouts "it f**kin hot in ere!"

LOL. You should be running around nekkid at that temp.

hub is getting excited by al the fmale adoration

Only thing I'm excited about is possibly getting a replacement windscreen adaptor for my TomTom and for you to nail the little oik who nicked it out of my glovebox.