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

157 replies

WhizzBangCaligula · 22/11/2006 12:07

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?

OP posts:
TheHighwayCod · 22/11/2006 14:47

aha!!!!!! dh who is flexes man HQ
has just got a new one

hub2dee · 22/11/2006 14:55

Cod, deciphering you would have defeated those operating Enigma many years ago, LOL.

I presume you mean dh has one too and his was well saggy when driving at breakneck speeds through the Fine English Countryside but that he also made a request to TomTom (who we all love) for a more sturdy and rigid member, and that he is now fulfilled ?

Sadly the UPS driver couldn't find my house because he was a twig short of a bundle and I am still waiting, but hopeful to reach Nirvana within a week or so.

alittlebitshy · 22/11/2006 15:00

i'm a little confused. Our house doens't have a thermostat - each radiator has a temp control. what would i do in this cse?

hub2dee · 22/11/2006 15:02

TRVs on all rads (except one) is the usual recommendation, this doesn't preclude the use of a thermostat at all.

I fyou don't have one in the house, the house temp control is just intiated by the timer on the boiler IYSWIM.

hub2dee · 22/11/2006 15:02

ie. if you want one, buy one and get it wired in IYSWIM !

MerlinsBeard · 22/11/2006 17:47

right then Mr Boiler expert man....

my boiler is new (installed Jan just gone) there is no temp timer thing on teh boiler, i have a thermostat for temp in teh hall. Best and most cost effectoive then is to....?? keep radiator temps down as well as temp on thermo? I need the boiler on all the time as we would have no hot water but i have the option to switch teh heating on and off.

flutterbee · 22/11/2006 18:03

We have a brand new Baxi boiler put in last week and we have a wirelessthermostat/control panel that is fab.

We have got it set at the moment to keep the house at 21c from 6am-8am, 11am-1pm and then 6pm-10pm and then the rest of the time it is set to kick in if the temperature falls below 18c.

hub2dee · 22/11/2006 18:13

flutterbee - that is just super. You will tweak the settings over the next few days so you're all comfortable, and maybe change them as winter gets worse of spring lessens the need to feel quite so warm IYSWIM, but those kind of systems are fab.

mom - I'm not Boiler Expert, but I know enough to know that a thermostat is A Good Thing. . 1) Are you sure there is no 'temp thing' on the boiler... cos there should be one to control the temperature of the water in your heating circuit. 2) When you say you need the boiler on all the time for hot water, I presume you had a combi boiler installed, is that correct ? (when you turn on hot tap it fires up for however long tap is open). 3) Is the thermostat in the hall programmable (ie does it have a timer) ? Or is it just a knob you turn ? If it is just a knob, I'd upgrade to a programmable stat. But to answer your question, if your house is well-insulated, and you would liek your house to be warm when you come back from work, I would leave it on all the time.

hub2dee · 22/11/2006 18:14

(Oh and you can move the wireless sender into baby's room if that is relevant, or into the living room if you're entertaining etc. so whatever is the principal zone you're interested in 'keeping just right' it's always spot-on.

saggarmakersbottomknocker · 22/11/2006 18:32

lol hub - you're getting a proper reputation as a Boiler geek.

hub2dee · 22/11/2006 18:35

Makes a change from everyone saying "oh, that's the guy with the incredible six pack" I suppose.
LOL.

saggarmakersbottomknocker · 22/11/2006 18:42

Oh I bet you get that all the time....

NOT!

hub2dee · 22/11/2006 18:52

About as often as I get called a Boiler geek.

Stella tinny anyone ?

MerlinsBeard · 22/11/2006 19:00

its a bit complicated hub! my boiler is a combi boiler. there are temp controls for heating AND water (had to check after i had posted) which are on about half, well the water one is, the heating one doesn't seem to make a diff. The timer which i can use to set the heating to come on/go off is next to that and the thing in the hall controls the temp for the heating and seems to click on if the house rewaches a certain temp i think...am i making sense or talking bollocks?!

hub2dee · 22/11/2006 19:32

Perfect sense. One knob is the output temperature of your hot water for washing up etc. That'll vary between about 50 and 60. The other knob is the temperature of the water in the radiator circuit. That knob'll change the temperature of the water in the closed circuit serving the rads... BUT thermostatic radiator valves on individual rads can 'throttle back' the flow so a given rad can be maintained cooler than the others if needed.

The timer thing on your boiler controls when the boiler will 'pay attention' (be governed by) the thermostat in the hall. Outside of these hours it'll just be 'off' / ignoring it / only giving you hot water for washing up IYSWIM.

For greater control, you need a programmble thermostat - this will combine the features of the timer (controlling when stuff happens) with the thermostat (controlling how hot the house gets) so you can set, say, a similar program to Flutterbee: toasty in the early morning, a little cooler during the day, toasty at bath time, cooler again at night.

I would turn your rads up (on the thermostatic valves if fitted, else on the lock valves) until the room they are in seems to rise to a comfortable temperature when the boiler is on and heating the house IYSWIM. This might mean you want the rad in the bathroom up high (as they're often cold) but the rad in the master bedroom lower (as they're often warm, and you don't want to sweat buckets at night IYSWIM). Well, not unless you're with a man with an impressive six pack.

Sooooooo.... to answer your specific issue, you could leave your boiler on all the time and just twiddle the knob in the hall to set your comfort level as you go in and out, or through the day, else you could invest in a programmable stat, else you could do what you are presently doing and have the timer set so that for some of the day it's off, and for some of the night it's off, but other times things are set to whatever the hall 'stat is set on.

The choice, as they say, is yours.

hth

MerlinsBeard · 22/11/2006 19:51

thank you

robinpud · 22/11/2006 20:03

this is absolute boiler porn hub... you are an impressive fount of knowledge. Will put facny wireless control thingy on next year's xmas list to complement my combi boiler. don'tneed it this year as off to Sydney in 32 days time for a year. Today's temp in Sydney 38degrees!!!

hub2dee · 22/11/2006 20:06

It is a dreadfully filthy industry. LOL.

Is Sydney for work, a holiday, or is this where you migrate for Winter (if you don't mind my nosing ?)

robinpud · 22/11/2006 20:09

Dh doing work exchange.. myself doing the lady of leisure thing.. one year only so will return in Jan 2008 wanting to sleep in the boiler no doubt!

essbee · 22/11/2006 20:11

Message withdrawn

robinpud · 22/11/2006 20:12

Should have said it's where I winter m'dear don't you know?! If only

dh very scared of spiders and worried I will allow children to cultivate them and nurture them and ultimately kids will come to a grizzly end due to my wilfully ignoring the risks. He wants me to put lego in their shoesnow so they get used to shaking them out...yawn

sorry this should be bolier porn shouldn't it?

Lovely sleek stramlined silent object of heat...

hub2dee · 22/11/2006 20:17

Wow, sounds like a wonderful year ahead. Do you have school-age children or much younger ? You must be v. v. excited and a bit stressed LOL. Good luck with your packing etc.

essbee - you will save money by lowering the stat and putting on a jumper. but if you like to be warm, try just lowering it a little during the day from about 10ish to 3ish and in the night form about 11 / midnight to 6 / 7 and you'll save a little on your heating bills.

robinpud · 22/11/2006 20:25

Thanks Hub. Yes we have 1 aged 9 and 1 aged 5 and yes we have so much to do that soon I am going to go off and do yet more lists! They live in our house to add to the stress!
Big hijack but any ideas as to why my ipod has decided to repeat every track and podcast?

hub2dee · 22/11/2006 20:31

Yes. Menu Settings Repeat - should be off, yours is once maybe ?????

I am sure both will have a ball at their new school(s) then. Will they be in the same school ? Is there a chance they will just become so attached to the place and their new friends and the beach etc. that you / dh will seek to stay on etc. or is this a deffo '12 months and you're back' type of thing ?

Can I continue on my nosy parker theme and ask if this has implications for your home in the UK.... (cos I'm contemplating disappearing to see if the grass is indeed greener) and am wondering whether you approach friends (ie you can leave a fair amount of crap in the house) or you empty it completely (rent unfurnished) or you rent it out furnished, or maybe you rent instead of own at the mo ? (feel free to gracefully decline my request for info if you'd prefer not to comment, no hard feelings). (Oh also, are you getting rid of cars etc. ? I'm thinking about all this kind of stuff, see).

robinpud · 22/11/2006 20:47

hub

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