Del_Boy Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 what with the change in energy bills since this thread still started, does this situation stay the same? I put my heating on for 3 hours early each morning and a few hours at night when its cold and only twice so far this year all night and have been charged £90 for 3 weeks just for gas, my house is only singled glazed so im wondering to just leave it on full on on lower setting and see what happens, I also turned the kno on the heaters in rooms that are not eing used but do not know if this makes a diffrence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppet2 Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 what with the change in energy bills since this thread still started, does this situation stay the same? I put my heating on for 3 hours early each morning and a few hours at night when its cold and only twice so far this year all night and have been charged £90 for 3 weeks just for gas, my house is only singled glazed so im wondering to just leave it on full on on lower setting and see what happens, I also turned the kno on the heaters in rooms that are not eing used but do not know if this makes a diffrence? That's extortionate. How many rooms in your house? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del_Boy Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 That's extortionate. How many rooms in your house? 2 large bedrooms and a boxroom bedroom, single glazed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppet2 Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 2 large bedrooms and a boxroom bedroom, single glazed Can you just confirm, Flat or house? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppins Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I have gas central heating but I keep the vents all open, my vents are in the floors so I have reflectors over them to direct the heat downwards, no reason to heat the ceilings as heat rises, also some of the vents have furniture over them so I have extenders over those ones, I never turn it off I just set the thermostat to what I want, my house is open floor plan to each room stays the same temp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eater Sundae Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 You can believe what you like Thermodynamics was a module in my engineering degree btw Were you off sick on that day? Dhimmi (and a few others) were spot on. The total amount of energy you need to put into your house equals the total amount of energy lost to outside (either through the fabric of the house via conduction or convection, or through air changes via air infiltration). All of these heat losses are directly proportional to difference in temperature between outside and inside, AND for how long that difference in temperature exists. The less the difference in temperature, then the less the heat loss, then the less energy used. So, if you let the temperature drop when you don't need heating, like when you're out, OR you are prepared to accept a lower temperature when you are in (and put on some thick socks and a jumper) then you will save energy. ON/OFF, or ON/REDUCED OUTPUT will always use less energy than ON CONTINUOUSLY Depending on the insulation levels in the house, the built in thermal storage capacity of the structure and the way the heating system operates (for example, coal is less instantaneous than gas) all affect how much saving would be gained from on/off operation, but in all cases, there would be a saving. Although not discussed in this thread, there are often similar threads regarding heating of water in a domestic cylinder. Again the same applies for exactly the same reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del_Boy Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Can you just confirm, Flat or house? it is a house Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppet2 Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Were you off sick on that day? Dhimmi (and a few others) were spot on. The total amount of energy you need to put into your house equals the total amount of energy lost to outside (either through the fabric of the house via conduction or convection, or through air changes via air infiltration). All of these heat losses are directly proportional to difference in temperature between outside and inside, AND for how long that difference in temperature exists. The less the difference in temperature, then the less the heat loss, then the less energy used. So, if you let the temperature drop when you don't need heating, like when you're out, OR you are prepared to accept a lower temperature when you are in (and put on some thick socks and a jumper) then you will save energy. ON/OFF, or ON/REDUCED OUTPUT will always use less energy than ON CONTINUOUSLY Depending on the insulation levels in the house, the built in thermal storage capacity of the structure and the way the heating system operates (for example, coal is less instantaneous than gas) all affect how much saving would be gained from on/off operation, but in all cases, there would be a saving. Although not discussed in this thread, there are often similar threads regarding heating of water in a domestic cylinder. Again the same applies for exactly the same reason. Good explanation. However, what about electric hot water cylinders, should they be permanently on, or turned off? Reason I ask is because someone told me if you switch it off, it will work out more expensive to heat up when you finally need hot water as you will be heating up the whole cylinder. To not turn it off will mean it will switch itself off when it has reached a certain temperature throughout he day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S10mainly Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 its cheaper and "better" to leave the system on a low level permanatly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eater Sundae Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Good explanation. However, what about electric hot water cylinders, should they be permanently on, or turned off? Reason I ask is because someone told me if you switch it off, it will work out more expensive to heat up when you finally need hot water as you will be heating up the whole cylinder. To not turn it off will mean it will switch itself off when it has reached a certain temperature throughout he day. Because cylinders are usually well insulated, it probably doesn't make a lot of difference. However, the same principle applies. If you don't actually need hot water for several hours, then if you let the water cylinder cool a little, there will be less heat loss to the surrounding area. Any loss to the surrounding area has to be made up by extra energy being put back into the water. So less heat loss will save money. However, the savings might not be much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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