heating costs

[katdarn79]

The gas is costing a fortune at the minute and what i want to know is does it cost less if i turn the radiators off in the rooms i am not using? Im just trying to save money at the minute so any tips on this matter gratefully recieved. Many thanks, Kathryn.

[honey33]

id like to know that answer too...we are with BG and have just used 290 units and paid £106 and that was just for 1MONTH we live in a very small terraced house ..... also we have our gas on timer would it be more efficient if we have the gas on all day just ticking over

[katdarn79]

Hi, im on a meter at the minute and im been really carefull turning radiators off in the rooms im not useing and im still spending around £20 a week even doing this. And that is only heating my room and bathroom.

[honey33]

its crazy isnt it... ive put the timer on boiler for 2hrs in morn and 6 hours at night and c if that makes a difference....

[honey33]

also i have a bath every night and ppl say it cost £1 to run a bath.. so im maybe thinking of using the shower more instead

[boxtops]

We have our central heating on all the time in the winter months, but it's on a thermostat so only comes on if the temp drops below about 17 degrees C. I have a draughty four-storey Victorian terrace and I pay about £40 a month for my gas. I don't cook with it, just the boiler for central heating and hot water. I'm with BG. Are you sure that your meter is reading correctly?

[TTG]

Be careful rooms that have rads off are well aired. i.e. leave doors ajar and open window slightly for a while in a morning (if you can that is as it's not the best weather to have them open at the moment). Don't have cupboards of anything blocking air moving near outside walls.

[The-HouseHusband]

It may pay off to fit thermostatic valves to all the radiators so you can regulate the heat in each room. This prevents damp problems by at least putting some warmth into rooms, if you are paying that much i would suggest getting your system checked, seems to be a lot of gas used for very little heat return. As for running the heating on a lower temperature but keeping it on all day, dont. It is a real waste of energy and money and wont give any benefits over running the heating on a timer.

[ummmm]

What kind of boiler do you have? Is it a combi? Turn the thermostat down at the boiler and if the rads also have thermo valves then turn the rads down by them in the rooms you don't use. Then set it to timer...

If you have an old fashioned boiler and immersion it could be cheaper to have it on constantly but at a lower temp...

My Aunty has just bought some halogen heaters. So far they are working out much cheaper than central heating. Haven't checked it out myself but worth looking into.

[buildersmate]

check out how much insulation is in the roofspace and put more in if less than 250mm fibreglass.
Device methods to stop draughts.
Those are your two best bets to try and bring the usage down.
Yes, turning down (or off) the rads in rooms you are not using means less gas is consumed.

[honey33]

i have a combi boiler and its only 6yrs old... can the gas meter thingy be faulty maybe and running faster than it should

[Boto]

Re the reply mentioning halogen heaters - my friend has one and it gives out very little heat and she has had to replace them very quickly. I would have to have another source of heat as well.

[rov1200]

Heating costs are now a joke. What we have done is to turn the thermostat on the CH down to a low temperature and run a calor gas fire in the lounge which is currently on just 1 strip.

[rov1200]

Also at bedtime we use those wheat bags which you put in the microwave for about a minute. These keep you warm enough in bed.

[ummmm]

Electric blankets are very cheap to run nowadays...

[katdarn79]

Thanks for your reply's and once i've typed this i'm going to turn the thermostat down in the boiler and see how that goes.

Kathryn

[karenmac60]

Very true Ummmm - I've taken to leaving heating off during the day and staying in bed with my blanket on. I can't believe how much the gas is costing, I put £5 in the meter and it lasts about a day and a bit and that's with the heating on low and on a timer!

[deggers316]

boto
a lot of people think because the halogen heaters are VERY bright they give a lot of heat off,but the most popular tall ones are around 1200 to 1400 watts so not very good , ok for small rooms or spot heating say early morning if you dont have c/h on ,if people read whats on the side of the boxes there in they might understand what they are actually buying

[boxtops]

I have to disagree with our own experience of the costs of leaving the heating on all day - we have done this for years during the winter and the heating only clicks in when the temperature drops below the temperature on the thermostat. It takes less power to reheat the system than it does to keep it chugging low all day - same for the hot water. I tried a comparison of both methods some years back and it was worth keeping on the heating!

[bookbinder]

katdarn79, if it's of any interest, I'll tell you what my wife and I do with our central heating. There's just the two of us. We have a 3-bed detached bungalow (built 1994), about 270 ft. above sea level, not an exposed position, in Yorkshire. We did an experiment a few years ago and decided that it was more economical to leave the (gas-fired) heating on 24 hrs. a day from mid-October to mid-April than to have it coming on and off twice a day. We don't cook with gas, and we have showers, not baths. From 3. Sep. 2008 to 6. Mar. 2009 we paid £345.52 to Atlantic Electric & Gas for our gas. We control the heating via the wall-mounted room thermostat. During the day, it's set on 18 - 20 degs. Centigrade, at night it goes down to 18 degs. If we go out during the day, we set it on 18 degs. These settings depend on the weather, of course, but these figures are about right for us.

[ummmm]

Boxy - not if you have a combi boiler though.