So where we're staying has just had British gas install Smart Meters for both gas and electricity. We've been here over the summer when obviously gas wasn't needed much, but it's now Coooooooooooooold so the central heating is on etc. I've never really been in charge of these bills before so it's a learning experience.
Currently we're using around £6-7 in fuel a day, according to the meters. I'd say about £4-5 of that is the gas. I'm thinking I can turn down the water heating a bit as it's on when the central heating is on (Twice daily).
But I'm also wondering whether I could drop the hot water heating lots more, and flip the immersion heater on 10 mins before we really need hot water. Looking at the consumption/cost rates when the boiler is on, it works out roughly the same as the immersion heater does in electricity, plus where the immersion heater takes 10 mins to get to boiling, the gas boiler just about gets the water warm/hot.
Thoughts, reading on the internet about money saving tips there's a lot of conflicting information and a lot of it is rather old too, when prices were lower.
If your immersion heater is working better than your boiler for heating water then I would have your boiler checked or check the stat on the tank.
Immersion heaters are horrible inefficient things.
I leave my heating and water on 24/7 and set to 20c and 60c. The water kicks the boiler in once a day for maybe 15mins and we always have nice hot water.
The heating kicks in a couple of times a day to top up the heat when it drops to 19.5c.
My theory is that because I dont let the house get cold the boiler never needs to run for more than a couple of minutes every couple of hours, rather than having to run flat out for hours on end trying to heat a cold house.
The boiler is probably 7-10 years old. I'll check the stat on the tank. Next week I'm going to try having the heat on all the time and controlling via the thermostat to see if it makes much of a difference.
how old is the house ?
as long as it's a bit older, so it's got some decent thermal mass to it then it's much better to leave the heating on all the time because your boiler (unless it's really really old) will run at lower power, where it's much much more efficient...
also, 60'C boiler temp is about the best... especially if it's a condensing boiler
(any hotter than this and it's too hot for the steam to condense, so it's just like a normal boiler.. or worse :o )
water heating... on constant is better too... because the hot water tank will be pretty well insulated... and any heat you do lose out of it will be warming your house anyway so it's no real loss :-)
£5/day for gas in the winter is pretty good tbh... could be a lot worse...
other than checking your loft is insulated etc.. there's not much else you can do :-o
I think part of my *panic* is that we got the smart meter installed pretty much at the end of the last summer bill cycle. We had a bill for about £150 for 3 months in the summer. At the current rate our bill will be at least £550 for the 3 coming winter months. From what I gather though usually 80% of the gas usage is in the 3 coldest months of the year, so hopefully it won't be too bad :S
It's an old bungalow, probably 20+ years. There is insulation in the loft, how good it is I don't know. This place was always pretty warm when my grandmother lived here!
Will try a constant low temp next week to see if it makes a difference. Good thing about the smart meter is it can tell you consumption rates from 30min blocks up to monthly, so I know what we're using when. I'll make a note of the last 7 days tomorrow and then see how it goes next week. I have noticed that when the boiler kicks on it uses a lot to start then eases out.
My gas bill is £450+ a quarter in the winter.
That's heating the house for just four hours a day... :disappointed:
Well I did an experiment to see if on 24/7 or twice daily makes a difference.
Answer = on 24/7 is about £1-2 more expensive a day, but it varied mostly on whether we used a lot of hot water. However it was much more comfortable during the day in here.
Hot water should not be lower than 55 C (otherwise there is a risk of bacterial growth) so a tad under 60 would do. Insulation not only in attic, walls, 2 or 3 layers of glass in windows (but work to do and hard to figure out how long before it pays of).
Quote from: zpyder on December 10, 2013, 12:43:21 PM
Well I did an experiment to see if on 24/7 or twice daily makes a difference.
Answer = on 24/7 is about £1-2 more expensive a day, but it varied mostly on whether we used a lot of hot water. However it was much more comfortable during the day in here.
try on 24/7.... but turn toyr thermostat down 2'C
should still be ncie and warm / conferrable... and then work out cheaper ;)
Is that right? When the central heating's on it heats the water too?
Quote from: Eagle on December 10, 2013, 22:51:43 PM
Is that right? When the central heating's on it heats the water too?
It depends on how it was valved up. Some systems will heat the hot water aswell when the central heating is on and some have the 2 completely separate. Ours is separate, can heat the radiators without the water and vice versa if wanted.
*experiments*
Mine you can control CH and water separately, but I figure that you tend to need the water when you want the warmth too, so it's set at the same timings.
Tried the 2 degrees lower thing Knighty, the GF was too cold!
Warm her up, then! :heehaw: :heehaw: :heehaw:
What boiler do you have?
Start with the basics.
Some are more expensive than others in how you use them.
I have a condensing boiler.
Hot water is always turned on & up to max.
Boiler heats the water as & when I need it. There is no water tank.
As for heating the 24/7 route is only worthwhile if someone is in the house most of the day.
Try the basics like making sure your radiators have been bleeded.
Make sure all the radiator gets hot & not just the bottom.
Foil behind any radiators that are on a cold or outside wall, this stops the heat going straight from the radiators into the brick walls.
Look at replacing the boiler - you might be eligible for a grant. If your unemployed, you may even get it for free. My next door neighbour had a shiny new boiler installed last month & she is on benefits.
Heard that combi boilers fire up when you turn on the hot water tap... So when washing your hands during a day, they burn crap tons of gas heating water that spends its time going through the pipes, only for you to turn off the hot water tap before it comes out of the thing.
Guy from swalec said it was about £90 a year in wasted gas.
depends on your house. You're not wasting gas on keeping a tank full of water hot. Also, it still takes time for the water to get form the boiler to your tap.
I am lucky as My Boiler is right above my Kitchen & my bathroom next to where the boiler is. So the longest the hot water has to go is about 5m of piping to the kitchen sink & 2m to the bathroom.
I get hot water out of the kitchen tap in less than 10 seconds. Shower is almost instant.
The boiler is only used when I shower really. Dont use hot water out of a tap often.
Dishwasher heats the cold water up.
My average gas bill is less than £40 a month averaged over 12 months (always below the suppliers estimate - but my eleccy is always over!).
I also a full gas range cooker.
Quote from: Eggtastico on December 11, 2013, 15:11:55 PM
Make sure all the radiator gets hot & not just the bottom.
heat rises. its an impressive trick for the bottom to get warm and not the top. ;) ive got a rad which does the opposite. it sometimes can get a cold pocket near the exit. usually caused by one of them fancy baffled rads that has an airlock. smacking it usually helps.
one more to add to the list.
get a boiler engineer out to tune the boiler and rads. we've been spanking our boiler all year and still couldnt get the office room warm.
turns out the boiler was on a low setting and was only putting 42 degree hot water out. should be 70 odd. he tuned the boiler then turned some of the rads down until all rooms got warm at same rate.
and another one. get a remote thermostat.
take it into the room you use most. turn the rads in rooms you dont use at all down a little. you wont believe how many houses have the thermostat in the hallway. why? you spend no time in there and its drafty.
Quote from: bytejunkie on December 19, 2013, 12:28:22 PM
Quote from: Eggtastico on December 11, 2013, 15:11:55 PM
Make sure all the radiator gets hot & not just the bottom.
heat rises. its an impressive trick for the bottom to get warm and not the top. ;) ive got a rad which does the opposite. it sometimes can get a cold pocket near the exit. usually caused by one of them fancy baffled rads that has an airlock. smacking it usually helps.
if a radiator is full of air and needs bleeding, it'll be cold at the top where the air pocked is :-)
Quote from: bytejunkie on December 19, 2013, 12:28:22 PM
Quote from: Eggtastico on December 11, 2013, 15:11:55 PM
Make sure all the radiator gets hot & not just the bottom.
heat rises. its an impressive trick for the bottom to get warm and not the top. ;) ive got a rad which does the opposite. it sometimes can get a cold pocket near the exit. usually caused by one of them fancy baffled rads that has an airlock. smacking it usually helps.
Air dont heat the radiators, hot water does! Also its a pressured system filled with water. If there is any air in the system, then it usually found in a radiator as the pressure is not pushing the water all around the rads.
if the rads arent balanced you could get cold radiators.
Quote from: bytejunkie on December 19, 2013, 12:31:41 PM
turns out the boiler was on a low setting and was only putting 42 degree hot water out. should be 70 odd. he tuned the boiler then turned some of the rads down until all rooms got warm at same rate.
balancing.
http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/DIY/how-balance-radiators
Bled our radiators as the dining room was cold in the top half. Couldn't believe how much air was in it. The rest were fine though.
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Quote from: zpyder on December 19, 2013, 20:03:38 PM
Bled our radiators as the dining room was cold in the top half. Couldn't believe how much air was in it. The rest were fine though.
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Is there a pressure gauge on your boiler? you may need to top the water up - that air needs to be replaced with water.
How about about 16 p a day per room 5 rooms 80 p :) unless u have small rooms it will be less :D
http://www.trueactivist.com/how-to-easily-heat-your-home-using-flower-pots-tea-lights/