Home Heating - help with settings

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Hopefully this isn't too confusing a post, but am looking for some advice re heating settings in my house as I can't seem to get it right, and to be honest I don't fully understand the system.

I have central heating (oil) controlled by thermostats on each floor. Currently I have the heating set to come on for an hour in the morning, and the same again in the evening. I'm finding that no matter how much I change the settings, I can't get it to an acceptable level.

I'm wondering if its advisable to set the heating to be permanently on, setting the thermostat at a lower level, then simply turning up the thermostat when I want more heat? Would that use a lot more fuel?

Anyone any advice?
 
An hour of heating in the evening is not very long at all to keep a house warm in winter. That's why it's cold.
 
Lopéz said:
An hour of heating in the evening is not very long at all to keep a house warm in winter. That's why it's cold.
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Even increasing this doesn't make a lot of difference. I'm wondering if leaving the heating turned completely off all during the day makes it a lot harder for the house to heat up to temp when it is on..
 
An hours not going to do much, you need to heat the fabric of the building up for a comfortable heat level, try longer and lower
 
Sorry to butt in...

I have a bungalow which is up for sale and i'm currently staying in one room while the rest is decorated , my room is very cold :(. I tried putting the central heating on but i don't need the whole house warmed up just my room. Is it cheaper to buy a 2000watt heater have that running or shall i just use the central heating?

thanks
 
Unlight said:
I'm wondering if its advisable to set the heating to be permanently on, setting the thermostat at a lower level, then simply turning up the thermostat when I want more heat? Would that use a lot more fuel?
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The issue is the house itself goes cold when the heating is off. Your heating then works flat out trying to heat the walls etc and you won't feel the benefit. I set mine to come on an hour or so before I get home so it has a head start and it's warm when I get in. The other way to do it is to leave it on a low temperature to maintain the house warmth, then click it up a bit when you get home. It'll use more energy that way but you'll be more comfortable.

I think the issue is probably your insulation if the temperature of the house drops that much during the day. Might be worth thinking about slinging a bit more insulation down in the loft and newer double glazing if you're planning to be there for a while.
 
Neil79 said:
Sorry to butt in...

I have a bungalow which is up for sale and i'm currently staying in one room while the rest is decorated , my room is very cold :(. I tried putting the central heating on but i don't need the whole house warmed up just my room. Is it cheaper to buy a 2000watt heater have that running or shall i just use the central heating?

thanks
Click to expand...
I would consider an oil filled radiator.
 
Neil79 said:
Sorry to butt in...

I have a bungalow which is up for sale and i'm currently staying in one room while the rest is decorated , my room is very cold :(. I tried putting the central heating on but i don't need the whole house warmed up just my room. Is it cheaper to buy a 2000watt heater have that running or shall i just use the central heating?

thanks
Click to expand...

Loads of variables to think of, an oil filled heater are usually cheaper to run than a convector or blow heater, can't be a very appetising for a prospective purchaser to enter a freezing house in the winter, it needs to be warm and smelling of coffee and bread :)
 
Unlight said:
Even increasing this doesn't make a lot of difference. I'm wondering if leaving the heating turned completely off all during the day makes it a lot harder for the house to heat up to temp when it is on..
Click to expand...

Is it brick, stone, solid, cavity? Old/new? Double glazing?

Our heating is on for a good 5 or 6 hours of an evening, it's an old solid brick house (although it does have double glazing) so takes more heating than a modern super insulated home.
 
my heating is on from 6-9am then from 4-9pm. nice and warm :D

i do remember reading about leaving heating on 24/7 on a low heat. (19.C)
as other posts, the heat stays in the house, so if you need to turn it up. the boiler gets there quicker, therfore using less gas.

but then the boiler is on all day :confused: so i cant say if this is actually cheaper.
 
j.col said:
but then the boiler is on all day :confused: so i cant say if this is actually cheaper.
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No, it's not cheaper. The house has a rate of loss of heat and if you maintain the temperature it loses that heat all day rather than just in the evening. Simple laws of thermodynamics and heat transfer. It's just more comfortable if you do it that way because you don't have to run the heating flat out.
 
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