Most efficient way to heat house (Combi Boiler)

[HungryHippos]

Evening all,

I live in a relatively small property, about the size of a 2 bedroom flat.

I have an "Ideal" Combi Boiler installed, and I have two thermostatic control units (wired up backwards by the builders!) in the property controlling the temperatures that the boiler heats the property up to.

Currently I have the heating coming on in the morning between 07:30 - 09:30 heating the property to 21 degrees, and in the evening between the same hours again to the same temperature. For the rest of the time it's not running the heating.

I'd really like to understand what is the most efficient way to heat my property, would leaving it on more often but heating to a lower temperature be more efficient?

I pay Scottish Power £60 a month DD, and I take meter readings every month. I have been using between £25-£30 a month on electric, and this last month about £30 on gas as well.

Any advice given is welcome. My shift patterns mean I can start/finish work up to 3 hours apart from week to week, but I can adjust the times the heating comes on relatively easily.

 

[budwozza]

I am experimenting with our Combi boiler - I have read that its best to set the flow temp low ish (enough obviously to heat the house )but also so that the return temp is lower (the lower the better) than the flow so that the condensing part of the boiler does its job, this also uses less fuel apparently. Apaarently the greater the difference in the temp from the flow to the return, the more efficient the condensing part of the boiler works, hence using less fuel.

 

[FlyingFish]

The idea behind having programmable room thermostats is that the house isnt allowed to drop massively in temperature so never requiring the boiler to work hard getting the house back up to temp...Which is the old traditional method of ON/OFF ON/OFF timings.

Radiator thermostats are set to control the temp of the room, and are a very efficient way of running the radiators.

Setting the boiler thermostat to a low temp on a modern condensing boiler might not be the best way to heat the house.. The bigger the temperature difference between the radiator and the air then the better the heat transfer from the rad to the air. Modern boilers have temp sensors on both the flow and return pipes, so monitor the temp leaving the boiler and also what is coming back from the system to be reheated. The boiler is programmed to use this information to run the boiler at its most efficient.

Weather compensation is a good idea, and I would like to see that more mainstream than what it is now, as i think the weather has a massive part to play in how we feel (temperature) and whether we actually need the heating on, when the house might not be up to temperature, but its a warm/mild day and we actually 'feel' warm!

Modern digistats can also learn how your property heats up and cools down and will adjust its settings accordingly to run efficiently too. That can trip a few people out, if you dont inform them

If you were to experiment with your own property, then you would need to make note of your gas usage over a set period and the weather/temperature you are heating the house up against.

Have fun
Mick

 

[cb_linus]

I have a Logic Combi 30 in a small two bed house, currently with British Gas - it's a well insulated new build. At present I don't have the central heating on (although I have experimented with it) but I have the boiler set to pre-heat the hot water. For whatever reason, this also has the effect of heating up any radiator with it's thermostat turned up - any radiator set to it's maximum temperature is warm to the touch, contributing to a nice warm ambiance to the whole house. Gas bills at present seem to be averaging around £30 per month (edit: projected monthly average over a year's usage), although I suspect the insulation is playing a big part in this as well.

 

[FlyingFish]

Insulation does play a large part in your energy costs. But if your radiators are heating up when the boiler is preheating then you have a faulty valve inside your boiler. If you have British Gas cover them get them to sort it. If not then get a good independent to do it, cos BG will rob you blind otherwise!

Mick

 

[cb_linus]

Insulation does play a large part in your energy costs. But if your radiators are heating up when the boiler is preheating then you have a faulty valve inside your boiler. If you have British Gas cover them get them to sort it. If not then get a good independent to do it, cos BG will rob you blind otherwise!

Mick

Thanks, I'll get it checked out - I'd never been entirely sure if this feature it was by design or accident - looking in the manual (several times) and searching the internet wasn't all that clear :/