most efficient way to run heating system

[ambrosia]

just came back from a landlord safety and the customer asked me an interesting question which i had to bluff my way through

she was adamant that she was using more gas in the summer than winter, not price but actual usage.
she had a flat mate who had been adjusting the programmer but he's now left so he she didnt know which settings he had tried

she has a y plan heating system, a water cylinder with an old style red sleeping bag type insulation, 3 people live in the property (no kids) and all 3 work and are not at home during the day

which is the most efficient way to control the hot water, 'constant, once or auto,' how much of a differerence will it make and will it be enough to use more gas in the summer than in the winter with both heating and water on

thanks
Seth

ps she says someone has been to read the meter 4 times and it wasnt an estimated bill

 

[SimonJohns]

I say constant but it depends on cylinder lagging and install etc

 

[arran197]

I'd say timed. Auto. Just to come on about 45 mins before they get home. Same with the heating. Depends on the boiler though, some might need a bit longer or a bit less time to heat the water up.

 

[AWheating]

with 3 jumpers and 2 pairs of trousers on!

it depends on the use of the property, but i would say timed normally.

 

[dontknowitall]

Great debate on this topic on the forum a while back.

As I remember, the summary was it depends on how well the house holds the heat. A well insulated house is cheaper to run by keeping the heating on continuously (but low) and a poorly insulated house in two bursts, shorter one in the morning.

 

[doitmyself]

she was adamant that she was using more gas in the summer than winter, not price but actual usage.
she had a flat mate who had been adjusting the programmer but he's now left so he she didnt know which settings he had tried

You shouldn't use more in the summer, even with "sleeping bag insulation" round the cylinder. Sounds as if the ex-flatmate had been fiddling.

Might be worth getting a second sleeping bag and putting it on top if the first. Don't do them up too tight; they need room to expand - like loft insulation.

Set the timer so there are two HW periods - morning and evening. If the timer has a boost button you can always use that if necessary (e.g. at weekends).

 

[secret squirrel]

My hot water comes on twice a day,

However, my heating is on a programmeable room stat, permanently on but changes temp throughout the day, the stat is in the living room. This is the most used and coldest room in the house and the rads in this room do not(obviously) have TRV's on them, the house is well insulated.

I've also balanced all the rads in the house so the the living room gets the lion share of the heat, the remaining rads have trv's on them.

Since doing this my bills have dropped or should I say not increased. That in itself is saying something with today's gas prices.

Only downside was when the heating came on 'she who must be obeyed' complained that it was cold upstairs. I explained it'd help a great deal if she shut the windows, they were all open.......

I did explain warm air heating to her at length and said the cheap option was for her to keep talking C###!

 

[mikgee]

As already stated, it depends on the household and their requirements, its a fine line between a cheap running system and the system not giving you what you require. If you have people in the house all  day I would suggest constant, in this case as they are out at work all day, I would reccomend auto and imed to come on twice a day half our before they get up and half before they get home.