{"id":2175,"date":"2018-01-29T15:48:09","date_gmt":"2018-01-29T15:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/?p=2175"},"modified":"2018-10-05T18:02:12","modified_gmt":"2018-10-05T17:02:12","slug":"heating-continuous-timed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/heating-continuous-timed\/","title":{"rendered":"Heating on Continuously or Timed?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Central<\/a><\/p>\n

Should I Leave My Boiler On Continuously?<\/span><\/h2>\n

“So what’s the truth, then?”<\/span><\/p>\n

Our friendly boiler serviceman was a bit shocked.<\/span><\/p>\n

But if anyone should know, he should.<\/span><\/p>\n

So I continued…<\/span><\/p>\n

“Haha. Don’t worry. I’m just curious about whether to leave our boiler on continually… or only put it on when we need it.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“Ah…” he said, quite relieved that it was a question he could address.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Let me tell you my own experience.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hmm.. nothing like personal experience. So I listened carefully.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I actually tested this at home,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

“In the winter, during the day we set the thermostat at 21 degrees.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"His<\/a>
His heating is on continually<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“And when we go to bed, we set it to 15 degrees.”<\/span><\/p>\n

He must have detected the curious look on my face, so he continued:<\/span><\/p>\n

“That’s because, when the boiler’s up to temperature, it uses hardly any gas to maintain that temperature…<\/span><\/p>\n

“And raising the temperature from a room that’s at 15-degrees back up to 21-degrees uses less gas than it would<\/span> to heat it up from a stone-cold house.”<\/span><\/p>\n

I still had that sceptical look. So he carried on…<\/span><\/p>\n

“I tested it. It actually used less gas.”<\/span><\/p>\n

You can’t argue with that, can you?<\/span><\/p>\n

So as he left, I thanked him, gave him a tip (well, he did a good job on the boiler too, and he took the time to explain things as he serviced it), and then I went to make some notes for this blog.<\/span><\/p>\n

But I was still<\/em> sceptical.<\/span><\/p>\n

I needed more proof.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once an inquisitive engineer, always an inquisitive engineer…<\/span><\/p>\n

Or just plain stubborn?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Still<\/a>
I was still sceptical<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What Do The Experts Say About Heating?<\/span><\/h2>\n

A simple Google search took me to Uswitch<\/em>, who threw a spanner into the works.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Err, it’s a bit more complex than that,” said Uswitch<\/a>\u00a0(well not exactly like that because it wasn’t an actual conversation – but you know what I mean)…<\/span><\/p>\n

Some heat loss will always occur due to the difference between the temperature outside your house and the temperature you are trying to maintain on the inside. The greater the heat loss from your home, the more energy you will need to maintain the inside temperature, which means that the cost of leaving your heating on all the time will be especially expensive.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, in other words, if the house leaks heat (because it’s not well insulated) it could work out more expensive to leave the heating on continually.<\/span><\/p>\n

Uswitch recommends cavity-wall insulation and adequate loft insulation to get around that problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Make<\/a>
Make sure your house is well insulated<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But overall, they don’t subscribe to the idea of leaving the boiler on continually.<\/span><\/p>\n

Typically the most energy-efficient approach to heating your home is to programme your heating system so that it comes on when you need it most.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How to Decide Whether to Leave Your Boiler on Constantly – or on a Timer<\/span><\/h2>\n

Their acid test is this:<\/span><\/p>\n

Provided you have a well-insulated home…<\/span><\/p>\n

Take meter readings at the beginning and end of the week, and leave the boiler on constantly for a week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Test<\/a>
Know for sure by testing it<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then repeat the experiment using the timing-of-the boiler method.<\/span><\/p>\n

And see which uses the least amount of gas.<\/span><\/p>\n

One other thing I might add…<\/span><\/p>\n

When your boiler is on continually, the electric pump will be running for more time.<\/span><\/p>\n

So remember to take that into consideration.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Money Saving Expert View<\/span><\/h2>\n

OK. So Uswitch sat on the fence a bit with that one.<\/span><\/p>\n

So let’s see what Money Saving Expert<\/a> reckons.<\/span><\/p>\n

MSE asked the experts at the Energy Saving Trust: <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

They too tell us that heat is continually leaking from your house – and the amount of leakage depends on how good your insulation is.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, according to the Energy Saving Trus<\/em>t, a timer is best, to help you heat up your home only when you need it.<\/span><\/p>\n

But then MSE goes on to balance this with a view from other experts who say:<\/span><\/p>\n

Every time the heating is turned off, condensation collects within the walls. This condensation can help conduct heat outside the home, they say \u2013 meaning you leak heat more quickly and so will use more energy as a result.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"A<\/a>
A balanced view on efficient heating<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Final Expert View on Heating<\/span><\/h2>\n

Let’s give the final word to the Centre For Sustainable Energy<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

With an impressive title like that, they should know what they’re talking about when it comes to saving money on energy costs.<\/span><\/p>\n

No fluff here. Straight to the point.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Take it away CSE:<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are out during the day (or tucked up in bed at night), you don\u2019t need the heating on. Even if you turn your thermostat down a bit, your boiler will keep firing up and using energy (and cost you money) at times when you won’t feel the benefit. Instead, programme your central heating using the timer so that it switches off when you\u2019re out or in bed, and switches back on to warm up the house about half an hour before you get home or before you get up.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Switch<\/a>
Set your heating to switch on half an hour before you need it<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My Summary<\/span><\/h2>\n

So take from that what you like. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s a summary of it:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The heating engineer leaves his boiler on continually.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Many experts say it’s <\/span>che<\/span>aper<\/span><\/span> to put the heating on only when you need it.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Nearly everyone agrees that it’s important to insulate your house well in order to avoid heat loss.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. The acid test is to try each method for a week and see which works out cheaper (assuming, of course, that both weeks have similar outdoor temperatures to give it a fair comparison).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The balance of the arguments seems to favour the “switch on your heating when you need it<\/strong>”\u00a0option. <\/span><\/p>\n

    But you’ll only know for sure by testing it out yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n

    “I Don’t Agree!”<\/span><\/h2>\n

    As you might expect, this blog post caused quite a discussion on Social Media.<\/span><\/p>\n

    So I’ve added this extra section to look at some people’s own experiences… a<\/span>nd what I discovered when I tested it<\/strong> out.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Her customers’ own experience made Christina disagree on Facebook…<\/span><\/p>\n

    \""It's<\/a>
    “It’s cheaper to leave the heating on”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    And Kevin’s wife disagreed, too…<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Kevin's<\/a>
    Kevin’s wife argues for leaving the heating on<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    My Central Heating Test<\/span><\/h2>\n

    So I tested it.<\/span><\/p>\n

    I ran the heating over 3 days, for…<\/span><\/p>\n