ADP

Hi all,

I share a house with 2 others, like most houses our has hot water/heating controls with the option: timed/constant/once

Anyway, we are having an arguement. My view is that if the hot water comes on twice a day, once in the morning, once at night the water that is heated up and stored in the tank should stay fairly warm all day, thus not requiring too much heating to get it up to temp in the morning when we need it.

My house mate keeps turning it off at night - my point is, come the morning the system has to heat up a load of cold water thus taking more energy...........


What do other people think?? Sorry sad topic, but this needs sorting and my house mates are all head strong types who "cant be wrong"

AP

davegtt

your right mate, youve have graspped the basic principle

Buzzer

I agree, you are right

Big Daz

Yep, you are correct.
I have tried it both ways & this way is cheapest.

Big Daz

ProperCharlie

I have no idea which way is cheapest but i do know that getting under a freezing cold shower in the morning makes me very short tempered.

i have ours on twice a day in the normal fashion and this seems to work fine. the tank is well lagged so the water remains warm pretty much all the time.

i think your housemates need a smack in the mouth.

rb5037

keep it on 24hr

that way it never turns off and the water never cools down.

If the boiler is turned off for 9 hours the water will cool down and then the boiler will run on over time when it's turned back on using more gas than if it's on 24hr, on 24hr its on tic over using only a little gas at a time.

Well their's my 2 pence worth

ADP

interesting, any more views

4X4BOB

Always have my central heating / hot water on constant, the tank has a 'stat for the temp the water gets to, and the 'stat in the hall controls the main heating. Also have 'stats on the rads in most rooms.

My bills are the lowest amongst all my friends and neighbours with similar or smaller houses.

I find it uses a LOT LESS gas to keep the house on a "simmer" than to heat it up from stone cold. My very low bills back up this and now several friends do the same and have found their bills are lower too!

All IMHO

Bob

ProperCharlie

tbh i can't see the rationale behind the idea that having the heat on the whole time would use less energy. my logic goes:

heat radaites from your house at a rate determined by temperature gradient, insulation etc.

if you have your house heated the whole time, energy is being radiated at whatever rate the whole time, and you need to replenish the radiated heat by using more energy. can anyone explain why this would result in less energy being used than where the house is at the ambient temp. half the time and heated the other half.

personally, i have heating on for a couple of hours in the morning and then 5-6 hours in the evening. i don't like having it on during the night as i get too hot, although i suppose i could just turn the stat right down instead of turning it off altogether.

rb5037

say you turn the heating off at 8am at 20 'C
You get home at 6pm and the house is now 12-15 'C
The boiler has to run full wack for a long time to get it back to 20 'C.
If the boiler was left on 24hr then it's on/off durring the day not using much.
Its also better to leave all internal doors open if possable, this will help on costs and give an even temp all round the house.
If upstairs is hotter than downstairs ask someone who knows to balance the system. it's all about slowing down the water speed upstairs. Not hard.

ProperCharlie

i see. the ground floor and the top floor tend to be coolest, the middle floor (where our bedroom is) tends to be the warmest. maybe i'll get someone to look into the "balancing" thing. how is the balancing achieved? by adjusting the radiator valves?

ADP

Another thing............

Can anyone explain why I can only get warmish water out of the shower (on a mixer type tap) whereas if I run the tap for a bath it is scalding(literally too hot to touch) ???????? p155ing me off this, just cant get the shower warm enough

ProperCharlie

adp - prolly due to the pressure difference between the hot water system and cold water. had this problem in a flat we had where the header tank for the hot water was about 2' above the shower head - virtually nothing came out of it at all.

got a power shower now - money well spent.

rb5037

ProperCharlie

yes the way to balance is to reduce the valves upstairs, to slow the water. turn it off then open 1/4 turn and see how you get on. leave a few days and open another 1/4 if needed.


ADP

Are you in a fairly new house or had a new shower mixer fitted. If so then it's the way the thermostatic tap is.
Or the cold is off the mains and the hot is gravity fed (is the bathroom downstairs?)

[Edited by rb5037 - 1/30/2004 4:53:31 PM]

ADP

yep new house, town house, bathroom on 1st and 2nd floor

rb5037

Is the boiler a combi boiler? (my guess is yes)
Are 1st and 2nd floor showers the same. (model and performance)

My guess is that the combi boiler (or gravity feed) is not supplying enough hot water presure to the mixer and the cold is mains so it out performs the hot.

Or the thermo mixer is too low (temp) for you. (They have been lowered to meet new safty requirments on new models not that long ago,,,,,or is it still in the pipe line? not sure now)

Or the mixer is knackered. If it's a new home call back the developers if it's still in the year. Or the manufacturers, sure they will replace under good will or want to know if plumbers are fitting there goods wrong.

Hope this helps a little.

Adam

csm007

HI gas board came to service boiler i asked his advice on this said he would set the hot water to the settings he has at home .Which are to come on twice 6am to 7am then to come back on 4pm to5pm <switch to 24 hr for one hour if more water is needed Before this i had it on 24 hr he said that 24 hr was un economical and dont switch off at night HOPE THIS HELPS CHRIS

Chip

Keep my water and heating on 24/7 all year. tis the best way and get hot water anytime I want.

Chip.

rb5037

Bit more info