Thermostat Temperature

[jw47]

I have been advised to leave my boiler on all day and control the heating by the thermostat. Have this set at 20/21 during the day but not sure what to set it to when I go to bed. Don.t really want it on during the night. Previously I have had the time set on the boiler so it goes off at approx. 11pm until 7am. Any suggestions on what I should do.

[calmck]

Is it hot water only or heat or both. We have the water set to come on twice a day, 7 to 11 and 6pm to 9. The heat is on 24/7 controlled by thermostat. We found savings on oil doing this. Lower thermostat at night and put up in am

[albaqwerty]

turn thermostat down to 15 on your way to bed?

I think the boiler is only supposed to fire up when the heat drops below whatever the thermostat is set at, so maybe even just turn thermostat down to it's lowest?

[jourdain2]

Sounds very similar to us. We had to replace our old, leaking boiler this year and had the same advice. The temperature really depends on you, your age, health etc. Ours goes off 10p.m.- 7.a.m. and it seems to be working well. Mr.J2 is 86 with a wonky heart and circulation so ours is set at 22.5 and we leave it at that - hot water bottles are fine in bed and we keep each other warm, but, as I said, it is off at night. Hope this helps.

[hellywelly4]

I set mine to about 22 in the day and down to 18 at night. I do feel the cold so that is probably too high for most people. I think with an 86 year old it would be better to leave it on at night in case you have to get up.

[jw47]

I think I will turn it down tonight and if its too warm during the night will revert back to timer.

[Old_Geezer]

IMO since the thermostat controls the whole house, yet only measures the temperature at one point, it's an inappropriate way to control heating. I always set mine to max and use the radiator control and timer to set the various heat areas.

If you must use the thermostat for control I'd suggest putting it at minimum first night, and using trial & error over the week to find a comfortable night setting.

[johnk]

Stay as you are, leaving the heating on 24 hours a day is just another urban myth and you will find it expensive.

[bhg481]

jw47, who advised you?

[davebro]

I don't use the timer - 22 during the day down to 17-ish when I go to bed. The heating rarely comes on overnight. I don't have thermostats on my radiators. I also turn it down if I go out during the day.

[malagabob]

If you’ve got TRVs why are you controlling it on your thermostat.

[davebro]

^^^ Who said they were?

[malagabob]

JW hasn’t confirmed yes or no.

[The Builder]

Up until only a few years ago, heating systems were often fitted without a roomstat.
Then "nanny" stepped in and changed the regulations. (presumably with the intention of saving fuel.)

With TRVs (thermostatic rad valves) fitted to each rad, zones can be independently controlled.

What Old Geezer mentioned in his post has the same effect. Turn up the roomstat to full, thus effectively bypassing it altogether.

You will have one rad without a TRV to prevent boiler overheating.
With your zones set to your liking, you've got it covered.

In my opinion, this is not an urban myth (as mentioned earlier.) A cold building takes a lot of energy to re-heat every day.
The only downside is having several rads to go around and adjust , rather than one central control.

[spathiphyllum]

I'm not able to put my heating on a timer. It has to be done manually. I always turn it off over night (or set it to 13 so it doesn't get colder than that). I pop it on about 5pm for when the Miss gets home from work and then when the house warms up I turn it back down to 13 (So it doesn't get colder than that). I run hot, so i just pop a fleece on and i'm OK.

[davebro]

So, if you have TRVs set say 22 -living rooms / 15 - bedrooms. If you don't turn the heating off completely at night you will have to mess about turning down the TRVs in the living rooms each night before you go to bed or be heating rooms unnecessarily? How much of a faff is that!

[KARL]

How to run a heating system is a matter of personal choice. If you are happy to be cold at certain times of day, week, year then turn the heating down or off altogether. If you have a heating system in your house in order not to have to live according to the temperatures found outdoors then use it. What you want by way of comfortable temperature is likely to depend on what you are used to - it is in fact possible to get used to almost anything.

Lots of people in the UK wear clothing indoors which in some/many countries is regarded as outdoor clothing (jumpers in particular). Heating only some rooms some of the time, especially closing all doors off, will lead to local draughts and cold spots and the risk of dampness. Such conditions make lower temperatures particularly uncomfortable and the oscillations produce an awful environment.

As for cost, of course switching off and not using the heating is the cheapest option. As for timing on and off, one can compare with driving a car until it reaches the speed limit and then switching off the engine and letting it coast along slowing down steadily until restarting the engine and going, foot to the floor, back to the speed limit. Is that really going to be the most efficient fuel policy in the pursuit of comfort ?

Central heating is a relatively new thing to UK culture so the population is a bit lost. Where people have had it for generations it is most common to use the thermostat and turn it down at night or when the house is unoccupied. The normal temperature will generally be between 21 and 23 degrees and the drop-down will usually be of the order of 3-4 degrees. Thermostatic radiator valves are used to ensure the rooms get the chosen level of heat (and no more) each - there is rarely more than one thermostat in a house (or level) unless zone valves are employed to divide the house up into zones.

The interesting thing is that we seem to be subliminally very sensitive to small changes in temperature. Due to this we can feel chilly at 21 degrees if the temperature is in fact dropping very slowly. Conversely, if the temperature is rising very slowly at 18 degrees we can be quite comfortable. The body seems to predict where we are going - en route to a colder condition we feel colder early (warning/anticipation) and if it is warming up we are happy enough and at some point feel too warm even though we have not yet got there.