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Are you worried about energy prices?

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  • mac12mac12 Posts: 209
    I'm going to turn my central heating down or even off and just rely on my stove but will my radiators and pipes be ok if not used 
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Our system is turned off completely once temps are warm enough and doesn't usually go back on till October and then only for brief spells in the morning and evening till it gets colder all day.   All I do is go round the radiators making sure there's no air in them and all works well.

    Don't foget tho that it's easier and chepaer to keep a home ticking over on low heat than to let it get cold and have to warm it up.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • steveTusteveTu Posts: 3,219
    Obelixx said:
    Our system is turned off completely once temps are warm enough and doesn't usually go back on till October and then only for brief spells in the morning and evening till it gets colder all day.   All I do is go round the radiators making sure there's no air in them and all works well.

    Don't foget tho that it's easier and chepaer to keep a home ticking over on low heat than to let it get cold and have to warm it up.

    Is that true? I know heat pumps work on lower constant heat, but they also need better insulation.

    I've tried both way back - and last year I kept the heating on all day (but not overnight) and the bill wasn't as big as I expected, but it was higher than just having the heating on for a couple of hours in the morning and evening.

    UK - South Coast Retirement Campus (East)
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Obelixx said:

    Don't foget tho that it's easier and chepaer to keep a home ticking over on low heat than to let it get cold and have to warm it up.

    I think it's debatable. I've seen it debated. I've tried both ways and it doesn't seem to make a difference to my bills but it feels much nicer to live in if there is a constant low heat through winter.
  • steveTusteveTu Posts: 3,219
    I thought that 'whack up the rad stats and turn down your boiler output' - and to then leave the heating on constantly - may be worth a try . But what is classed as low and what setting on the house stat?
    In the past my boiler ch setting has been high and the rad stats set to about 3.


    UK - South Coast Retirement Campus (East)
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I think the rad thermostats temps will vary house to house. Depending on the size, age, contents etc. Mine don't work very well, though new (maybe the weren't installed properly). The rads are either boiling or off, it's pretty hard to get a low heat.
  • steveTusteveTu Posts: 3,219
    I'm not sure they work that way - I thought they were 'ambient air' sensors. So a 3 is x degrees and 4 is x+5 degrees - and when the air temp reaches that, they cut the flow. I didn't think they controlled the rad temp at all (apart from on/off). But as I'm usually wrong, I'll go away and google them...

    UK - South Coast Retirement Campus (East)
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    My OH believes that keeping the heating on low all the time works out cheaper. Unfortunately his idea of low is too warm for me particularly at night. This winter I'll see if I can persuade him to drop it a few degrees (or more).
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited August 2022
    steveTu said:
     I didn't think they controlled the rad temp at all (apart from on/off).

    No, that sounds about right. Lol. 🙄
    Thanks for that.

  • AuntyRachAuntyRach Posts: 5,291
    I wonder whether people will turn off the heating this Winter, or just continue and struggle? I don’t think some people realise what’s ahead. The combination of energy prices, petrol and food will make even people on a fairly good salary wonder what’s going on. 

    We live in an old house and have moved out of the lounge and master bedroom the last few Winters in favour of smaller rooms which keep the heat longer. We left the hall unheated one year (after we moved the thermostat to avoid unnecessary heating of the hall) and there was a bit of mildew so I will have to be careful there. 




    My garden and I live in South Wales. 
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