Keeping the Heating On

Cricketer

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We have oil-fired central heating in a 1960s bungalow. Despite having decent attic insulation, double glazing and the cavity walls pumped, the house still gets cold fairly quickly when the heating goes off.

Because Mrs. Cricketer is now retired and really feels the cold, last winter we tried an experiment. We changed from having the heating on an average of 6/7 hrs per day to 16 hours per day, though at a much lower temperature.

Pros: house much more comfortable, less prone to damp in the coldest spots (i.e. north-facing ensuite).
Cons: we naturally used more oil; average consumption in previous winters 6/7 hrs per day 1800 litres v. last winter 16 hours per day 2600 litres. Not sure if it's good for the boiler to run at a lower temperature.

Winters vary; it will be interesting to see how this one goes. Has anyone else tried it and have you a comment?
 
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Many moons ago a mate of mine with OFCH decided that it would be more efficient to run his boiler 24/7, albeit at a vastly reduced setting.
His theory being that the energy used in bringing the water up to temp. from cold, say three times everyday, would be avoided and by running it at the lower setting would keep the ambient temp. in the house at a comfortable level.

He did it for one winter ! :D
 
We have oil-fired central heating in a 1960s bungalow. Despite having decent attic insulation, double glazing and the cavity walls pumped, the house still gets cold fairly quickly when the heating goes off.

Because Mrs. Cricketer is now retired and really feels the cold, last winter we tried an experiment. We changed from having the heating on an average of 6/7 hrs per day to 16 hours per day, though at a much lower temperature.

Pros: house much more comfortable, less prone to damp in the coldest spots (i.e. north-facing ensuite).
Cons: we naturally used more oil; average consumption in previous winters 6/7 hrs per day 1800 litres v. last winter 16 hours per day 2600 litres. Not sure if it's good for the boiler to run at a lower temperature.

Winters vary; it will be interesting to see how this one goes. Has anyone else tried it and have you a comment?
I would guess that while insulated to a reasonable standard, the real mechanism of heat loss in the house has yet to be addressed. I suspect you have a decent wooly jumper but missing the wind-cheater.
I turn on my heating in October sometime and turn it off around St. Patrick's day. 1970's 200+sqm bungalow and burn between 600 & 750 liters of oil for heating depending on the year in question. House kept at constant 20 degC.
 
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Thanks Micks'r, I know this is your area. I investigated external insulation but demurred for two reasons:
1. I was told the house didn't qualify for grant because insulation wouldn't go completely around the house (some nice stone work which would be a shame to cover),
2. It's so expensive I reckoned it might be worth holding off a while longer - technology will improve and cost may fall (ha!). You'd buy a lot of extra oil for €25,000 or so.
 
Thanks Micks'r, I know this is your area. I investigated external insulation but demurred for two reasons:
1. I was told the house didn't qualify for grant because insulation wouldn't go completely around the house (some nice stone work which would be a shame to cover),
2. It's so expensive I reckoned it might be worth holding off a while longer - technology will improve and cost may fall (ha!). You'd buy a lot of extra oil for €25,000 or so.
I'm not actually referring to more insulation at all. The fact that your house cools quickly after heating is turned off suggests to me that air leakage may well be the culprit here so adding insulation will be of little to no benefit.
1. Top tip: forget about grants and find the real issue(s) at play. Then if there is a grant to address the issue, great but don't let the grant tail wag the dog. This, imo, is flawed thinking.
2. Yes absolutely, you would at today's prices. Suppose you could halve your oil consumption and have a more comfortable house for, say, between a €5,000 and €10,000 investment. Would that change your thinking? What kind of a guaranteed tax free return would that represent at today's oil prices? How about at oil prices in 10 years time?
 
I agree you should chase down the air leakages. What sort of doors have you? You’d be surprised how much you can save just by going around with expanding foam sealing leaks. If you don’t use the fire shove a pillow up the chimney. If you do use it maybe get a stove. Curtains and draft excluders will help out too.
 
We replaced our old 1960s front door some years back and it made a huge difference. No figures to back it up but drafts under the doors reduced dramatically.
 
Thermostatic valve on the main radiators will save a fortune in oil, especially if you leave the boiler on for long periods
 
I agree you should chase down the air leakages. What sort of doors have you? You’d be surprised how much you can save just by going around with expanding foam sealing leaks. If you don’t use the fire shove a pillow up the chimney. If you do use it maybe get a stove. Curtains and draft excluders will help out too.

You can fit proper sliding closures to fireplaces \ chimney outlets also... to avoid any accidents with the pillow by the forgetful or unawares.
 
Thermostatic valve on the main radiators will save a fortune in oil, especially if you leave the boiler on for long periods
Particularly if you're currently heating the whole house all of the time. I don't know how technologically savvy the OP is but you can get a smart heating control system with individually controlled room thermostats to go on your rads for less than 500e with no plumbing required. Handy to have different temperature set points in different rooms on different times of different days dependent on your usage pattern for the house. There are a few other quick wins like attic insulation also, €1,000 would do a good job here.
 
you can get a smart heating control system with individually controlled room thermostats to go on your rads for less than 500e with no plumbing required.

only if you already have TRVs on your rads. Otherwise there is definitely plumbing involved.
 
I agree you should chase down the air leakages.
Years ago I removed carpet and varnished the floorboards in a north facing bedroom. I then noticed the draught coming through the gap between the floorboards and the skirting so I plugged the gap with thin strips of cork and the difference was noticeable. If I was doing it again I'd probably use something like this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6lZXjRR-1k
 
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