"zaax" wrote in message
...
Haymish wrote:



Hi all

I know nothing about central heating so please don't flame me.

We have a small annexe over our garage which is not being used at the
moment. I want to set the heating system up so that it uses the least
amount of energy while protecting the pipes from freezing, is that
necessary?

yes.


The system comprises a 'Worcester 240' boiler which heats the hot
water and feeds 3 radiators. All of the radiators have thermostatic
controls fitted but I am not sure what to set them to, to avoid
frozen pipes.

I have some questions I was hoping you could help me with:

1. I was going to set the thermostats on all three radiators to the
'blue snowflake' setting which is the setting below a single red
line, Is this right? My only concern is that when I set it to the
blue snowflake (on all three radiators) it seems to cut off all the
water (perhaps some is still flowing but I can't tell). If I turn the
thermostat up to the mid point halfway between the blue snowflake and
the single red line, I can hear water start to flow and the radiator
gets quite hot but that seems to be too hot. Any advice?

This is the frost setting. They will open when the room starts to get
very cold.

2. I was going to set the boiler thermostat to the minimum setting.
Is this right? This article
https://www.energyefficiency.powerge.../category2/Boi
lerThermostat.htm on the Powergen website suggests that the boiler
works most efficiently when set to high but I only want to heat a
little water to stop the pipes freezing so I'm not sure what to do
for the best.

Again correct.


3. Do I need to turn the hot water setting on to protect the pipes?

No, but make sure that all the pipes are lag properly[1]

4. If I can figure out how to program the boiler, is there a
recommended time when you should switch the boiler on over night to
stop pipes freezing? Say 10PM - 8AM or something like that.

No it can freeze during the day and the night.


5. If I can't figure out how to program the boiler is it OK/economic
to leave the boiler switched to the ON position for the next few
months?

Yes leave it on minimum setting.

[1]cold water pipes need to be lagged as well.

In very cold conditions ie below -3 the building should be check daily
for problems anyway.


--
zaax

Thanks Zaax