On Wed, 03 Oct 2012 22:56:31 +0100, Andy Burns wrote:

I use my boiler (ancient cast iron lump with pilot light) for hot water
all year round, on timer twice a day with tankstat and plenty of
lagging, I have smart meters so monthly readings are accurate never
estimated, gas costs in July and August this year were 12.2kWh and
12.1kWh respectively.

Even at the 8.5p/kWh rate (for first 2680 kWh/year) I'm not going to
moan about £1/month for hot water!

I bet if you switched from the twice a day time switch to "on demand"
it'd make a noticable difference to the gas used. I found that out when
the mechancical time switch failed. Didn't immediatly replace it, I was
living on my own at the time and to heat the cylinder from stone cold was
only 30 mins or so. Just bung it on before I wanted a bath, it would be
hot again by the time I was finished to switch it off. The tank was well
lagged and would remain hot enough for washing up/washing for at least
48hrs.

--
Cheers
Dave.