Hello, What is the opinion of people as to leaving the central heating on 24
hours a day as against the following?
Mon,Tues Wed Thur Frid 8:00am to 12:00noon 5:30pm to 11:30pm
Sat Sun 8:00 to 12midnight

The heating is Jemplair gas warm air heating and if it is left on all night
my hubby complains that it is too warm so either turns it off or turns down
the thermostat, which prevents it coming on at 8:am.
The timer is only a simple 7 day 24 hour timer so it has to be manually
switched on at the weekend when it turns off at noon and then the timer has
to be switched off again at night back to automatic. This has caused
numerous arguments over the years and of course now hubby is on an energy
saving kick, he even bought an LCD monitor to save energy(so he says).

So what are peoples suggestions as to the energy savings made by switching
the heating on and off or leaving it on all the time?
Tracy

Buy a programmable thermostat and set it for
low heat overnight, quite warm in the morning (when
people wander around in pyjamas and suchlike),
cooler through the day and pleasantly warm at
night.
The kit replaces a "normal" thermostat and saves
arguments since a bog standard thermostat will
keep the house to the same temperature
regardless of the time of day.

So replace "timer+thermostat" with "programmable
thermostat".

I bought a four-period thermostat from Screwfix,
but I'd now like a six period device to give
me the option of pre-heat periods.

HTH

Mungo

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
tracy wrote:

Hello, What is the opinion of people as to leaving the central
heating on 24 hours a day as against the following?
Mon,Tues Wed Thur Frid 8:00am to 12:00noon 5:30pm to 11:30pm
Sat Sun 8:00 to 12midnight

The heating is Jemplair gas warm air heating and if it is left on all
night my hubby complains that it is too warm so either turns it off
or turns down the thermostat, which prevents it coming on at 8:am.
The timer is only a simple 7 day 24 hour timer so it has to be
manually switched on at the weekend when it turns off at noon and
then the timer has to be switched off again at night back to
automatic. This has caused numerous arguments over the years and of
course now hubby is on an energy saving kick, he even bought an LCD
monitor to save energy(so he says).

So what are peoples suggestions as to the energy savings made by
switching the heating on and off or leaving it on all the time?
Tracy

There's absolutely no point in heating the house when everyone is out - as
long as the timer is set to have it warm by the time you return. Heat loss -
which has to be balanced by the heat you pump in - is a function of the
internal (and external - which you cannot control) temperature, and the
length of time at which it is held at that temperature. The hotter the
house, the greater the heat loss.

There's also not much point having the heating on when you're in bed - get a
thicker duvet if you're cold!

It sounds as if your timer *isn't* a 7 day one - but provides the same
programme *every* day. Why not replace it with a programmable thermostat -
such as the Honeywell CM67 with optional Optimum Start. You can have a
different programme each day of the week *and* you can tell it the time by
which you want the house to be warm, and it will decide when to turn the
heating on.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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"Set Square" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
tracy wrote:

Hello, What is the opinion of people as to leaving the central
heating on 24 hours a day as against the following?
Mon,Tues Wed Thur Frid 8:00am to 12:00noon 5:30pm to 11:30pm
Sat Sun 8:00 to 12midnight

The heating is Jemplair gas warm air heating and if it is left on all
night my hubby complains that it is too warm so either turns it off
or turns down the thermostat, which prevents it coming on at 8:am.
The timer is only a simple 7 day 24 hour timer so it has to be
manually switched on at the weekend when it turns off at noon and
then the timer has to be switched off again at night back to
automatic. This has caused numerous arguments over the years and of
course now hubby is on an energy saving kick, he even bought an LCD
monitor to save energy(so he says).

So what are peoples suggestions as to the energy savings made by
switching the heating on and off or leaving it on all the time?
Tracy

There's absolutely no point in heating the house when everyone is out - as
long as the timer is set to have it warm by the time you return. Heat
loss -
which has to be balanced by the heat you pump in - is a function of the
internal (and external - which you cannot control) temperature, and the
length of time at which it is held at that temperature. The hotter the
house, the greater the heat loss.

There's also not much point having the heating on when you're in bed - get
a
thicker duvet if you're cold!

It sounds as if your timer *isn't* a 7 day one - but provides the same
programme *every* day. Why not replace it with a programmable thermostat -
such as the Honeywell CM67 with optional Optimum Start. You can have a
different programme each day of the week *and* you can tell it the time by
which you want the house to be warm, and it will decide when to turn the
heating on.
--
Cheers,
Set Square

Yes you are correct it is a 1 day timer. Would it make any difference to my
maintenance contract with Scottish Gas if the thermostat and or timer were
changed?

Thanks Tracy

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
tracy wrote:


Yes you are correct it is a 1 day timer. Would it make any difference
to my maintenance contract with Scottish Gas if the thermostat and or
timer were changed?

Thanks Tracy

Doubt it. Do they have a detailed inventory of your system? If so, ask them.
If not, just do it!
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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"Set Square" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
tracy wrote:


Yes you are correct it is a 1 day timer. Would it make any difference
to my maintenance contract with Scottish Gas if the thermostat and or
timer were changed?

Thanks Tracy

Doubt it. Do they have a detailed inventory of your system? If so, ask
them.
If not, just do it!
--
Cheers,
Set Square

Hi thanks again I will get him to do it. Will it just be a matter of
swapping over the 2 wires on the original thermostat then leaving the time
clock on all the time?
Thanks Tracy

"Set Square" wrote:

There's also not much point having the heating on when you're in bed - get a
thicker duvet if you're cold!

Quite a lot of people, particularly those with respiratory problems
would disagree with that!


--

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
tracy wrote:

"Set Square" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
tracy wrote:


Yes you are correct it is a 1 day timer. Would it make any
difference to my maintenance contract with Scottish Gas if the
thermostat and or timer were changed?

Thanks Tracy

Doubt it. Do they have a detailed inventory of your system? If so,
ask them.
If not, just do it!
--
Cheers,
Set Square

Hi thanks again I will get him to do it. Will it just be a matter of
swapping over the 2 wires on the original thermostat then leaving the
time clock on all the time?
Thanks Tracy

Yes. I presume you have independent timing for hot water on the original
time clock, or somewhere else? It's just the space heating that needs to be
continuous on the existing timer - and then do the *actual* timing on the
programmable stat.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
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******** (no pun intended) we did - the whole what does a scotsman wear
under his kilt is a relatively new thing used by pervs who like to show
their arses off at football matches and weddings.

I threw all notion of not wearing at my wedding away when I was told by
the kilt hiring companies that they only clean the kilts once every 4
or 5 hires, unless they are baldy soiled.

As to the original topic, according to most advice web sites you should
only have your heating on for at most 9 hours a day during 2 distinct
periods. If you need it on more than that then you should be looking
at better insulation or a better heating system as you're definitely
wasting energy.

In message .com, Alan
writes
As to the original topic, according to most advice web sites

such as?

you should
only have your heating on for at most 9 hours a day during 2 distinct
periods.

why 9 hours, why two distinct periods (hint - not everyone is out during
the day....)

If you need it on more than that then you should be looking
at better insulation or a better heating system as you're definitely
wasting energy.

Now that does sound like ******** - surely how much the heating needs to
be one depends on a multitude of things, not the least how cold it is
outside, and how much the house is occupied.


--
Chris French

On 23 Sep 2005 00:51:55 -0700, "Alan" wrote:



As to the original topic, according to most advice web sites you should
only have your heating on for at most 9 hours a day during 2 distinct
periods.

Why? I frequently work at home all day.

If you need it on more than that then you should be looking
at better insulation or a better heating system as you're definitely
wasting energy.

I often work from early in the morning or until the early hours of the
following morning.

Pattern of use of heating depends on occupancy and use of house.


--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On Fri, 23 Sep 2005 10:39:21 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

| On 23 Sep 2005 00:51:55 -0700, "Alan" wrote:
|
|
|
| As to the original topic, according to most advice web sites you should
| only have your heating on for at most 9 hours a day during 2 distinct
| periods.
|
| Why? I frequently work at home all day.

As I do
Many retired people also use the house all day.
|
| If you need it on more than that then you should be looking
| at better insulation or a better heating system as you're definitely
| wasting energy.
|
| I often work from early in the morning or until the early hours of the
| following morning.

Sounds familiar ;-)

| Pattern of use of heating depends on occupancy and use of house.

Absolutely correct.

--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
The London suicide bombers killed innocent commuters.
Animal rights terrorists and activists kill innocent patients.

Dave Fawthrop wrote:
On Fri, 23 Sep 2005 10:39:21 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

| On 23 Sep 2005 00:51:55 -0700, "Alan" wrote:
|
|
|
| As to the original topic, according to most advice web sites you should
| only have your heating on for at most 9 hours a day during 2 distinct
| periods.
|
| Why? I frequently work at home all day.

As I do
Many retired people also use the house all day.

I thought pensioners couldn't afford to put the heating on

| If you need it on more than that then you should be looking
| at better insulation or a better heating system as you're definitely
| wasting energy.
|
| I often work from early in the morning or until the early hours of the
| following morning.

Sounds familiar ;-)

| Pattern of use of heating depends on occupancy and use of house.

Absolutely correct.

In article .com,
says...
snip
As to the original topic, according to most advice web sites you should
only have your heating on for at most 9 hours a day during 2 distinct
periods. If you need it on more than that then you should be looking
at better insulation or a better heating system as you're definitely
wasting energy.

If you have excellent insulation you can leave your heating on all the
time and waste very little energy, so the "2 periods 9 hours" thing is a
load of ********.

Well don't shoot the messenger - as I said I was just reporting what I
had read the other day when searching for heating and energy efficiency.

and how long it takes for the heat you've just put in to cool down due
to bad insulation then, surely?

On Fri, 23 Sep 2005 11:19:23 +0100, Richard Conway wrote:

| Dave Fawthrop wrote:


| As I do
| Many retired people also use the house all day.
|
| I thought pensioners couldn't afford to put the heating on

Only those who do not have a private pension, and a house with the mortgage
paid off.

Think about it while you have time to accumulate a good pension.


--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
The London suicide bombers killed innocent commuters.
Animal rights terrorists and activists kill innocent patients.

In article .com,
says...
Well don't shoot the messenger - as I said I was just reporting what I
had read the other day when searching for heating and energy efficiency.


I didn't say anything about you, just about what you said someone else
had said :-)

Set Square wrote:
Hi thanks again I will get him to do it. Will it just be a matter of
swapping over the 2 wires on the original thermostat then leaving the
time clock on all the time?
Thanks Tracy

Yes. I presume you have independent timing for hot water on the original
time clock, or somewhere else? It's just the space heating that needs to be
continuous on the existing timer - and then do the *actual* timing on the
programmable stat.

One small note of caution. Some warm air heaters (e.g. Johnson &
Starley Modairflow) use a proportional room stat not a simple on/off
type. If the Jemplair is of this type (I can't find anything on it),
installing a programmable stat would interfere with the modulation - it
would still work but be just on full or nothing. If the manufacturers
still exist, it might be worth phoning them to get their opinion first
(or a gas fitter with experience of the model).

-Antony

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Antony wrote:

Set Square wrote:
Hi thanks again I will get him to do it. Will it just be a matter of
swapping over the 2 wires on the original thermostat then leaving
the time clock on all the time?
Thanks Tracy

Yes. I presume you have independent timing for hot water on the
original time clock, or somewhere else? It's just the space heating
that needs to be continuous on the existing timer - and then do the
*actual* timing on the programmable stat.

One small note of caution. Some warm air heaters (e.g. Johnson &
Starley Modairflow) use a proportional room stat not a simple on/off
type. If the Jemplair is of this type (I can't find anything on it),
installing a programmable stat would interfere with the modulation -
it would still work but be just on full or nothing. If the
manufacturers still exist, it might be worth phoning them to get
their opinion first (or a gas fitter with experience of the model).

-Antony

Do you mean proportional as in modulating the output of the burner and/or
fan in some way - or simply controlling the ratio of on/off times when it is
near the setpoint? If the latter, stats like the Honeywell CM67 have a
'proportional' mode which does just that.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
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In message , Set Square
writes
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Antony wrote:

Set Square wrote:
Hi thanks again I will get him to do it. Will it just be a matter of
swapping over the 2 wires on the original thermostat then leaving
the time clock on all the time?
Thanks Tracy

Yes. I presume you have independent timing for hot water on the
original time clock, or somewhere else? It's just the space heating
that needs to be continuous on the existing timer - and then do the
*actual* timing on the programmable stat.

One small note of caution. Some warm air heaters (e.g. Johnson &
Starley Modairflow) use a proportional room stat not a simple on/off
type. If the Jemplair is of this type (I can't find anything on it),
installing a programmable stat would interfere with the modulation -
it would still work but be just on full or nothing. If the
manufacturers still exist, it might be worth phoning them to get
their opinion first (or a gas fitter with experience of the model).

-Antony

Do you mean proportional as in modulating the output of the burner and/or
fan in some way - or simply controlling the ratio of on/off times when it is
near the setpoint? If the latter, stats like the Honeywell CM67 have a
'proportional' mode which does just that.


J & S room stats are completely different from normal wet system ones
and are not interchangeable, they vary the fan speed.

--
geoff

raden wrote:
One small note of caution. Some warm air heaters (e.g. Johnson &
Starley Modairflow) use a proportional room stat not a simple on/off
type. If the Jemplair is of this type (I can't find anything on it),
installing a programmable stat would interfere with the modulation -
it would still work but be just on full or nothing. If the
manufacturers still exist, it might be worth phoning them to get
their opinion first (or a gas fitter with experience of the model).

-Antony

Do you mean proportional as in modulating the output of the burner and/or
fan in some way - or simply controlling the ratio of on/off times when it is
near the setpoint? If the latter, stats like the Honeywell CM67 have a
'proportional' mode which does just that.


J & S room stats are completely different from normal wet system ones
and are not interchangeable, they vary the fan speed.

--
geoff

The CM67 is "chrono-proportional". That means it varies the length of
the on-off periods in response to demand (a sort of pulse-width
modulation). However, when it's on, it's on full. If you were to
connect a multimeter across a conventional stat (inc a CM67) and
measure the resistance, you'd find it goes from zero resistance when on
to infinite when off. Inside a CM67 (or any other programmable stat)
you'll find a relay across the volt-free contacts. A traditional stat
doesn't have the relay - it just uses a bi-metallic strip to provide an
on-off switch in response to changing temperature.

J&S Modairflow stats are completely different. Instead of a bimetallic
strip they have a thermistor that continuously varies its resistance,
in series with a potentiometer (the dial on the front). Again,
connecting a multimeter across it would show a continuous range of
resistances.

To identify the type Tracy has on her Jemplair, she could switch off
the power, then connect a multi-meter across the connection to the
stat. Turning the dial on the front should produce either a continous
range of resistances, or an on-off.

-Antony