I have a 90 year old brick & frame home in Canada. The house is heated
by a new, natural gas water boiler furnace with the original radiators.
I have installed a modern variable temperature thermostat that allows
for the temperature to be changed based on the time of day. I have the
temperature set to rise to 70 degrees when we are home & go to 60
degrees during the day & evening when we are out or asleep
respectively.

I have been told that it is more efficient from a wear & tear & cost
optimization perspective with a water/rad system to keep the
temperature at a constant degree setting, as opposed to chaning the
temperature throughout the day.

Can someone give me some advice?...particularly important since the
cost of natural gas is going through the rook this winter.

"MRodger" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a 90 year old brick & frame home in Canada. The house is heated
by a new, natural gas water boiler furnace with the original radiators.
I have installed a modern variable temperature thermostat that allows
for the temperature to be changed based on the time of day. I have the
temperature set to rise to 70 degrees when we are home & go to 60
degrees during the day & evening when we are out or asleep
respectively.

I have been told that it is more efficient from a wear & tear & cost
optimization perspective with a water/rad system to keep the
temperature at a constant degree setting, as opposed to chaning the
temperature throughout the day.

Can someone give me some advice?...particularly important since the
cost of natural gas is going through the rook this winter.

The lower the temperature of the house the less it will cost to heat, as the
less heat it will loose to the environment.
If you keep the house at 70F it will cost more than if you reduce the
temperature to 60F for part of the time.

The boiler and radiators won't mind the temperature of the house fluctuating,
the temperatures of the boiler and radiators fluctuate quite a bit anyway (more
thant he house anyway)

--

Michael Chare

In article .com,
MRodger wrote:
I have been told that it is more efficient from a wear & tear & cost
optimization perspective with a water/rad system to keep the
temperature at a constant degree setting, as opposed to chaning the
temperature throughout the day.

Dunno if there's anything in this theory, but in practice what you're
doing is what most decent modern installations do.
And heating the house to a higher temperature than needed - like say when
everyone is out all day - wastes energy so costs more.

You should also consider fitting TRVs (thermostatic radiator valves) to
all rooms apart from the one with the main thermostat. This will allow you
to set the *maximum* temperature in that room - useful in places like the
kitchen where cooking may already provide all the heating needed at
certain times of the day.

However, these only work (IIRC) if you have a two pipe system where each
rad is connected to the boiler flow and return. A single pipe system where
the rads are all in series would need some modifications.

--
*Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 17 Oct 2005 10:49:49 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

However, these only work (IIRC) if you have a two pipe system where
each rad is connected to the boiler flow and return. A single pipe
system where the rads are all in series would need some
modifications.

A single pipe the rads are in series but bypassed by the main single
pipe. Otherwise if you shut anyone rad down your shut the whole system
down... I can't see any reason why you can't fit TRVs to rads in a
single pipe system.

+--
| Rad
| --+
| |
----+-------+---- single pipe

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

In article om,
Dave Liquorice wrote:
However, these only work (IIRC) if you have a two pipe system where
each rad is connected to the boiler flow and return. A single pipe
system where the rads are all in series would need some
modifications.

A single pipe the rads are in series but bypassed by the main single
pipe. Otherwise if you shut anyone rad down your shut the whole system
down... I can't see any reason why you can't fit TRVs to rads in a
single pipe system.

Ok. The only single pipe system I've come across was a large bore iron
barrel one with purely thermo circulation. No rads but just two 4" pipes
running across one wall at skirting level. And as far as I could see,
everything just run in 'series'.

--
*Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"MRodger" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a 90 year old brick & frame home in Canada. The house is heated
by a new, natural gas water boiler furnace with the original radiators.
I have installed a modern variable temperature thermostat that allows
for the temperature to be changed based on the time of day. I have the
temperature set to rise to 70 degrees when we are home & go to 60
degrees during the day & evening when we are out or asleep
respectively.

I have been told that it is more efficient from a wear & tear & cost
optimization perspective with a water/rad system to keep the
temperature at a constant degree setting, as opposed to chaning the
temperature throughout the day.

That is right. What you mean is a thermostat timer.

Can someone give me some advice?...particularly important since the
cost of natural gas is going through the rook this winter.

"Dave Plowman (News)" through a haze of senile
flatulence wrote in message ...
In article .com,
MRodger wrote:
I have been told that it is more efficient from a wear & tear & cost
optimization perspective with a water/rad system to keep the
temperature at a constant degree setting, as opposed to chaning the
temperature throughout the day.

Dunno if there's anything in this theory, but in practice what you're
doing is what most decent modern installations do.
And heating the house to a higher temperature than needed - like say when
everyone is out all day - wastes energy so costs more.

You should also consider fitting TRVs (thermostatic radiator valves) to
all rooms apart from the one with the main thermostat. This will allow you
to set the *maximum* temperature in that room - useful in places like the
kitchen where cooking may already provide all the heating needed at
certain times of the day.

However, these only work (IIRC) if you have a two pipe system where each
rad is connected to the boiler flow and return. A single pipe system where
the rads are all in series would need some modifications.

Which is total senile nonsense.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article om,
Dave Liquorice wrote:
However, these only work (IIRC) if you have a two pipe system where
each rad is connected to the boiler flow and return. A single pipe
system where the rads are all in series would need some
modifications.

A single pipe the rads are in series but bypassed by the main single
pipe. Otherwise if you shut anyone rad down your shut the whole system
down... I can't see any reason why you can't fit TRVs to rads in a
single pipe system.

Ok. The only single pipe system I've come across

Stop giving senile misinformation on things you don't know.

On Mon, 17 Oct 2005 14:37:36 +0100 (BST), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

| On Mon, 17 Oct 2005 10:49:49 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
|
| However, these only work (IIRC) if you have a two pipe system where
| each rad is connected to the boiler flow and return. A single pipe
| system where the rads are all in series would need some
| modifications.
|
| A single pipe the rads are in series but bypassed by the main single
| pipe. Otherwise if you shut anyone rad down your shut the whole system
| down... I can't see any reason why you can't fit TRVs to rads in a
| single pipe system.
|
| +--
| | Rad
| | --+
| | |
| ----+-------+---- single pipe

Mine works fine like that.

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

In article ws.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
However, these only work (IIRC) if you have a two pipe system where
each rad is connected to the boiler flow and return. A single pipe
system where the rads are all in series would need some modifications.

Which is total senile nonsense.

Then perhaps you'd give some sensible advice to the OP. As if...

--
*If at first you don't succeed, avoid skydiving.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" through a haze of senile
flatulence wrote in message ...
In article ws.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
However, these only work (IIRC) if you have a two pipe system where
each rad is connected to the boiler flow and return. A single pipe
system where the rads are all in series would need some modifications.

Which is total senile nonsense.

Then perhaps you'd give some sensible advice to the OP. As if...

Good advice for him is not to take any notice of you whatsoever.

In article ws.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
Which is total senile nonsense.

Then perhaps you'd give some sensible advice to the OP. As if...

Good advice for him is not to take any notice of you whatsoever.

The case rests, M'lud.

--
*A journey of a thousand sites begins with a single click *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" through a haze of senile
flatulence wrote in message ...
In article ws.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
Which is total senile nonsense.

Then perhaps you'd give some sensible advice to the OP. As if...

Good advice for him is not to take any notice of you whatsoever.

The case rests, M'lud.

Well and truly.