Oil central heating,most economical use?

dwayneburke

Hi

recently moved into a oil central heated house (second hand 2 story detached) and have a few questions?

1. Is it more economical to leave on for say 3 hours constant rather than timing it to go off and on every 20 mins? does this save on fuel at all or am i wasting my time? i.e. is it just better to leave on for full 3 hours?
2. Do i need to get the boiler serviced? I dont know whent the last time it did get serviced and the house is almost 10 years old
3. Am i right in saying that it is a good idea to leave OFF the rads in rooms i dont use to save oil?

Any response welcomed....as i dont know much about oil central heaing as i just moved from the gold old money sucking dimplex storage heating world!!!

JamesM

dwayneburke wrote:

Hi

recently moved into a oil central heated house (second hand 2 story detached) and have a few questions?


[*]Is it more economical to leave on for say 3 hours constant rather than timing it to go off and on every 20 mins? does this save on fuel at all or am i wasting my time? i.e. is it just better to leave on for full 3 hours?

There is no point in turning off the heating for short spells of time. You will use the same amount of oil heating up the boiler again.

[*]Do i need to get the boiler serviced? I dont know whent the last time it did get serviced and the house is almost 10 years old

An oil boiler (even kerosene) should be serviced once a year. If you don't know when it was last serviced, you should have it done.

[*]Am i right in saying that it is a good idea to leave OFF the rads in rooms i dont use to save oil?

You will save oil by not having rads on in unused rooms, but, in very cold weather you may want some heat in unused rooms. If you do not have thermostatic valves, you can turn the valve slightly until the rad heats to luke warm. If it gets hot, turn it slightly back again - all you want is barely warm. This takes the icy feeling from a room without wasting too much oil.
Jim.

dwayneburke

JamesM

Tks a milllion for that, appreicate it.....on the matter of getting the boiler serviced who would do this?

What would i look up the yellow pages for home heating boiler cleaner???? etc sorry about the stupidness of the question but a total novice to this?

Also any idea on the cost of this ballpark??

JamesM

You are better off asking your oil company, or a neighbour or friend with oil.
€70 - €100, or maybe more for a Service Agreement.
Jim.

rooferPete

Hi dwayne.....

I'm with Jim and the advice he has given, what you might look at is one maybe two thermostats if you can zone your heating between upstairs and downstairs.

If the house is kept at a comfortable level of heat it will save the boiler heating the house from cold probably twice a day ?

.

Lex Luthor

another tip would be to get all the rads balanced and try to have the heating come on & off using a room thermostat

dwayneburke

Lex Luthor wrote:

another tip would be to get all the rads balanced and try to have the heating come on & off using a room thermostat

Cheers guys


To do the above i.e. room thermostat, can i do this with the existing boiler system i have or do i have to get a whole new system?

At the moment the rads are the twist cap type so what/how much is involved in changing this?

Tks

JamesM

dwayneburke wrote:

Cheers guys


To do the above i.e. room thermostat, can i do this with the existing boiler system i have or do i have to get a whole new system?

At the moment the rads are the twist cap type so what/how much is involved in changing this?

Tks

You have just moved into a new house - it's coming up to Christmas - I would just use the system you have as economically as possible. It all depends on your lifestyle, but the usual settings for a timer are a few hours in the morning and again whatever is necessary in the evening.
Next year sometime you can get advice on upgrading your system.
You wouldn't have to change the whole system, but you would have to, at least, drain it down to fit thermostatic valves. See the thread "Remote Thermostat ??", for a way of fitting an indoor stat without wiring. If you are planning other modifications to your new house next year, that would be the time to look at the heating system
Jim.

Chopper

I have a similar question......

There is a dial on the front of the boiler which is numbered 0 to 9... at the last service the "boiler man" set this to 3 and we also have thermostats on the rads (although not all of them work!) ...

Would it be more economical to turn the boiler down low and have it on constantly rather than up medium/high and turn it on for 3/4 hours at a time ?

Since the boiler has its own cut-off cycle would it not be better to leave the thing on constant at a low setting ? given that there would always be someone in the house ?

JamesM

Chopper wrote:

I have a similar question......

There is a dial on the front of the boiler which is numbered 0 to 9... at the last service the "boiler man" set this to 3 and we also have thermostats on the rads (although not all of them work!) ...

Would it be more economical to turn the boiler down low and have it on constantly rather than up medium/high and turn it on for 3/4 hours at a time ?

Since the boiler has its own cut-off cycle would it not be better to leave the thing on constant at a low setting ? given that there would always be someone in the house ?

You can get 100 different answers to this question.
Some people do what you suggest and say it works. There are reasons for not doing it.
First of all, it is not good for the boiler if you run it too low. If the temp is not high enough, you will get condensation. The deposit when oil burns is largely sulphur. That combination means corrosion.
You will not get hot water for your taps if the boiler does not run hot enough. That means using a costly immersion heater.
Also you do not want the same amount of heat at night as you do in the day.
You would be better off controlling the temp with thermostats in the different zones. Let the boiler stay at a constant temperature and have hot water ready to boost each zone as its needed.
Too tired to think of any more - I am sure that someone else will think of a "for or against"
Jim.