Best way to use central heating - please help!!

somanyqs2010

Hi everyone

I know I am going to sound so stupid but I have been searching the web all day on this topic and I cannot get a definite answer. I am hoping you can help me.

Our house is 4 years old and we have oil central heating. We have two zones in the house - upstairs and downstairs. At the moment we have two switches in the utility to turn zones on and off.

We have a termostat downstairs and one upstairs - both are disconnected. This is because they are in the hall and landing and in the worst positions ever!!! They would turn off the heating while the rooms were freezing.

We had some initial issues with balancing the radiators and they now seem to be resolved. Although we do notice that if we turn off the zone downstairs and turn on upstairs the rads upstairs get hotter than if we turn on downstairs first and then upstairs. But we can live with that for the moment.

Our hot press/immursion is downstairs and the boiler is outside the back door and set to 70 degrees.

So my question is this....what is the best way to use our heat so that we use as little oil as possible?? Or should I say how can we be as efficient as possible??

From what I see on the web today :
1. Turn off or turn down all rads in rooms where heat is not needed. (I presume using the knob on the right of the rads - the return valve?)

2. Move the thermostats into the coldest bedroom so that you can maintain temp in bedrooms better.

We have a timer in the utility room with three setting: constant on, off and timer. (its not a digital one). Should we turn it to constant on...reconnect the house thermostats....and leave it like that all day???

Am I correct in my understand then that boiler will come on...heat water to 70 degrees......when stats hit say 18 degrees upstairs and 20 downstairs the boiler clicks off.....but keeps kicking back on when the water goes below 70 or when the room temp drops below 18 degrees upstairs and 20 downstairs ??? Is that right??? Would that not cost a fortune to run???

Im totally confused!! I see that having the boiler come on and off all day long uses more oil as its trying to reheat the house from a cooler temperature.

Our second baby is due this December and we really want to get this heating thing sorted. My husband is an out of work electrician so moving stats is not an issue. We just want to ensure that we understand the system as it will be on a lot over the coming months
Many thanks

ntpm

somanyqs2010 wrote: »

Hi everyone

I know I am going to sound so stupid but I have been searching the web all day on this topic and I cannot get a definite answer. I am hoping you can help me.

Our house is 4 years old and we have oil central heating. We have two zones in the house - upstairs and downstairs. At the moment we have two switches in the utility to turn zones on and off.

We have a termostat downstairs and one upstairs - both are disconnected. This is because they are in the hall and landing and in the worst positions ever!!! They would turn off the heating while the rooms were freezing.

We had some initial issues with balancing the radiators and they now seem to be resolved. Although we do notice that if we turn off the zone downstairs and turn on upstairs the rads upstairs get hotter than if we turn on downstairs first and then upstairs. But we can live with that for the moment.

Our hot press/immursion is downstairs and the boiler is outside the back door and set to 70 degrees.

So my question is this....what is the best way to use our heat so that we use as little oil as possible?? Or should I say how can we be as efficient as possible??

From what I see on the web today :
1. Turn off or turn down all rads in rooms where heat is not needed. (I presume using the knob on the right of the rads - the return valve?)

2. Move the thermostats into the coldest bedroom so that you can maintain temp in bedrooms better.

We have a timer in the utility room with three setting: constant on, off and timer. (its not a digital one). Should we turn it to constant on...reconnect the house thermostats....and leave it like that all day???

Am I correct in my understand then that boiler will come on...heat water to 70 degrees......when stats hit say 18 degrees upstairs and 20 downstairs the boiler clicks off.....but keeps kicking back on when the water goes below 70 or when the room temp drops below 18 degrees upstairs and 20 downstairs ??? Is that right??? Would that not cost a fortune to run???

Im totally confused!! I see that having the boiler come on and off all day long uses more oil as its trying to reheat the house from a cooler temperature.

Our second baby is due this December and we really want to get this heating thing sorted. My husband is an out of work electrician so moving stats is not an issue. We just want to ensure that we understand the system as it will be on a lot over the coming months
Many thanks

WOW... that is one long post..
WHERE TO START>

I see a few issues with your system:
Controls and plumbing does not comply with building regs- Part L Energy efficiency.

ELECTRICAL:
Single time clock and switches on wall is incorrect.
You do not seem to have a thermostat on your hot water cylinder.

You should be able to heat hotwater and heating a separate times and control them by individual thermostats.

PLUMBING:
There does not seem to be motorized zone valve or flow control for hotwater to cylinder.

Basic control operation. ( of any zone)
Programmer(tme clock) > A specific zone comes on> power sent to thermostat>
if stat is too cold> power opens motorized valve> Boiler switches on (Boiler Interlock).
When stat is satisfied> power goes off and motorized valve shuts> Boiler switches off.

Boiler control:
When the boiler switches on it heats water up to the temperature set on it's stat.
Note: for efficient heat rejection across radiators (on conventional systems) the boiler stat needs to be around 70-80C.
This allows the rads to emit substantial heat into the air and heat the rooms.
However, Boiler stat set too high it could result in the hotwater cylinder getting too hot ( also safety issue if rads too hot when children are around). That is why you need a cylinder thermostat normally set to around 60-65C. This then shuts of the water flow from the boiler and switches the boiler off(Energy efficiency ).


Now to try and answer your original issue of how to use heating;
As you stated no definitive answer but IMO.

You may need to rewire controls/ slightly modify what you have but invest in a 3 zone Programmer, ensure you have hotwater temperature stat and motorized valve.

With your set up:
You are trying to heat up all the areas at the same time which will take the boiler longer.
You should use the thermostats as your main temperature set point for each zone. Finding the happy medium will take a little time. Stats usually around 18-20C (Air temperture).
This will ensure that if one area gets to it's setpoint it will autimatically shut the flow of water in that zone and send it to another zone.
boiler won't have to work as hard. Use less oil!!!

Moving the stats may not necessary as using it properly will result in an efficient system.
If you need advise on wiring layout PM me.

Keep radiator valves open ( balance the system). Closing down a rad could cause the rad to clog up and the room will get too cold and this colder air will transfer into the rest of the house (causes the feeling of a draft)
For added comfort and efficiency I would recommend fitting Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRV's) for individual room control.

Re Timing of heating.
Ideally automatically time the zones when you need.
I advocate the opinion of a little heat, regulary on during the day ensures the building fabric does not get too cold.

FUNKY LOVER

ntpm wrote: »

WOW... that is one long post..
WHERE TO START>

I see a few issues with your system:
Controls and plumbing does not comply with building regs- Part L Energy efficiency.

ELECTRICAL:
Single time clock and switches on wall is incorrect.
You do not seem to have a thermostat on your hot water cylinder.

You should be able to heat hotwater and heating a separate times and control them by individual thermostats.

PLUMBING:
There does not seem to be motorized zone valve or flow control for hotwater to cylinder.

Basic control operation. ( of any zone)
Programmer(tme clock) > A specific zone comes on> power sent to thermostat>
if stat is too cold> power opens motorized valve> Boiler switches on (Boiler Interlock).
When stat is satisfied> power goes off and motorized valve shuts> Boiler switches off.

Boiler control:
When the boiler switches on it heats water up to the temperature set on it's stat.
Note: for efficient heat rejection across radiators (on conventional systems) the boiler stat needs to be around 70-80C.
This allows the rads to emit substantial heat into the air and heat the rooms.
However, Boiler stat set too high it could result in the hotwater cylinder getting too hot ( also safety issue if rads too hot when children are around). That is why you need a cylinder thermostat normally set to around 60-65C. This then shuts of the water flow from the boiler and switches the boiler off(Energy efficiency ).


Now to try and answer your original issue of how to use heating;
As you stated no definitive answer but IMO.

You may need to rewire controls/ slightly modify what you have but invest in a 3 zone Programmer, ensure you have hotwater temperature stat and motorized valve.

With your set up:
You are trying to heat up all the areas at the same time which will take the boiler longer.
You should use the thermostats as your main temperature set point for each zone. Finding the happy medium will take a little time. Stats usually around 18-20C (Air temperture).
This will ensure that if one area gets to it's setpoint it will autimatically shut the flow of water in that zone and send it to another zone.
boiler won't have to work as hard. Use less oil!!!

Moving the stats may not necessary as using it properly will result in an efficient system.
If you need advise on wiring layout PM me.

Keep radiator valves open ( balance the system). Closing down a rad could cause the rad to clog up and the room will get too cold and this colder air will transfer into the rest of the house (causes the feeling of a draft)
For added comfort and efficiency I would recommend fitting Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRV's) for individual room control.

Re Timing of heating.
Ideally automatically time the zones when you need.
I advocate the opinion of a little heat, regulary on during the day ensures the building fabric does not get too cold.

very good answer fair play.

somanyqs2010

hi everyone

many thanks for your help on this problem. We are going to re-instate the thermostats and see where we go from there

leoch

hi dont know if this is the same thing but isnt there an infa red heat lose detector u can get or get done that shows were u may be loosing heat in ur home did anyone have it done or is it expensive ?