Your home thermostat temperature poll

[Damien]

26 minutes ago, gazza77 said:

You can claim a very small amount back through tax. Beyond that no (or not as both of us are NHS employees). The cost of heating even at today's prices is less than spent on commuting however, and the flexibility and extra free time are worth more than money to us as well. 

I could have the heating on all day every day and I'd still be better off than commuting.

[David Dockhouse Host]

3 hours ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Preferred setting can be massively influenced by where the thermostat is situated in the house, and if thermostatic valves are installed. I've lived in a house where any setting above 6°C would turn the house into a sauna because the thermostat was on an outside wall in a north facing hall with an ill fitting front door.

This.

 

It is very much affected by position. Mine is in a cold corner set at 18, but the rest of the house is above that, I've bought a second stat to help me judge it

 

 

[hindle xiii]

Firstly, I'll post my thoughts, then I'll catch up.

I hope this thread becomes an impromptu TRL Helpdesk.

Mine central heating is set to 16°C up to 18°C twice a day 6am and 6pm for 50 minutes. Here's the small print, until yesterday my minimum temperature was 13°C but I bit the bullet and put some heat in the house, under a certain temperature isn't good for health or house apparently. My house is small so it doesn't feel cold, but most of the radiators are old, long and single (oo-er!). My kitchen/conservatory is south facing but is cold (8°C overnight, I've just started covering the 3 glazed sides of the conservatory with bubble wrap on the windows). The conservatory roof is a 5-year old insulated solid roof that I had done as a prototype for where I used to work. There is only one very small radiator and it's on the wrong wall in the kitchen/conservatory. However, there is good underlay under the flooring and a good rug in the conservatory. The loft insulation is rock wool (decent thickness) and is a all over the bungalow. I've recently replaced and fitted draught strips on the external and internal doors. I will be cleaning the fins of the 2 double radiators, one is in the conservatory and far too small. I also intend to replace a kitchen cupboard with an additional radiator to help, I currently use an oil filled radiator.

Apologies, I didn't expect to write a long post but keeping my home warm and dry has become a new focus.

[hindle xiii]

Also, I forgot to add the central heating does kick in regularly throughout the day and night to keep the 15°C (was 14°C for a while, then 13°C). I haven't used my oven in a long time either.

I did wonder if energy companies or external companies offer a home health service for energy improvements.

[Kayakman]

15 hours ago, David Dockhouse Host said:

This.

 

It is very much affected by position. Mine is in a cold corner set at 18, but the rest of the house is above that, I've bought a second stat to help me judge it

 

 

The geographic position of a controlled thermostat is of the highest importance...it can never be in direct sunlight and should be centrally located, probably best in a place where you spend the most amount of time....never beside a door or window!

P.S.  Never on the interior side of an exterior wall!

Edited December 14, 2022 by Kayakman

[Kayakman]

If using a programmable thermostat, the variance in temperature from the setting for the time you are in the house living (your highest setting for the day) and your programmed lowest setting (usually when you are sleeping) should never be a difference of more than 5 degrees C.   That will give you maximum savings.

[Kayakman]

23 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

What's a monthly gas bill look in Canada then?

A Great Question:

I have went upstairs and have the bill with me now.   The house is about 3 000 square feet and we also heat all of our hot water with gas...so the bill is for heating and hot water (not cooking, stove is electric).

It has been a fairly typical fall for weather and I live in the Near North, you you would consider it to be very cold indeed.

From Oct. 22 -Nov. 22 the total bill with tax was $81.36 or an average of $2.54 per day.  All figures are in Canadian dollars.

What would it be over there?  I have no idea.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

4 minutes ago, Kayakman said:

A Great Question:

I have went upstairs and have the bill with me now.   The house is about 3 000 square feet and we also heat all of our hot water with gas...so the bill is for heating and hot water (not cooking, stove is electric).

It has been a fairly typical fall for weather and I live in the Near North, you you would consider it to be very cold indeed.

From Oct. 22 -Nov. 22 the total bill with tax was $81.36 or an average of $2.54 per day.  All figures are in Canadian dollars.

What would it be over there?  I have no idea.

!!!!!!!!!!

It would be in the region of £20,000 a month roughly 

I guess that is the benefit of living in a communist country like Canada 

[Kayakman]

4 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

!!!!!!!!!!

It would be in the region of £20,000 a month roughly 

I guess that is the benefit of living in a communist country like Canada 

That is the bill...I swear it.   But honestly how much would the same building have as a natural gas per month over there?

I am using a new Amana High Efficiency Gas model (google it)....this baby is working just fine (its on right now) and keeps us all nice and warm during the many blizzards we have here each and every year.

How much for it over there for the sort of same amount of gas in Canadian dollars?...I want to know.

Edited December 14, 2022 by Kayakman

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

5 minutes ago, Kayakman said:

That is the bill...I swear it.   But honestly how much would the same building have as a natural gas per month over there?

I am using a new Amana High Efficiency Gas model (google it)....this baby is working just fine (its on right now) and keeps us all nice and warm during the many blizzards we have here each and every year.

How much for it over there for the sort of same amount of gas in Canadian dollars?...I want to know.

Don't know mate...I have a 4 bed detached...big enough by UK standards though not massive. Family of 4

Me and missus out all day working so 1.5 hours  heating in morning and 4 hours night plus  weekends.....about 21oC thermostat  .....my dual fuel of electricity and gas is currently using about £375 a month (it's about 0oC this month).......across year about £300 a month 

Edited December 14, 2022 by Bedfordshire Bronco

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

What's the difference between a gas boiler and a gas furnace ?

[Kayakman]

1 minute ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Don't know mate...I have a 4 bed detached...big enough by UK standards though not massive. Family of 4

Me and missus out all day working so 1.5 hours vet RL heating in morning and 4 hours night plus  weekends.....about 21oC thermostat  .....my dual fuel of electricity and gas is currently using about £375...across year about £300 a month 

I just googled it...right now one British pound is worth 1.68 Canadian dollars, soo ...300 lbs a month would equal $505 dollars...WOW!

[Kayakman]

8 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

What's the difference between a gas boiler and a gas furnace ?

A gas boiler heats water...people have heated this way for a long time...a new modern gas boiler system is very expensive not only to install but also to Maintain.  Usually heaters made of cast in most rooms.

A High Efficiency Gas Forced Air Furnace heats by blowing hot air through a venting system....usually with one outlet from the ducking per room.  Its sort of neat to see it turn on with three-5 blowing vents...it makes the maximum use of the heat units produced by the gas.

Edited December 14, 2022 by Kayakman

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

37 minutes ago, Kayakman said:

I just googled it...right now one British pound is worth 1.68 Canadian dollars, soo ...300 lbs a month would equal $505 dollars...WOW!

And it's getting worse ...talk of it going up massively in April 

This is why it's all over the news in the UK 

[Kayakman]

4 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

And it's getting worse ...talk of it going up massively in April 

This is why it's all over the news in the UK 

Are alot more people burning wood over there?...do you know how much a bush cord of hardwood would sell for?

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

21 minutes ago, Kayakman said:

Are alot more people burning wood over there?...do you know how much a bush cord of hardwood would sell for?

I don't even know why that is!! 

Ive always been told burning wood is wasteful compared to gas

[hindle xiii]

Today's follow up:

I've turned down the small radiator in the conservatory to it's frost setting.

My smart metre reading is currently £4.53 for gas today.

I haven't used any hot water for a long, long time. I was my hands with cold water. All other hot water is electric shower, dishwasher, washing machine, etc.

I don't use my gas fireplace at all.

I'm going to search for some kind of home energy survey that isn't just that colourful report you get when moving house.

Edit: my boiler is 8 years old and rated B (88.8%).

Edited December 14, 2022 by hindle xiii

[gazza77]

4 hours ago, Kayakman said:

Are alot more people burning wood over there?...do you know how much a bush cord of hardwood would sell for?

A bushcord isn't terminology I'm familiar with. A builders bag of logs (the image is offcuts, but gives an idea of size) is £85 from the supplier I currently use. 

[Kayakman]

3 hours ago, gazza77 said:

A bushcord isn't terminology I'm familiar with. A builders bag of logs (the image is offcuts, but gives an idea of size) is £85 from the supplier I currently use. 

Great photos..a bush cord is 4 feet wide by 4 feet high by 8 feet long (costs about $400).

[Adelaide Tiger]

God it’s sobering reading the comments on here and watching the presenters on UK SKY talking about heating costs.

In Adelaide, July is the coldest month and according to the Bureau of Meteorology the mean maximum temperature for July in our area is 15.2c and never falling below 11c-12c on even the worst days.  As tough, strong Yorkies we only had the gas fire on for 5 or 6 nights through winter as the wife invested in an Oodie and I put on a jumper.

After listening to the ABC radio station today it appears that even with the Senate passing an Energy Bill to cap gas prices for 12 months the view is that energy costs will still rise by nearly 40% in the next 12 months or so.  So it looks like we will be investing in a battery storage system that fits to our solar panel system.

 

Edited December 15, 2022 by Adelaide Tiger

[JohnM]

16 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

I don't even know why that is!! 

Ive always been told burning wood is wasteful compared to gas

And not environmentally friendly, it seems. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/04/home-wood-burning-pollution-expected-to-rise-due-to-uk-cost-of-living-crisis

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/wood-burning-stoves/article/wood-burning-stoves-what-you-need-to-know/stoves-and-pollution-aIPXC8g7lbu5

Edited December 15, 2022 by JohnM

[Kayakman]

1 hour ago, JohnM said:

And not environmentally friendly, it seems. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/04/home-wood-burning-pollution-expected-to-rise-due-to-uk-cost-of-living-crisis

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/wood-burning-stoves/article/wood-burning-stoves-what-you-need-to-know/stoves-and-pollution-aIPXC8g7lbu5

What about coal?..do people still heat with coal over there?

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

9 hours ago, Kayakman said:

What about coal?..do people still heat with coal over there?

They do in the Northern towns and cities- it's still very popular as most don't have central heating or many of thier teeth left

Edited December 15, 2022 by Bedfordshire Bronco

[gazza77]

1 hour ago, Kayakman said:

What about coal?..do people still heat with coal over there?

Yes, though not primary heating. We actually use a combination of oil, lpg, coal, wood and electric to heat. 

I actually did an experiment over the last couple of weeks to compare coal and wood, from a cost and effectiveness point of view. What I established quite quickly is that coal heats more effectively than wood in a multifuel stove, and unsurprisingly stays in much longer. In terms of costs, they were pretty similar, despite coal having doubled in price in the last 12 months. 

We aren't heavy users of wood or coal as they aren't part of our main heating. They are a key element however, and that's likely to continue for the foreseeable future. 

[JohnM]

2 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

They do in the Northern towns and cities- yes still very popular as most don't have central heating or many of thier teeth left