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-   -   24 hrs or time it (https://britishexpats.com/forum/canada-56/24-hrs-time-266734/)

macmike41 Nov 16th 2004 12:46 am

24 hrs or time it
 
Hi all - we haven’t done a winter in Canada yet but we are feeling the cold a bit – especially in the mornings (yea I know everyone tells me “you ain’t seen nothing yet�). So my question to the old hands is – is it more economical to leave the heating on 24/7 (it’s set at 20 all day at the moment) or buy a time clock to turn it on an hour before I get up.
Thanks

farmgirl Nov 16th 2004 2:11 am

Re: 24 hrs or time it
 

Originally Posted by macmike41
Hi all - we haven’t done a winter in Canada yet but we are feeling the cold a bit – especially in the mornings (yea I know everyone tells me “you ain’t seen nothing yet�). So my question to the old hands is – is it more economical to leave the heating on 24/7 (it’s set at 20 all day at the moment) or buy a time clock to turn it on an hour before I get up.
Thanks

we were in Regina Sask last Feb and put the heating on all day and night at 20 and a 3 bed home basement etc cost us about $128 in gas a month
we actually found it too much sleeping with it that warm and brought a timer from canadian tire for $60 which is electronic and keeps heating on all time but changes the temperature
we have it on 62 from 10pm to 4 am and then it goes up to i think 70 , we like it warm to rise and down again at 7 am and up at 3pm so its warmer when we get in but you can over ride it if you want until the next time setting it goes back to the setting and its different for weekends , i think comes on later and stays higher all day
we have found houses here better insulated and the blowy heating effective , we had that once in Uk and it wasnt very good but it is here
i think it would be a waste to leave it at 20 all the time ( mind you i was brought up in a home where my dad was often caught reusing tbags! ) but if you let it go too low then its probably more gas to keep bringing it up to heat
i suppose depends how well insulated home is

Voyager970 Nov 16th 2004 10:46 pm

Re: 24 hrs or time it
 

Originally Posted by macmike41
Hi all - we haven’t done a winter in Canada yet but we are feeling the cold a bit – especially in the mornings (yea I know everyone tells me “you ain’t seen nothing yet�). So my question to the old hands is – is it more economical to leave the heating on 24/7 (it’s set at 20 all day at the moment) or buy a time clock to turn it on an hour before I get up.
Thanks

As an ex heating engineer, a central heating boiler will work more efficient and be more effective in keeping your house warm if you leave it on 24/7. If you can afford it that is. Once the house reaches its optimum temp,which you have set with the room thermostat, ( do you have room thermostats in Canada ), the boiler will just sit their kettling away, only on for short spells at a time, due to the house already being warm.

Think of a kettle, it takes a while to heat up the cold water straight out of the tap doesn't it. Always using electricity, during the heating up process.

Well if you boil the kettle, switch it off, come back a few minutes later, and it will take less time to heat the water up.

The boiler in a house works on the same principle. Uses less gas to heat up as it is already warmed up. Does this make any sense !!!
You would of course set your room stat to say 20 degress and just leave it on.

Eddie

HaMa Nov 16th 2004 11:04 pm

Re: 24 hrs or time it
 
thought id add my 2cents worth,

i would agree with Voyager970, regarding leaving it on 24*7 as it will just need to top up the heat, because it is already warm,
i learnt this using our swimming pool, to initally heat it took 48 hrs, so everytime i wanted to use it hot, i would have to wait 48 hrs till it heats up
wheras if i just left it on auto it would only work 5 or 6 hrs a day, and would keep the water warm at the right tempreature

i also believe it could be cheaper to keep it on 24*7 in the long run, and you wouldnt have to worry about changing the timers, or so on, just adjust the temp. and thats it really,

HaMa

Interested Nov 16th 2004 11:45 pm

Re: 24 hrs or time it
 
I agree keep it on all the time. We keep ours at 71F in the morning, 68F during the day (except at the weekend, when it's 71F all day). In the evenings it is set for 71F and then overnight 68F.

It's probably cheaper this way! Plus more comfortable!

I remember turning it off for a weekend in April, I came home and it was down to 43F!! It was bloody freezing and took a good few hours to heat up. I won't make that mistake again.

Int.

farmgirl Nov 17th 2004 1:34 am

Re: 24 hrs or time it
 
would this be the same whether you had a new or old house ie better or worse insulation?
the new houses are well insulated but the century homes here in the country are not , they tend to have the old metal double glazing and be draughty

Interested Nov 17th 2004 1:57 am

Re: 24 hrs or time it
 

Originally Posted by farmgirl
would this be the same whether you had a new or old house ie better or worse insulation?
the new houses are well insulated but the century homes here in the country are not , they tend to have the old metal double glazing and be draughty

I guess the worse insulated the house the harder the heating will have to work to keep it warm, therefore it'll cost more money to heat the house. However you'd still want to keep it on all the time, cos it would still cost more to turn it off and then heat it up again.

Purley Nov 17th 2004 11:44 pm

Re: 24 hrs or time it
 
I like it cold in the house. I am not a "Celsius" person and I know I have the thermostat set on 15 most of the time. I looked that up and it converts in my language to 59 degrees, which sounds cold, but I like it that temperature and I always wear a sweater. Also, my granddaughter is here all the time and she never complains.

I always feel stifled if its too hot inside. Mind you, I think most people over here have the thermostat set at 72 during the daytime. Some people turn it down a few degrees at night and some leave it at 72 all the time.

Interested Nov 18th 2004 12:18 am

Re: 24 hrs or time it
 

Originally Posted by lizwil98
I like it cold in the house. I am not a "Celsius" person and I know I have the thermostat set on 15 most of the time. I looked that up and it converts in my language to 59 degrees, which sounds cold, but I like it that temperature and I always wear a sweater. Also, my granddaughter is here all the time and she never complains.

I always feel stifled if its too hot inside. Mind you, I think most people over here have the thermostat set at 72 during the daytime. Some people turn it down a few degrees at night and some leave it at 72 all the time.

Thast sounds so chilly Lizwil98!! I know some people like it cold though!

flashman Nov 18th 2004 12:36 am

Re: 24 hrs or time it
 

Originally Posted by macmike41
Hi all - we haven’t done a winter in Canada yet but we are feeling the cold a bit – especially in the mornings (yea I know everyone tells me “you ain’t seen nothing yet�). So my question to the old hands is – is it more economical to leave the heating on 24/7 (it’s set at 20 all day at the moment) or buy a time clock to turn it on an hour before I get up.
Thanks

Although I'm not technical I think it depends on your heating system.

For instance water powered systems take longer to react however forced air systems are quicker so you can buy thermostats which can be programmed according to your lifestyle.

macmike41 Nov 18th 2004 1:55 am

Re: 24 hrs or time it
 
Thanks for all the input folks - I feel cold just thinking about 15 Liz. We have forced air and it does react/warm the place up very quickly + the house is new so its well insulated and really does keep the heat in so I think we will stick to a setting of 20 and get a clock to turn it off for a few hours overnight (but I think it will be on 24/7 when the snow hits).


Originally Posted by flashman
Although I'm not technical I think it depends on your heating system.

For instance water powered systems take longer to react however forced air systems are quicker so you can buy thermostats which can be programmed according to your lifestyle.


farmgirl Nov 18th 2004 1:59 am

Re: 24 hrs or time it
 

Originally Posted by flashman
Although I'm not technical I think it depends on your heating system.

For instance water powered systems take longer to react however forced air systems are quicker so you can buy thermostats which can be programmed according to your lifestyle.

thats definately true we had radiators in uk and if you left the heating turned up they would go clonk clonk as heated and cooled in night and wake us up
and took ages to warm up as it had to heat the tank of water first and then circulate it
maybe these forced air systems , especially with a return vent are better then
arent we sad discussing this !
it doesnt help that they will only read our meter each january and wont take a reading from us , i was told " they will take my reading but wont take it into account ": so i have started overpaying my bill each month as am sure it will be a shock when they do read it in Jan !
I asked what the previous peoples bill was and they said we cant tell you because of dataprotection but your monthly bill is based on it , i pointed out to her that she had then in fact just told me what their bill was hadnt she and there was a silence ! Also they didnt live here for 10 months so its probably artificicially low and i need some help guessing to budget but i was talking to myself really she was thinking of her lunch break and the weekend

Purley Nov 18th 2004 3:06 am

Re: 24 hrs or time it
 
From what I understand, radiators have a more even heat. Forced air furnaces come on and heat up the house and then they stop sending out hot air and the house cools down and the thermostat tells the heat to come on again - and so it goes - off and on all day. Radiators get to a certain heat and then it stays there. So its longer to heat up and much longer to cool down. I don't think too many houses around here still have radiators. The new type of furnaces can have a fan that goes slowly all the time and keeps the air circulating so you don't get the heat up and cool down effect like the old non-efficient furnaces.

Even though I have the heat low, my energy bills are still quite high. I can't exactly remember off the top of my head but I think my electricity and gas together are over $300 a month, equalized. I hate to think how much they would be if I kept the heat at 72 all the time! I looked at a new furnace but it was going to cost me around $2,800 and I can't afford it at the moment but probably will do it some time next year and that should save me a bit.

If I won the lottery I would get energy efficient windows and more insulation - along with the new furnace of course!

Voyager970 Nov 18th 2004 11:36 pm

Re: 24 hrs or time it
 
Efficiency V's Effectiveness

On a lighter point, I would like to add that old houses are generally more expensive to heat, due to having poor wall and roof insulation, and also draughty windows etc.

A new gas boiler is more efficient at heating water from a low standing temp, due to it having a more effective burning operation.

I would recommend anyone to have their heating system serviced at least once a year, and if it costing you an arm and a leg to heat your house, replace the boiler. You will recoup what you have paid out on the new system in lower monthly gas bills, therefore in the long run it will be more economical to run.

Whether the system is new or old, I would run it 24/7 during the cold damp winter months, you will of course have a nice warm house 24/7.

In the UK we generally use a heating system the comprises of a combination boiler, which gives you a central heating system, warming radiators and it will also give you instant hot water, the moment you turn on the hot water tap. This stops you having to heat up a copper hot water cylinder. These systems are very efficient and do not cost a lot of money to run, my friend pays about £25/30 per month for his heating bill, compared to lizwill98 this is very cheap.

So 24/7 it is !!!!!!!

Eddie


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