Central Heating 23/24 Season

[mushy]

I appear to be the only person in the world who is apparently better off this winter then last.
With the £400 reduction and the £500 winter fuel allowance I can't see me paying more this year then last overall.
Is my maths correct or is there something I'm missing here?
I intend to keep my heating on as normal this winter. Until some whacking bill comes in and I ***** myself.

[the pink palermo]

No mushy, you are not alone.

[chelmsfordhammer91]

I appear to be the only person in the world who is apparently better off this winter then last.
With the £400 reduction and the £500 winter fuel allowance I can't see me paying more this year then last overall.
Is my maths correct or is there something I'm missing here?
I intend to keep my heating on as normal this winter. Until some whacking bill comes in and I ***** myself.

I was in the same boat, getting the £400 whilst my bills are fixed. However, my old dear was on the variable so I've just squirreled it away in case she needs it (I reckon she won't, but you never know).

It still enables those on a fixed tariff to use that money on one of the myriad of other things that have risen in price though.

[YorksHammer]

My bill is about £10 down on where it was this time last year, but then Octopus has the £66 coming in that means that (I think) in total my bill is currently £136 a month compared to £80 a year ago.

No offence but is this a joke?

Oh absolutely - they'll still get their heating on over bedtime. Might just make it a tighter window of time that it goes on for, but they'll get the benefit.

To be honest, with school and then after school clubs we're rarely home much outside of first thing in the morning and then bedtime. Today, for example, everyone up at half 7 (had to wake the kids, a rarity), out to school for half 8. School chuck out at 3:15, back home probably by 3:40, all gather in the kitchen while dinner cooks, back out again by 4:40, back home at about 8. I'm the only person home right now and I can pop some extra socks on (haven't yet had to crack out more than a snuggly jumper/hoodie and some thick socks in the house).

I'll probably pop the heating on manually when we get home for a bit, let the girl's rooms warm up as it heats (doesn't get below 14 in the house anyway, I've seen), then flick it off when they're in bed with water bottles and sleeping. House is only about 15/20 years old anyway and quite often once heated to 16 stays there for a couple of hours.

[Jennings]

Bored of being uncomfortable
Bored of getting up at 4:45am each morning to a freezing cold house
Bored of watching the missus get into bed fully clothed every night.
Bored of worrying about the cost.

Which is all a very boring way of saying “I’ve caved, I can’t take it any more”

Sorry to let the team down, all I can say in my defence is the thermostat is set at a miserly 16° but, man - what a difference it makes to a drafty old, single glazed house.

[the pink palermo]

Bored of watching the missus get into bed fully clothed every night.

I think I warned about this tactic. They'll stop at nothing.

Endure the unendurable. Resist.

[Up the Junction]

Sorry to let the team down.

Our central heating on for three hours yesterday. #frivolous

[Knighter10WHU]

Thought I'd come into the office today because working from home is causing me to have to put the heating on more regularly during the day... slight flaw in the plan, cant get bloody iPlayer to work to watch the football in the office FFS!

[wolf359]

Not a good week for 4 days wfh.. chilly up norf today. Heating is coming on in the morning now daily - set to 16 after 6am and has clicked on 3 days in a row.

Had a meter reader round yesterday (finally) to double check my readings (as they don't seem to believe them..) Should get that overdue bill now (was due to 10th Nov.)

[Up the Junction]

slight flaw in the plan, cant get bloody iPlayer to work to watch the football in the office FFS!

You know it's on ITV, right?

[Knighter10WHU]

You know it's on ITV, right?

:lol: Yeah dw, neither of them work so thats me out for the day! For some reason its because the internet settings here seem to think we're located in Frankfurt so cant connect to UK services.

[Up the Junction]

:lol: Yeah dw, neither of them work so thats me out for the day! For some reason its because the internet settings here seem to think we're located in Frankfurt so cant connect to UK services.

No VPN?

[Knighter10WHU]

No VPN?

Weirdly am on a company VPN which for some reason thinks I am in Germany... not sure I can get away with downloading a dodgy free VPN

[Up the Junction]

Weirdly am on a company VPN which for some reason thinks I am in Germany... not sure I can get away with downloading a dodgy free VPN

In your position, I'd be thinking about using a VPN on my mobile. Doesn't have to be dodgy, they are generally very reasonably priced.

[djclipz]

I'm still going, although I was very close to buckle yesterday. Jogging bottoms, a hoody and a dressing gown saved the day and looked a treat.

If it drops again, i'm probably out or suffering from hypothermia. A trip to the office is the plan for tomorrow though.

[Up the Junction]

I'm still going, although I was very close to buckle yesterday.

While not exactly Siberian in nature yet, I've felt the cold in the last couple of evenings... I feel for those who won't have the choice of slapping on the heating for a few hours per day over the next three or four months.

[Eastcote]

Just had a new boiler and Hive thermo installed in October. For some reason on certain dates there is no hot water even though its on for two hours each morning and evening. No one had a bath last night so tank should be fullish. Mrs E got up no hot water I got up hour or so later even though water had been one another hour cold shower. Already had two engineers out nothing wrong on the boiler side called Hive no nothing wrong there. Have called them out again next Tuesday. Put it on boost after taking Princess Dotty out for a walk come back half hour later Shazam hot water.

Question if I put the water on all day is that cost effect as opposed to having it on just for a couple of hours at the start and end of the day as suggested by one of the engineers or am I p*****g gas up the wall?

Its not a combi but a normal boiler.

[mushy]

So you have an immersion heater for the hot water which is gravity fed?

When the engineers came I assume they tested the system via the Hive and any other controls you have?
The fact that it works on boost indicates to me that there can't be a lot wrong with the system.
Have you tried switching off the heating then setting the Hive to call for hot water alone?
If so does the boiler click in when you do this?
And when you say boost, is that a function of Hive or on the boiler itself?
Possible bypass valve failure but your engineer should have tested for this, unless they were sent by British Gas.
As for your question as regards having the hot water on all day, almost certainly this will cost more because everytime the water cools naturally the boiler will fire up again, even if you're not actually using any water.
Seems a waste to me but a lot depends on if you need hot water all day long.

[mumbles87]

wife and I made the decision last night that we going to put the heating on 17:00-18:00 for bathtime from now

we had just put the HVACs on in the kids rooms which made upstairs lovely but now we could do with doing the entire house for an hour

so heating will go on.. but ive said put the twins HVAC on from 18:00 until 06:30 at a constant 20 degree as one of them is getting up every night again .. and I wonder if she getting cold

the other sleeps through fine lol

it is their first winter in their big room so all learning curve

[chelmsfordhammer91]

We did similar (as with you, mostly due to the kids), having it on 20 throughout the night.

I work from home and have it off all day and just put a jumper on. The lowest it goes is about 18 ish anyway which is pretty decent.

Had to hide the hive thermostat as my eldest plays with it and whacks the boost on accidentally.

We got a new boiler this time last year and they gave us the wrong hive kit (one for non-combi boilers), but didn't take the old one away when they replaced it, so have that sitting there I'm trying to flog.