hedge Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 I have recently moved into a rented house that doesn't have a combi boiler like my old house did. I now have: An airing cupboard upstairs with an immersion heater in it (it has an on/off wall switch) A gas fire in the lounge which seems to have a water heater or boiler behind it for the heating (I do have radiators) A `timer` on the wall that has `on until B`, `off until C` and `on until D` - so it can only be on and off twice a day. On the side of the timer there is a rocker switch `hot water only`, `heating and hot water` and `off`. A digital thermostat on the other side of the room An electric shower So, having lived here for 3 weeks my gas and elec bill is £110! (2 bed terraced house). My question is - what needs to be on and when? To date - if the timer on the wall is on then I've had `heating and hot water on`. My thoughts are now, why have the immersion on. If the immersion is literally a large kettle than only heats water for the taps, then why do I need it on? I have an electric shower. Can I just switch it off at the wall switch in the airing cupboard? Does the heating system allow me to use hot water to the taps, if only in a small amount (and the immersion literally tops it up?) I'm not very clued up on this so open to ideas. My plan is to turn the immersion off at the wall switch and have just the heating running off the timer. If I need hot water I'll boil the kettle. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Kelly Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Turn the immersion off, have the timer on heating and hot water for 2 periods a day and turn the thermostat on the wall down a bit and grab a jumper. Sounds like you have a horrible old back boiler, which is very inefficient. Hope your landlord has a current gas safety certificate for you and the bloke issuing it did a proper job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 (edited) you could set the set the clock to twice a day and put the rocker switch to heating and hot water. the 'a' is when it first comes on in the morning and 'b' off 'c' is afternoon on and so on. the clock on the timer is set against a marker on the front of the clock by the switch. when the boiler fires up in the morning the water will be heated first and then the rads will get hot. the rads/pump will be controlled by the digital thermostat. if the cylinder is lagged the hot water should last most of the day/night. if you put your ear to the clock you should hear it ticking that will tell you it is working. edit forgot to say turn immersion off Edited January 6, 2014 by aga man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Turn the immersion off, have the timer on heating and hot water for 2 periods a day and turn the thermostat on the wall down a bit and grab a jumper. Sounds like you have a horrible old back boiler, which is very inefficient. Hope your landlord has a current gas safety certificate for you and the bloke issuing it did a proper job. too right ventilation and regular servicing is a must on these old back boilers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Thank yourself lucky my family manage to use £160.00 a month in Electric alone. Going to throw the tumble dryer through the back door when I smash the in. You will always have a period of trial and error when getting use to a new property, you'll be right shortly. Figgy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longchalk Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 I only have hot water via an immersion heater, and space heating via Economy 7 storage heaters... And single glazing! Both are stupidly expensive to run... But, I have an electric shower and a dishwasher, so other than handwashing what do I need hot water for? I just turn the immersion off and get used to handwashing with plenty of soap in cold water.... As for room heating. I bought some Delonhghi 1.5 kw oil-filled electric radiators. I have them on time clock to go on and of before I come home, or get up etc... Ok, I only have myself to please, but my house is perfectly warm enough, at around £80 a month including constant TV & plenty of tumble drying.... Like the OP, it was a massive shock coming from a modern gas fired, centrally heated house, but you soon adjust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Kelly Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Electricity is almost always more expensive than gas for heating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Mongrel- Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Your immersion heater is only there as a back up when you have central heating. The guys above have seen you right re advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedge Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Thanks guys. That is more or less what I thought. I'm paying to use an immersion heater that I don't use (slightly annoyed for not working that out when I moved in). I do literally boil the kettle for washing up and as suggested put the timer on for short periods am and pm. I do have the gas fire in the lounge so stick that on for a while, shut all the doors and get quite toasty PDQ. I owe you all a virtual beer for saving me at least £25 a month. Oh - and it was tested/certified the day before I moved in (although I don't have a copy) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kes Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 If you are paying the bills, check to see if your energy supplier is relatively expensive - check against British Gas or one of the better smaller company's could save a bit more. Immersion off definitely and run the heating as the others have said. Get a carbon monoxide alarm for peace of mind especially if you have children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brett1985 Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Thank your lucky stars you dont have an electric combination boiler like mine. God awfully expensive thing... previous advice is pretty much bang on imho... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longchalk Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 If you are paying the bills, check to see if your energy supplier is relatively expensive - check against British Gas or one of the better smaller company's could save a bit more. Immersion off definitely and run the heating as the others have said. Get a carbon monoxide alarm for peace of mind especially if you have children. +1.. Even if you don't have kids, get a monoxide detector. We are all somebody else's kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutiny Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Oh - and it was tested/certified the day before I moved in (although I don't have a copy) You are entitled to a copy of the CP12, the engineer should have left one for you. It might be worth asking the landlord for your copy just to ensure that it has infact been checked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedge Posted January 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 If you are paying the bills, check to see if your energy supplier is relatively expensive - check against British Gas or one of the better smaller company's could save a bit more. Immersion off definitely and run the heating as the others have said. Get a carbon monoxide alarm for peace of mind especially if you have children. I'm with BG but expect energy use to drop dramatically now the immersion is not on 4 hours a day.CM alarm good idea. I only have 3 cats but all `famileeee` You are entitled to a copy of the CP12, the engineer should have left one for you. It might be worth asking the landlord for your copy just to ensure that it has infact been checked Good point. I'll ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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