The new thermostat kicked me to think again about how we used the heating (and hot water).
When we both worked it came on (weekdays) an hour or so before first of us up, usually me for a London train, then off around 08:00 and back on 15:30 for when Mrs B/kids were home. Off around 22:00.
When I left the London job and was home all day we just left it on all day. By that point Mrs B had stopped supply teaching so even once I was working for CAB one of us was at home all day.
Experimenting with the new thermostat I tried heating on at 07:00 (if homeworking I start at 08:00) off at 10:00 then a boost midday to 14:00 and an evening burn from 17:00 to 20:30.
Thermostat is set at 18.5.
What I'm finding is that the temperature displayed by the thermostat (confirmed by a mercury thermometer) is pretty stable at 18.5 all day. The stat audibly clicks on and off at irregular intervals but seems to respond to draughts, the door out being opened or maybe heat from the kitchen. May be different if it's really cold outdoors but we've not had less than 5 degrees so far.
I've got a 600watt oil filled rad under my desk for the really chilly days.
If I left the boiler on for heating it would, no doubt, fire up at regular intervals even if only for five minutes.
I've also mucked about with the Hot Water so it's only on twice a day and we're making a concerted effort to only do hand washing up once a day.
At the moment SO energy have failed to send me a statement since mid August but have had my (smart) meter readings. It will be interesting to compare my Kw/h consumption for October/November and November/December with last year.
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