Cost of living!

[Rambo]

11 hours ago, ChrisJ said:

@andydclements - we had an ancient switch/timer that had seperate circuits for the H/W & C/H - but you had to have the H/W on for the C/H to work - which was fine. You could set 2 times for the boiler to be on. Big problem was that there was an override button that when pressed, the boiler would fire up until the next scheduled stop. Many times, it would be pressed after the evening shutoff, but not turned off.

Same with the immersion, we did have a timer for it as well, but a wall switch would turn it on - I'd come up to bed and hear the water tank boiling away. Well, they can't do either of these now.

The other thing was there was no thermostat so the bloody boiler would just keep on running and the radiators would just get hotter and hotter. The cheap as chips TRV valve the useless guy who installed them stopped working within a month or so, so had to leave the fully open for the radiator to work at all.

These are all fixed now, so this winter will be interesting.

That's nonsense. I have the same "ancient switch/timer" with separate HW and CH buttons on our system and you do not need the HW to be on for the CH to work. Unless your electrician wired it up incorrectly !

A thermostat on a boiler is essential if you want to be able to control the temperature of your central heating and hot water.

And having a thermostat on the immersion heater is also necessary as once the water reaches the set temperature it will automatically switch off saving you money.

Sounds like you need a new electrician Chris. And a plumber to flush the whole system, fill with inhibitor and check that the TRV's are working

 

[Barrykearley]

@Rambo that’s the difference between a Y-plan system with a three port valve and an S-plan system with 2 port valves. 

17 minutes ago, Rambo said:

And having a thermostat on the immersion heater is also necessary as once the water reaches the set temperature it will automatically switch off saving you money.

That’s a safety feature - modern immersions are actually required to have a thermostat AND a manually resettable over heat stat.

[ChrisJ]

As the system was put in in the 1970s and we only moved in in the early 2000s, I guess "my" electrician wasn't involved, and living with it for 15 years, I think I know how the switches worked. The C/H switch would start the pump, but not start the boiler. I throught it was crap, but that was how it worked. When on, the boiler would fire up for a long period initially (heating the water up), turn off for 5 minutes, fire up for 15 minutes, turn off for 5 etc. and this was for when both were on or just the H/W

Anyway, it's all irrelevant now, as I no longer have a tank, an immersion or any override switches, as it is controlled by an app - not sure what happens to all the settings when power goes off though.

[Painterdave]

Battery back up 👍

[Rambo]

@ChrisJ presumably you now have a Combi boiler? They're very efficient compared to the old style systems

[ChrisJ]

Yes, I do now, and that's what I'm hoping. Also no buttons for the rest of the family to press and I can control the temp of the central heating. Win win all round - well it better be.

[Techyd]

Had a system change to a combo boiler myself in March, while we were still fully heating the house - the difference is illustrated below:

And February for further comparison

[Kimbers]

4 hours ago, Rambo said:

@ChrisJ presumably you now have a Combi boiler? They're very efficient compared to the old style systems

But I was told we couldn't have one as our water usage is too high and it wouldn't be able to cope! Is that true?

[Bibs]

They heat water on demand, even if it's on 24 hours a day they'll keep heating water. The only time you wouldn't have one is if your mains pressure is very low or you have several bathrooms with non-electric showers which may be used at the same time in which case a water tank can keep up with that kind of demand. 

[Kimbers]

15 minutes ago, Bibs said:

 or you have several bathrooms with non-electric showers which may be used at the same time in which case a water tank can keep up with that kind of demand. 

This. 

[pete]

1 hour ago, Bibs said:

They heat water on demand, even if it's on 24 hours a day they'll keep heating water. The only time you wouldn't have one is if your mains pressure is very low or you have several bathrooms with non-electric showers which may be used at the same time in which case a water tank can keep up with that kind of demand. 

I fitted an accumulator to solve that

[Kimbers]

17 hours ago, pete said:

I fitted an accumulator to solve that

Now your just making words up to confuse me! 

[Colin P]

So basically a hot water tank on a combi boiler.....

Question - will we see a lot of people who have been working from home return to the office to benefit from "free" heating .

[Bibs]

I think I heard on LBC that if you spend £30 a week or less on commuting, go to work as it'll be cheaper! 

I've worked from home for 15 years - the extra I spend on electricity/heating is offset by lack of petrol costs and gladly, when I am working someone else is paying me 45p/mile to get there and back. 

[Colin P]

Ha, because I get a car allowance my mileage rate is currently less than the cost of the petrol.

We only have desks for c50% occupancy - I can see certain of our offices betting a bit crowded in the winter. 

[Kimbers]

2 hours ago, Bibs said:

I think I heard on LBC that if you spend £30 a week or less on commuting, go to work as it'll be cheaper! 

I've worked from home for 15 years - the extra I spend on electricity/heating is offset by lack of petrol costs and gladly, when I am working someone else is paying me 45p/mile to get there and back. 

I'm with Bibbo. Worked from home for 15 years. Unfortunately my workplace is 155 miles away so commuting isn't a viable option. Popping down once every month for a couple of days is much better, but I do worry about the cost of heating and electricity in my Office this winter as my company doesn't contribute at all.

[pete]

4 hours ago, Kimbers said:

Now your just making words up to confuse me! 

 

[C8RKH]

17 hours ago, Kimbers said:

company doesn't contribute at all.

You get paid so they contribute.

Also as you have worked from home you have saved thousands on commuting costs, tea and coffee, lunches etc.

You will be in the black on the deal for quite some time yet.

[andydclements]

I agree, I choose to work from home 4 days a week (the company require me to commute the c6miles to the office one day a week. There is a small amount of cost of running the PC, lighting etc but not having to  commute, plus not having to purchase food away from home offsets that.

[PaulCP]

@Kimbers& anyone who is working from home, have you claimed the small amount of tax relief you are eligible to claim for costs, including heating, when working from home?

https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2020/04/martin-lewis--working-from-home-due-to-coronavirus--claim-p6-wk-/

https://www.ipse.co.uk/ipse-news/ipse-blog/expenses-claim-working-from-home.html

 

[pete]

[pete]

Why is the price cap so confusing. Some think that is the maximum they will pay which it isn't. Why not just say the maximum per kilowatt it is based on .

[andydclements]

I think a lot just wouldn't understand what a kWH is and how that has any relationship to what they pay.

[Kimbers]

I'm sad to say I would support nationalisation of Electric, water and Trains. Never thought I'd say it but it the thought of all those people struggling when these companies make massive Profits doesn't sit well.

I know the issues with Nationalisation, both economically and business wise but the whole thing now makes me uncomfortable to the point where its becoming an election issue for me. 

[TdM]

2 hours ago, pete said:

Why is the price cap so confusing. Some think that is the maximum they will pay which it isn't. Why not just say the maximum per kilowatt it is based on .

Folks what tell us all stuff (including schools and parts of government) feel that they need to simplify everything so that they catch the lowest common denominator. The problem being that to make it simpler, they use falsehoods like the 'price cap' and also 'centrifugal force'. They disperse this information so that people can feel happy they've understood it and that said folks what tell us all stuff did a good job of training. This makes it significantly harder for anyone who actually wants to think further than what they've just been spoon fed and therefore comes back to haunt the general populace when most of them realise that they've been taught a load a balls and they now need to work out what the hell is really happening and what the idiots in charge are talking about.

Whilst I was yelling at the TV to just tell me what a KWh was going to cost me when all this started and they were talking about the 'price cap', I now get a small amount of amusement from them having to say, 'The price cap is now £3500 but that's not actually a cap it's an average payment and the price that you pay will differ'. This is entertaining because they've tied themselves in a knot that they can't unravel and now their information on the news actually says absolutely nothing of any value at all.