I live in the UK, in a 1970's ex local authority semi and it has the standard 'back' boiler which was fitted to many homes built at that time. After the recent gas bill rises I decided to turn the boiler down to hopefully reduce my energy bills but discovered that the boiler is on setting 2 (out of 5) My question is, would it be better to turn it down to 1 of in fact turn it up to 3 or even 4 making it run hotter and therefore reduce the amount of cutting in and out it does to heat the water tank. Basically I only have hot water on gas (heating is off at the mo) and it seems to be costing me around ?1.50 a day which does seem quite expensive for a couple of showers and some washing up per day.
The hotter you keep your water, the more heat it will lose. The rate of heat loss is directly proportional to the difference in temperature between your boiler and the air around it. The number of times the burner cuts in and out is irrelevant; the only thing that matters is how long the burner is on in total. Answer: keep it as low as you can live with. More important to your heating costs is how much you let out the door (or the window or all of the other holes and cracks). If your water tank is not insulated, insulate it. Replace the weatherstrips on all your doors and windows. Caulk every crack or pin hole. If you can, double the amount of insulation in your attic. Think of your house as a slightly leaky pail, leaking your money -- i.e. your expensive heated air. Every pin hole you plug is money kept in your pocket.
