8 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I'm not keen either - I thought I'd landed on another site!

Personally I'd rather admin spent the time sorting out things like the problem with accidental postings in the GUIDES forums.

Just has a look in my desk draw, and I've still got my 1970's Dymo label maker 🤣

 

9 hours ago, unofix said:

Personally I'd rather admin spent the time sorting out things like the problem with accidental postings in the GUIDES forums.

Just has a look in my desk draw, and I've still got my 1970's Dymo label maker 🤣

 

I bet kids of today would be like wow what printer or laser cutter did you use to do that 😂 I've not seen 1 of them label printers in years. As to the posting in the wrong pages making that a bit more simplified might be a bit hard as l don't see how the could put it any more plain and simple 😂

Do like it's still relatively warm and mid October. Central heating still not required. 

4 hours ago, iantt said:

Do like it's still relatively warm and mid October.

🤣🤣

It's well seen you are deepest darkest England.

In my part of the world the temperature is around 12^oC and my central heating has been on most mornings for the last week. Still, I have known much colder October's so mustn't complain too much  😀

For those of you with central heating, how many hours do you leave it on for each day?

I've had a new (worse) heater fitted in my bathroom this year but I'm getting mould again already as I can't keep the walls warm enough to prevent condensation forming. 

It does have a 24hr timer but it's just a coil of wire in a tin box so no point setting the timer for cheap rate electric over night as it'll cold time I get up.  Honestly had no idea such an archaic design was still allowed as a fixed appliance in UK homes but I've got no option of changing it again so just have to make do.  Don't really know where to start with setting the timer though.

5 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

For those of you with central heating, how many hours do you leave it on for each day?

Our gas c/h is timed for 7.30 - 9.30am then 5.00  - 9.30pm, provided temp is below 20°C. Generally sufficient but obviously we override the timer if necessary.

Outside temp is 12°C at the mo, we're just south of @unofix of course.

When ours is on its on 7am to 9pm. 21c 

Quite a difference there then.

Think I'll have to start with a couple of hours in the morning and a couple in the evening and adjust from there.  

14 hours a day would potentially cost £75 a month, just for one heater.  Obviously the thermostat should cut it off at a certain temp but that's worst case scenario.

Last Oct was £54 , so far this Oct £20 Inc hot water/ showers  That's 4bed, 3 adults with partner working from home ( feels the cold more than me. ) 

I personally would only only put heating on from 5pm-9pm if I was on my own and at work during the day. 

7 minutes ago, iantt said:

Last Oct was £54 , so far this Oct £20 Inc hot water/ showers  That's 4bed, 3 adults with partner working from home ( feels the cold more than me. ) 

I personally would only only put heating on from 5pm-9pm if I was on my own and at work during the day. 

Unfortunately it's all electric here, so heating and hot water will always be more expensive than gas or oil.

I thought the new heater was going to be ceramic or oil filled to give it a bit more efficiency, but sadly it is just a coil of wire in a box.  Can't maintain any heat all once switched off.

I would prefer central heating, but have never lived in a property with it so far.

4 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Our gas c/h is timed for 7.30 - 9.30am then 5.00  - 9.30pm, provided temp is below 20°C. Generally sufficient but obviously we override the timer if necessary.

Mine is almost the same as yours. 7:30 - 9:30am and then 4:30 - 10:00pm 7 days a week. Room stat which is in the hall is set at 19^oC which actual means the living room is at 20^oC

7 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

For those of you with central heating, how many hours do you leave it on for each day?

I've had a new (worse) heater fitted in my bathroom this year but I'm getting mould again already as I can't keep the walls warm enough to prevent condensation forming. 

It does have a 24hr timer but it's just a coil of wire in a tin box so no point setting the timer for cheap rate electric over night as it'll cold time I get up.  Honestly had no idea such an archaic design was still allowed as a fixed appliance in UK homes but I've got no option of changing it again so just have to make do.  Don't really know where to start with setting the timer though.

Have you tried mould paint it usually stops it from building up ? Our house gets it due to subsidence in the colder periods ( our house is built on old farmland from the 50/60s era and just happens to be at the edge of the ditch 🤦‍♂️ ) it usually happens when damp gets into the gaps of the cement so could be something to look at around yours.

My Central Heating has also been on a few times this week for testing purposes because I had to fit a new Programmer and Thermostat in my new house. The previous owners system had a fancy Internet connected one that did not connect to the Internet and was about  18 inches from the cooker so the Boiler would have thought it was 25 degrees in the whole house when I was cooking.

I have taken to wearing insulated trousers in the winter as well as sweatshirts and I would recommend the trousers, even with a light insulated lining they make a big difference especially outside the house.

Pretend to be a hot water tank jacket. 

12 hours ago, unofix said:

Mine is almost the same as yours. 7:30 - 9:30am and then 4:30 - 10:00pm 7 days a week. Room stat which is in the hall is set at 19^oC which actual means the living room is at 20^oC

I'm jealous of the half hour settings you all seem to have.  My timer only has full hour settings.  But clock on the electric meter is nearly 15 mins out now.  So even if I set the heater to come on for a cheap rate hour, the first 15 mins will be on high rate, and obviously that's the time when it'll be on for longest without the thermostat cutting at all.  

 

9 hours ago, doggsbody said:

Have you tried mould paint it usually stops it from building up ? Our house gets it due to subsidence in the colder periods ( our house is built on old farmland from the 50/60s era and just happens to be at the edge of the ditch 🤦‍♂️ ) it usually happens when damp gets into the gaps of the cement so could be something to look at around yours.

Annoyingly I was forced to repaint this year as the rental inspector didn't like the 'look' of the mould.  (But ignored the massive crack in a different wall!)  After their contractors kept making things worse I said I'd just do the paint myself for damage limitation.  Had to choose a colour quickly, and one with minimal VOC's for health reasons.  Couldn't find a colour I liked in low VOC mould paint, so reluctantly chose normal paint, knowing that the heater was going to be changed soon after, and assuming that to be better for this winter...but as with everything else here, it's ended up worse.  If I was doing it again, knowing what I know now, I would use mould paint, but then again, I wouldn't have let them fit this type of heater either.  I also believe poor fitment on another item they replaced is causing the extractor fan to be less effective, but I won't get into that as well.  Would be glad if I could own a place and manage all of my own maintenance.

9 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I'm jealous of the half hour settings you all seem to have.  My timer only has full hour settings.  But clock on the electric meter is nearly 15 mins out now.  So even if I set the heater to come on for a cheap rate hour, the first 15 mins will be on high rate, and obviously that's the time when it'll be on for longest without the thermostat cutting at all.  

 

Annoyingly I was forced to repaint this year as the rental inspector didn't like the 'look' of the mould.  (But ignored the massive crack in a different wall!)  After their contractors kept making things worse I said I'd just do the paint myself for damage limitation.  Had to choose a colour quickly, and one with minimal VOC's for health reasons.  Couldn't find a colour I liked in low VOC mould paint, so reluctantly chose normal paint, knowing that the heater was going to be changed soon after, and assuming that to be better for this winter...but as with everything else here, it's ended up worse.  If I was doing it again, knowing what I know now, I would use mould paint, but then again, I wouldn't have let them fit this type of heater either.  I also believe poor fitment on another item they replaced is causing the extractor fan to be less effective, but I won't get into that as well.  Would be glad if I could own a place and manage all of my own maintenance.

If the mould I'd caused by work the have or haven't done you can legally get them to do it to get it sorted out private rental or council. Yeah it's not very easy to find low voc paint when it comes to the mould type or at least it wasn't.. we just used white then painted another colour over it. If the cracks are big enough to put your fingers in then they have to deal with it by law. As to owning your own place l feel sorry for some not far from us who paid well over £1k - £5k just to find that they started sinking within 10yrs of them being built but that's what happens when you by choice have to live on the newest housing estate to look the best when it was a water over flow swamp area 🤦‍♂️ I've seen people who live there that looked like they lived on the streets just to say they own a house there 🙄..

On 10/20/2025 at 9:29 AM, TomsFocus said:

Annoyingly I was forced to repaint this year as the rental inspector didn't like the 'look' of the mould.  (But ignored the massive crack in a different wall!)  After their contractors kept making things worse I said I'd just do the paint myself for damage limitation.  Had to choose a colour quickly, and one with minimal VOC's for health reasons.  Couldn't find a colour I liked in low VOC mould paint, so reluctantly chose normal paint, knowing that the heater was going to be changed soon after, and assuming that to be better for this winter...but as with everything else here, it's ended up worse.  If I was doing it again, knowing what I know now, I would use mould paint, but then again, I wouldn't have let them fit this type of heater either.  I also believe poor fitment on another item they replaced is causing the extractor fan to be less effective, but I won't get into that as well.  Would be glad if I could own a place and manage all of my own maintenance.

Have you considered buying a dehumidifier?

On 10/19/2025 at 11:51 PM, Tizer said:

My Central Heating has also been on a few times this week for testing purposes because I had to fit a new Programmer and Thermostat in my new house. The previous owners system had a fancy Internet connected one that did not connect to the Internet and was about  18 inches from the cooker so the Boiler would have thought it was 25 degrees in the whole house when I was cooking.

😂

On 10/19/2025 at 5:58 PM, TomsFocus said:

I would prefer central heating, but have never lived in a property with it so far.

Makes a huge difference. We didn't have it until after I'd entered adulthood. Too old a place to have had any luxuries like double lazing either. I remember the winters of keeping warm by the fireplace and wrapping ourselves up in our duvets in the living room. 🥶

On 10/19/2025 at 4:02 PM, TomsFocus said:

For those of you with central heating, how many hours do you leave it on for each day?

No set on/off times here. I have a cheap programmable thermostat with gas c/h. The day is broken down into about 6 time slots, you can choose what time each starts and ends. I can't remember how fine grained it is. Each time slot is set to a minimum temp to be maintained. I have the slots set to between 13°C and 15°C year round. (During the summer I just turn the whole system off). It automatically fires up every now and then as needed to maintain the set minimum temp. I'll manually bump it up a bit higher towards 17.5°C as and when I'm sat about on my computer or whatever and my hands get too cold. Maybe 19°C tops in the dead of winter if I'm really feeling it. I've considered setting the lower temp slots even lower, but then this building's efficiency isn't particularly bad and it would just have to work really hard to bring it all the way up again later in the day, so I'm not certain that it would actually end up saving any energy. I never use the hot taps, I have that feature turned off on the boiler.

Could use a dehumidifier in another room but there isn't the space or a plug socket for one in the bathroom.  (While I refer to it as a bathroom, there isn't actually space for a bath either! ).

 

It does seem that there's a lot of variation and preference for heating timers.  I've also been wondering whether it's more efficient to leave it on low for longer, or high for fewer hours each day.

I couldn't manage without hot water.  Hoping you've got an electric shower at least?  I was having cold showers for a few months while waiting for the work to be done here and hated it.

50 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Could use a dehumidifier in another room but there isn't the space or a plug socket for one in the bathroom.  (While I refer to it as a bathroom, there isn't actually space for a bath either! ).

Extension lead! Surely there's space enough to stand in front of the sink? My mother has one and it's not very big, though it is a little heavy. After you've showered you could wheel it in there into the space in front of the sink, plug it into an extension lead and turn it on for an hour or so, then put it away after where ever there's room for it to live? That's what she does.

54 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

I couldn't manage without hot water.  Hoping you've got an electric shower at least?  I was having cold showers for a few months while waiting for the work to be done here and hated it.

Yeah I do.

Hah, I'd been thinking recently why on earth we bother having hot taps in our homes. If I want hot water for a shave, I use the kettle. I hadn't thought about baths. Last time I had an actual bath I was still a kid. That is one very good use for one. 😄

40 minutes ago, rd457 said:

Extension lead! Surely there's space enough to stand in front of the sink? My mother has one and it's not very big, though it is a little heavy. After you've showered you could wheel it in there into the space in front of the sink, plug it into an extension lead and turn it on for an hour or so, then put it away after where ever there's room for it to live? That's what she does.

Yeah I do.

Hah, I'd been thinking recently why on earth we bother having hot taps in our homes. If I want hot water for a shave, I use the kettle. I hadn't thought about baths. Last time I had an actual bath I was still a kid. That is one very good use for one. 😄

I don't own a kettle! 😮 

Also don't use any water for shaving lol, been using a dry foil electric shaver for about 10 years now.  Less messy and far fewer cuts.

 

Technically I could get a long extension lead and move a dehumidifier in and out but the cable would prevent me closing the doors from the cold hall which would be counterproductive for both bathroom and main room with more draught and more noise.  And it would also be a lot of hassle that I simply can't be a*sed with!

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I don't own a kettle! 😮

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat 😲

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Also don't use any water for shaving lol, been using a dry foil electric shaver for about 10 years now.  Less messy and far fewer cuts.

Yeah I haven't been having a proper one for a while now either, too much bother. I just go over it with some electric hair cutters every few days or so.

3 minutes ago, rd457 said:

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat 😲

I know.  People are always shocked.  I just drink water.  Don't feel the need for any leaf or bean additives.

19 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

It does seem that there's a lot of variation and preference for heating timers.  I've also been wondering whether it's more efficient to leave it on low for longer, or high for fewer hours each day. 

As to the efficency side of it, if you look at it like an engine, the quicker but shorter use will probably cost you more because it has to reach that temperature 1st then maintain it, where as a longer lower will use less because it isn't trying to keep a higher temperature or reach it in the first place. Just a food for thought 😉👍

2 hours ago, doggsbody said:

As to the efficency side of it, if you look at it like an engine, the quicker but shorter use will probably cost you more because it has to reach that temperature 1st then maintain it, where as a longer lower will use less because it isn't trying to keep a higher temperature or reach it in the first place. Just a food for thought 😉👍

I can make guesses myself lol.  Wanted some direct experiences really.  I will just have to do my own tests for both types of running over a few weeks to see which works out most efficient.

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I can make guesses myself lol.  Wanted some direct experiences really.  I will just have to do my own tests for both types of running over a few weeks to see which works out most efficient.

I think it depends on a lot of things including the size and type of house construction. 

For example the new Tizer Towers is a fairly modern Timber Frame/ Cavity/ Blockwork house with the main Insulation immediately behind the Plasterboard and possibly some on the Timber Framed side of the Cavity.

It heats up very quickly and stays warm for a long time even with the cold north winds we get where I live.

The old Tizer Towers is bigger and was a late 1940's Brick/Cavity/Brick house with Plastered walls and has retrofitted Cavity Wall Insulation. It is also bigger and has a lot of drafts.

It took ages to heat up and seemed to loose its heat quickly.

In my new house I would say intermittent is best but I'm not confident enough to say that having the Heating on all the time would have been better in the old house, My guess is that it would end up costing me more, but I'm not in the house all day like some people.