Understanding how my boiler operates

Weirdly we have one radiator in the hallway that doesn’t have a knob on the side to dictate the level of heat. And this one has stayed on

Is that one radiator, where the thermostat is located? If so, that is normal, and where the stat needs to be.

Your rads with knobs to control their temperature, the knobs are probably TRV - numbers around the edges? Set them at around 3.
 
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Is that one radiator, where the thermostat is located? If so, that is normal, and where the stat needs to be.
Yes this is exactly it. Is it best to keep the controller in the kitchen constantly on for hot water and heating or will this consume more energy? We’ve left it on and just use thermostat to turn heating on/off. Hot water is obviously just always there
 
Yes this is exactly it. Is it best to keep the controller in the kitchen constantly on for hot water and heating or will this consume more energy? We’ve left it on and just use thermostat to turn heating on/off. Hot water is obviously just always there

On all the time, obviously will cost more, set things to match your lifestyle. Heating on to warm the house to get up, them on for when you get back home from work, or you could simply control it up and down as I do, on temperature - up when you are relaxing, down when out or in bed. Water need to be on maybe an hour before you might need it, kept on until you will need no more, then off.
 
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On all the time, obviously will cost more, set things to match your lifestyle. Heating on to warm the house to get up, them on for when you get back home from work, or you could simply control it up and down as I do, on temperature - up when you are relaxing, down when out or in bed. Water need to be on maybe an hour before you might need it, kept on until you will need no more, then off.
See this is the thing, it’s hard setting timers because every day can be different. I guess keeping both on at the controller 24/7 is costing more money, even though the hot water might not be actively coming out of the taps and the thermostat on 0?
 
If you have the hot water on 24/7, it doesn't mean the boiler will be on 24/7. The boiler will heat the water in the tank (to 65 degC ish) then switch off until the tank has cooled (either by escaping heat, or using the hot water and cold water entering).

Putting the heating on will cause the boiler to be on quite a lot. Yes, it will click off for a while when all the rads and the room stat are happy, but that can take a while.

Set your programmer/timer so you can have how water and/or heating when you think you need it. If you unexpectedly need more, there is often a 'boost' button.
 
I guess keeping both on at the controller 24/7 is costing more money, even though the hot water might not be actively coming out of the taps and the thermostat on 0?

You will have two thermostats, one on the wall, for the room/radiators heating - then a second one, attached to the cylinder in that cupboard. The room heating, will be the major consumer of gas, at this time of year. Leaving your hot water on constantly, will not add much to your bill, assuming the cylinder does, in fact, have a thermostat.

The gas cost to heat the hot water, is about 1/3 what you would pay for the same electrically heated. For information - My weekly gas bill, is about double that of my electric bill at the moment. I am gas heated, gas hot water. Electric is just a couple of fridge freezers, TV's, all LED lighting, and gadgets.
 
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You will have two thermostats, one on the wall, for the room/radiators heating - then a second one, attached to the cylinder in that cupboard. The room heating, will be the major consumer of gas, at this time of year. Leaving your hot water on constantly, will not add much to your bill, assuming the cylinder does, in fact, have a thermostat.

The gas cost to heat the hot water, is about 1/3 what you would pay for the same electrically heated. For information - My weekly gas bill, is about double that of my electric bill at the moment. I am gas heated, gas hot water. Electric is just a couple of fridge freezers, TV's, all LED lighting, and gadgets.
Ahh okay cool. I guess having that immersion switch on constantly has driven the cost up on my bills…
 
You will have two thermostats, one on the wall, for the room/radiators heating - then a second one, attached to the cylinder in that cupboard. The room heating, will be the major consumer of gas, at this time of year. Leaving your hot water on constantly, will not add much to your bill, assuming the cylinder does, in fact, have a thermostat.

The gas cost to heat the hot water, is about 1/3 what you would pay for the same electrically heated. For information - My weekly gas bill, is about double that of my electric bill at the moment. I am gas heated, gas hot water. Electric is just a couple of fridge freezers, TV's, all LED lighting, and gadgets.
This is inside
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The first photo is a magnetic filter, to help prevent rust and debris, blocking your boiler. Search for the manual online, and it will explain how to clean it out. For heating, and for best economy, you can turn the Min/Max temperature down, as low as still keeps the place warm, but for heating the cylinder it may need to be set higher, to ensure the hot water gets to the temperature set on the cylinder stat.

Cleverer systems, have two boiler temperature settings, one for heating, one for hot water, but you have only the one setting there.
 
The first photo is a magnetic filter, to help prevent rust and debris, blocking your boiler. Search for the manual online, and it will explain how to clean it out. For heating, and for best economy, you can turn the Min/Max temperature down, as low as still keeps the place warm, but for heating the cylinder it may need to be set higher, to ensure the hot water gets to the temperature set on the cylinder stat.

Cleverer systems, have two boiler temperature settings, one for heating, one for hot water, but you have only the one setting there.
Best to just keep on e?
 
Best to just keep on e?

Yep, so long as it manages to satisfy the temperature demand, of the cylinder.

Boiler temperature, needs to be around +10C above the cylinder stat setting, otherwise the boiler will constantly cycle, and fail to satisfy the cylinder stat setting.
 
OR......you can install heaters that are 21st century that have a range of functions and features that will reduce consumption and maintain a comfort level...OR you can stick with an NVQ bod to tell you what is best LOL
Perhaps you might read the thread again.

Someone struggling to pay the bills isn't going afford new, state of the art heating systems.

And, gas is probably as good as it gets unless you go for positive heat gain devices such as solar etc.

Stupid comment.
 
Weirdly we have one radiator in the hallway that doesn’t have a knob on the side to dictate the level of heat. And this one has stayed on

This rad doesn't have a trv and the others do?

Trvs limit's the room temp from rising higher than they are set.
You can shut the rad down completely by setting them to the lowest setting.
This will save gas if you are not using that room.
 
We have a thermostat in the hallway. These photos are from the inventory before we moved in, the heating and hot water are constantly on (red light lit up) on the programmer
You can download the instructions for the timer.
They are easy enough to set.

To save gas/ electricity:

Read the timer manual and set the heating to suit. The longer it's on, the more it costs.

Turn off rooms you don't use (set the trv to 0).

Set the thermostat to as low as you can accept. Even 1c can make a big impact.

Don't use heating at night. People sleep better in a slightly colder room (18c).

One very cheap way is to not have the heating come on by timer at all, but to just use the 1hr boost when you need it.

Another way is to set the ch heating to be on all the time, but use the thermostat as an on -off switch.

Hot water does not need to be kept hot when not in use. Others may argue for convenience that keeping it hot 24-7 is best but for absolute savings, just have it on for an hour in the morning and at the evening. (To suit). The immersion should be only used for a boost (ie you want a bath and the hw is cold).
However, you have a hw boost on the boiler so there should be no need to ever use the immersion unless you are in a rush.

Your system looks basic but in good nick so should be working fine. However, if it isn't working properly, it will be a good idea to get it serviced.

With heating, be aware of hysteresis.
Things take time to heat up and cool down. If you do use the timer, allow 1/2 hr for the start-end cycle. No need to keep the gas burning if you are on your way out.

Don't turn off the heating permanently. It does the house good to not be freezing cold. If you do turn off rooms, warm them up occasionally to stop damp etc.

Hope your bills come down.l
 

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