Gas water heater issue with housemate

Catari Jaguar

My house mate has the heat on a boiler timer from 4:30 - 5:30 am every morning with radiators on in six rooms including the hall. He has it on level 4 out of a possible 6 heat levels. It's an old gas boiler. He says that it is only 50c per hour for this. Is he correct? The bill was €78 (inc taxes etc) for 17 days before I had it switched to his name. I rarely use the gas cooker, him & his girlf use it daily.

The water is very hot by about 7am but luke warm by about 1pm and radiators are cool before then also. So the house is roasting first thing in the morning and quite uncomfortable (sweating in bed even with my radiator off) There is little or no hot water left (he takes long showers) when I come home from work in the evening so need to boost the immersion (electricity I presume) to have a warm shower.

Can anyone please provide an energy/cost efficient solution? He is very pig headed, I have already turned off four radiators and switched the boiler down to level 2.

The_Conductor

In general (and this is a generalisation) gas heating is one of the cheapest heating options available out there.

To be 100% honest with you- I don't know of anyone who habitually uses heating between the months of April and September here in Ireland- it rarely goes below 12-13 degrees at night, and is quite pleasant during the daytime.

I don't understand how/why he feels the need to run an early morning sauna in the property- if I were living there- I'd be looking for new accommodation- I could not live in a place that was uncomfortably hot first thing in the morning.

With respect of heating water for the shower etc- the gas boiler is probably the most cost effective way of doing this too- electric immersions eat electricity.

I don't know how he is suggesting that his energy use comes to 50c per day- particularly if its an old inefficient boiler......... Seems like wishful thinking on his part. Totally aside from his daydream about his energy usage- I'd seriously be looking to get out of there- I couldn't live with someone with habits like he has.......

Ray Palmer

Turn the radiators off. There is also a setting in systems to switch it to only heat the boiler. Older systems rely on the radiator controls. You will still get the pipes in the system heated which can give off a lot of heat. If all the radiators are off you will reduce the flow of heat in the system but it depends the route to the boiler. Older radiator valves aren't really that good either so might not really turn the radiator off.

Gas boiler is much cheaper than electric immersion. In saying that you need to talk to the housemate and ask him to use the immersion for a little while to check if it is really that expensive and makes that much difference.

reprazant

In my house, I also have my boiler timed to come on between 6 and 7. It is the only way I can have hot water for the shower.

We have the all rads turned off though. Its warm but not boiling. Maybe turn them all off?

There is nothing wrong with wanting a shower in the morning so I am not sure in what he is being pigheaded about it. You seem to have no problem turning on the immersion when you want a shower.

Tea drinker

Well whatever about him, most women are nazi's about having showers and they need hot water in fairness.
You already turned off 4 of a possible 6 radiators and the boiler is on second lowest setting.