Optimize/automate heating to limit gas prices

Energy
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So I think a good topic to also discuss besides limiting energy is to limit gas prices. Because as for many in Europe, the gas prices also spiked a lot.

My heating still runs on a conventional central heating that uses gas. Radiators are used around the house to heat up the place. Yes… in the future when I got the money I might consider switching over to heat pump heating or something… but for now that’s not an option. We insulated the house to prevent temperature drops.

Obviously around the house I use smart devices to control the heating by using Tado’s and various sensors to detect open doors/windows or people. Now I wonder what’s the best heating scenario to limit cost? For example to do leave the heating on all night (on a lower temperature) so that in the morning the heating doesn’t need to do much work… or… do I turn the heating as much down at night (to let’s say 15 degrees) but in the morning it needs to work more to heat up the place (takes roughly half an hour to an hour to heat up to 19 degrees).

What about automation? Do I turn down the heating when nobody is around per room and when somebody is present heat it up? Or just simply leave it?

Only good scenario so far I can thing of is my home office. I know I only use it between fixed hours. So outside the office hours the heating can be turned down. Only time I am there outside office hours is when I want to play a game on my PC.

Automation wise I added Aqara window sensors to disable heating in that room when a window is open. IE: Fresh air in the morning, so turn off heating. When window is closed and the schedule inside the room is on, then the heating will resume.

Let’s discuss!

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I’m living in a 5 rooms apartment, 100m2 of space, situated on the first floor. On the street high floor there is under the half of my house a smaller house of a neighbor, under the other half there are non heated storage boxes.
I have been experimenting with different heating scenarios for almost 8 years, every winter I heated differently. One time with night OUT, day ON, other winter I heated over day whole apartment, in the night only some rooms, and so on.
I’ve carefully watched the gas bills.

And I did come with the result, that keeping the whole house on one temperature 24/7 did come out the best.

So, I’ve kept the house last two years on 21 degree continuously. Last winter we got down to 20 to save some money.

This winter we decided to go down to 18 degrees, other ways it would get unpayable.

So, my experience is: The most efficient in my situation was anyhow one continuous temperature the whole day, combined with WINDOW OPEN-HEATING OFF automation and when outside temperature is very low, TTS will SPAM the house with announcements, that the window really should be closed… :slight_smile:

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