Ducted Heating - Best Practices (Needing Inputs)

sk7 on 30/06/2022 - 10:21
Last edited 30/06/2022 - 10:29 by 1 other user

My Gas bill jumped double compared to last year, I felt lucky as i am locked in on the prices till end of this year (so no surprise for me in terms of increase in rates yet). But still I got a shock as my heating cost just doubled/tripled, yes its much colder months in Victoria but did not expect. So wanted to get inputs from fellow OzB's!

  1. What temperature you using set during the day and while in the bed?
  2. How often do you service your Gas ducted heater?
  3. How often do you service your Gas water heater? (i am not sure if this is potentially energy eater).
  4. Are we better off using the Electric than the Gas?
  5. Has anyone had any issues with the Gas Meter being faulty?
  6. Do you guys room heater instead of centralised/ducted heaters?

Additional information:
- My Gas bill this month was Actual meter read (so I have indeed used it up this time).
- In winter i usually maintain it at 20, sometime go up when we have guests.
- checked my ducts on the roof, to see if there is any leaks/broken ducts (none found)

Home & Garden Heater

Comments

  • Xyzzy on 30/06/2022 - 11:39
    +3
    1. 19 during the day. Up to 22 in the evening if we're just sitting watching TV.
    2. Yearly
    3. Never.
    4. Probably, but there will be a significant up front cost to migrate.
    5. Yes, a leak at the meter.
    6. Yes when there's just me at home and I'm working in a small room.
    • sk7 on 30/06/2022 - 12:14
      +1

      Thank you for your inputs!

      • Xyzzy on 30/06/2022 - 13:25
        +1

        And I definitely don't run it once we've gone to bed. That would be crazy! It scheduled to turn off at 10pm and back on in the morning.

        I did have a problem with a duct that had come loose; you said you'd checked - but if you're not 100% sure wouldn't hurt to get someone in to check and clean them out.

        • sk7 on 30/06/2022 - 14:39

          yeah, I learnt its better if i would switch it off in the night (or keep it minimal at 16). Feels odd now that i let it run all night! :) will fix that up!

          • Lastchancetosee on 01/07/2022 - 14:51

            @sk7: Yes, if you get cold at night, use an electric blanket or hot water bottle to warm the bed. We never have the heating on overnight.

        • The Hawk on 01/07/2022 - 15:21

          I know people that turn it on at the start of winter and off when it warms up. Madness in my mind.

          I would get it more if you lived in a snowy climate and wanted to stop dropping below 0C, but that's not much of Australia. Alot of more modern units have a 10C mode which maintains at least 10C at all times.

          1. Off at night, on during the day. Our gas system is 40 years old and has a knob without numbers…. When we had a modern electric it was more like 17 - 18C in winter (and 23C in summer).
          2. Almost never. We have had it tested for carbon monoxide a couple of times and the vents cleaned once in about 7 years. Looking to get it cleaned every year from now on. Zero service otherwise.
          3. Never unless it doesn't work (instantaneous hot water). Ours is only 7 years old.
          4. If you have solar you could use to run the electric heater during the day, then probably when you can generate your own power. Otherwise no (unless you are just in one room and use a local heater with the door closed. Even a small box heater can be pretty efficient in the right settings).
          5. Not personally, but it happens.
          6. See above.

          The reality in our house is we just turn the Ducted Gas on when we are cold without much more thought. I keep saying I should upgrade it to a more modern and I'm sure far more energy-efficient system… but the capital outlay has been enough to stop me so far even though I think it would probably cut my winter heating bill significantly.

  • Eatslikeacat on 30/06/2022 - 12:02
    +7

    Gas heaters are 100% efficient, resistive electric heaters are 100% efficient, heatpump electric heaters are more than 100% efficient. For central heating the recommendation consider getting a heatpump electric heater. It's a glorified split system air conditioning system so you also get the benefit of using it for cooling in summer. It uses the electricity to move heat inside during winter, and move heat outside during summer. Since it's moving heat instead of generating it you get a bigger bang for your electricity buck with heatpumps.

    • sk7 on 30/06/2022 - 12:15

      Thank you!!

      • ItsMeAgro on 30/06/2022 - 13:53
        +1

        Yeah good quality energy-efficient ducted AC systems can be as little as $7000 fully installed.

        It's cheaper than 4 split-system ACs (even 3 in many cases), much quieter, looks way nice, less air blowing, lasts for 25 years, and adds way more than it costs to the value of your home.

        It's fantastic to not be suffering in the worst hot and cold weather. I'll never live in a non-airconditioned home again.

    • skillet on 01/07/2022 - 23:23

      Nicely explained sir. Thank you for schooling.

  • thatonethere on 30/06/2022 - 13:08

    You should check and see the bill shock is due to the price increase or extra consumption. I found with our gas heater (rip) the servicing didn't seem to do much just had a look and checked for leaks.

    Gas heating is good when it is super cold outside as the heat pump will struggle.

    I would definitely back it off from 20 and have it off while you sleep. Have a timer 30 min before u wake up.

    • LePhasme on 30/06/2022 - 13:18
      +4

      Some heat pumps can work down to -25°C (although with reduced efficiency) so in Australia they shouldn't really struggle.
      This video is worth watching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFEHFsO-XSI

      • FirstWizard on 30/06/2022 - 13:25
        +1

        I was just going to say that, most people who have this misconception, get their facts from reading articles from the US. So unless the OP is above the snowline they should be more than fine (I mean even still they should be)!

        • lgacb08 on 30/06/2022 - 17:58

          I've been to falls creek and saw plenty of buildings there had split systems humming all along, snow covered on top.

      • thatonethere on 30/06/2022 - 15:50

        Mine seems to spend quite a while in defrost cycle when it is in the minus outside. Once it has finally warmed up all good.

        • JIMB0 on 01/07/2022 - 08:07

          What brand?

    • sk7 on 30/06/2022 - 14:41

      yeah, i was lucky to have a lock on the price.. so its my appliances which is eating up based on my usage..need to see if the water heaters are efficient..

  • Banana on 30/06/2022 - 13:18

    We don't turn it on at all during the day, just layer up if it gets too cold, 18C for 2 hours in the evening (7pm-9pm) and that's it.

    • sk7 on 30/06/2022 - 14:46

      Wow! I am going to try that.. I felt bad to burn up so much fuel (not mentioning how bad is on my wallet too).. Thanks!

      • Banana on 30/06/2022 - 15:01
        +4

        Just to add, during the day you should open the blinds in rooms where you'd get sunshine so it heats up the room, but put the blinds down as soon as the sun has set to conserve heat.

  • mskeggs on 30/06/2022 - 13:27
    +5

    18 deg, turn off before bed.
    Use local or single room heating in preference to heating multiple rooms.
    Reverse cycle AC is the cheapest way to heat now.
    Other electric heat is costlier than the same amount of gas, but a little electric heater uses less power than a whole house gas heater, because it is producing less total heat.

    If you need 10mins warmth getting dressed in the morning, turn on the little fan heater for 10mins, don't run the whole house heating for 90mins for the same need.

    • sk7 on 30/06/2022 - 14:43

      makes total sense! thanks!!

  • dtc on 30/06/2022 - 14:00
    +1

    FWIW, if its not too captain obvious, you use less heating if you lose less heat from your house. So also look at the usual things - gaps in doors, gaps in ducts (if you have ducted air con), insulation and all the rest

    • sk7 on 30/06/2022 - 14:42

      sure, will have a look at these! Thanks!

  • JimB on 30/06/2022 - 14:30

    What's your daily usage last year and this year?

    Did it double from $1.50 to $3 per day? :P

    • sk7 on 30/06/2022 - 14:36
      +1

      last year same time it was $3 (thought it was high).. but this time it is $6.5!

      • JimB on 30/06/2022 - 14:58
        +1

        What's the MJ used?

        To be honest $6.50 a day is pretty normal for a 60 day gas bill.

        What was your daily MJ usage?

        • The tiger on 01/07/2022 - 10:19

          We are two seniors living in our four bedded room house at 3150. $6.50 per day applies to us too this June bill having a gas ducted heater and a Vulcan gas water heater. We turn on our gas heater from 9.00 a.m to 12.00 noon, and then from 2.00 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. This winter in Melbourne is real colder .Much I don’t like the cost of my gas bill, I have no choice.

          • JimB on 01/07/2022 - 11:06
            +1

            @The tiger: I suppose you could turn off the ducts in the bedrooms you aren't using and close the door.

            I doubt turning it off between 12pm and 2 pm is going to make much difference.

            What temp you set it at?

            • The tiger on 02/07/2022 - 10:31

              @JimB: Thanks for the suggestion. Yes we make it 20 and yes we do close off the vents , and doors of other unused rooms .We turn it off between 12 pm to 2 p.m and use the small fan electric heaters instead as we have FreeLunch benefit from our electricity provider .We then leave to outsides till 4.00 p.m. Wife is scared of cold. Have no choice but to bear the expensive winter gas bills. We just had our new Brivis 5 stars ducted gas heater replaced some months ago, but the usage remains same unfortunately.

              • JimB on 02/07/2022 - 12:12

                @The tiger: Free lunch makes sense. I’d probably buy 5 or 6 electric heaters haha.

                I would have thought that usage would have decreased when upgrading to 5 star.

                Having said that, it’s been colder than normal this year.

  • bmxr on 30/06/2022 - 14:45

    18-19 at night only.

  • soan papdi on 30/06/2022 - 15:26

    For night time electric blankets are worth a try too,

  • Archi on 30/06/2022 - 15:27

    sleep with a hot water bottle it's amazing.

    21 degrees from 6am - 8am and 7pm-9pm…

  • kranix on 30/06/2022 - 19:20
    +2

    Our house had a ducted gas heater when we bought it. After much research, I decided on getting split-system reverse-cycle units for each room. They are reliable and cheap to install and keep serviced, even after considering the longer pipe lengths we wanted to place the outdoor units in an out-of-the-way place. I control them using Ambi Climate units, which give me independent per-room AI climate control.

    Ducted or multi-split systems may sound better, but you pay a lot for labour and specialist skills and they can be more difficult to service if something goes wrong. Ducted systems can't give you truly independent zoning per room. They can't ramp down their power load too far, so are very inefficient if you only want to cover one or two rooms.

  • lainey13 on 30/06/2022 - 22:23

    Gas ducted heating here.
    19 or 20 during the day, but only the bottom floor. But I have great insulation so it doesn't kick in a lot depending on how cold it is outside.
    +2 degrees upstairs only while my son has a bath in the evening then we turn it off. Half an hour max? I use a little fan heater when showering then that's it. The insulation helps it stay warm for a long time. For example when I picked my son up this morning, it was 13 degrees in his room but 2 degrees outside. It was 17 degrees when he went to sleep at around 8pm. He was fine in his warm onesie and a 3.5tog sleeping bag. We were warm in a 300gsm wool blanket and fluffy pjs. My gas bill still isn't great though. like $300 for a winter quarter :(

  • WT on 01/07/2022 - 10:39

    a couple of days ago it was 26.9 degrees in front of my PC in sydney

  • v8bargain on 01/07/2022 - 10:48
    1. 17
    2. Every two years.
    3. Never really thought of doing that.
    4. I'm under the impression that it is. Espeically considering you can offset with the use of solar panel etc.
    5. Won't pay attention unless I smell GAS around it.
    6. Use room heaters as well.
  • saltypete on 01/07/2022 - 12:04
    +2

    Also have a look at your house environment if you want to spend less on heating or cooling.
    Do your windows, floors, doors leak air? Older windows are generally terrible for this, and where floors are hard surfaces like timber or tiles, skirting boards are rarely sealed.
    Plenty of Gov sites to clue you up. A few dollars on seals can give a great return

    • JIMB0 on 02/07/2022 - 19:26

      Spot on. Draft sealing your house makes the biggest difference, far more than insulation.

  • rocmelon on 01/07/2022 - 14:29

    I compared same time last year & usage was the same
    I use an electronic programmable thermostat with periods /day
    got it from ebay superhot
    "Ducted Heater THERMOSTAT 5-2day Program Room temperature Honeywell 2300BL NEW"
    set to
    wake 8:00am 17C
    Leave 9:00 12C
    Return 5:00 18C temp increase to 19.5C on colder days
    Sleep 11:00 13C 12C if not enough blankets on

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join