Adjusting your central heating

You can adjust your heating to make sure you use it efficiently.

This information is for people with a time clock, digital programmer, room thermostat or storage heater controls. If you use electric key meters you'll need to make sure they are charged for a minimum of 24 hours.

Setting the clock time

  1. Check the timer is set for the correct time and adjust as necessary.
  2. Decide when you want the heating and hot water to come on and go off.
  3. Push the pins in for the times you want the heating to be on.
  4. Pull the pins out for the times you want the heating off.
  5. Set the switch to 'timer' or 'auto' as appropriate to the appliance.

Setting the digital programmer

  1. Check the clock is showing the correct time. If not, put the timer switch to 'clock' and adjust the time setting.
  2. Reset the timer to 'auto'.
  3. Set the 'heating' and 'hot water' switches to come on once, twice or stay on all the time.
  4. Check the settings are what you want.
  5. Set the thermostat by turning the dial so that the arrow or marker is against the temperature setting you want. A comfortable setting is between 18°C and 22°C.

Storage heaters

Storage heaters store heat from electricity supplied at cheaper off peak (night) times and release it the following day.

Storage heaters have two controls, INPUT and OUTPUT. INPUT controls how much heat to store during the night and OUTPUT controls how quickly the heat is given out during the day.

Room thermostats

A room thermostat controls the heating to maintain the temperature you have set.

General advice

A time clock or programmer automatically turns the heating and hot water on and off at times you set.

You should set the heating to go off during the night and when your home is empty during the day. During freezing spells, keep some background heat on all the time.

Constant low heat will help stop condensation.

More information

For more information about adjusting your central heating contact your housing officer.