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Keep ondol(floor heater) on 24 hours a day???
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genesis87



Joined: 21 Nov 2011

PostPosted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 2:49 am    Post subject: Keep ondol(floor heater) on 24 hours a day??? Reply with quote

Hello. I have heard mixed things from people about this. Should I keep my ondol on 24 hours a day??? I dont want my electric bill going crazy. It doesnt work too well and even on full power will only keep the floor slightly warm. It is a nob device. so there are marks for 10/20/30 degrees and I have been keeping it at about 30. If i put it below 20 the light turns off so im guessing it isnt on. I have a space heater as well that was left here but havent turned it on due to reading about crazy inflated electric prices from it. Please let me know!!
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coralreefer_1



Joined: 19 Jan 2009

PostPosted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 4:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, I dont know the size of your place, but I will give my own personal experiences.

I only turn my on when I come home in the evenings. Most understand that this is not instant heat, and can take anywhere from two to several hours for it to make any noticeable difference.

However on those cold days, when I come home in the early afternoon I will turn it on to about 50 degrees (my panel measures the water temp in the pipes, not the air) I can feel the floor getting warm within an hour or so, although the air doesnt really change much. I will wear a sweater and sweatpants in the house throughout the evening, so I dont really feel cold.

By the time I am ready for bed around 1am, the room is fairly warm, at which time I will set it on a 2-3 hour times so that it will turn itself off in the early morning, but still letting it be warm enough that my room isnt frigid for the morning shower.

As to whether or not to leave it on, that really depends on your system and home. My place is rather small, with interior doors to seprate the living space/kitchen/laundry area(helping to preserve heat) Mine heats water, and since water will cool off in the same intervals, it will turn itself off and on anyway..so leaving it on all day would mean water was being heated to warm a place when Im not home. I also live on the third floor with a good deal of sunlight during the day, so I get heat from the apartments below to an extent, and also I open curtains to let sunlight in during the day for those extra few lingering degrees.

If perhaps you have a rather large apartment 2-3 rooms, and there is no other way to isolate heating for each room, then it might be better to leave it on all the time...however I think for the standard 1-room place, unless one enjoys lying around in their underwear at home, it wouldn't be necessary to keep it on when you arent home.

For your system, the light shouldnt stay on always (except the power light letting you know the panel is on)..unless its one I have never seen. The light comes on when the pipes in the floor are being heated, and turns off after a few minutes..but the heat transferred/created to the pipes radiates upward..so when they cool down, it will turn back on again and re-heat them. If you have it set at 30 (which appears to be "air" temperature"...wow that is hot and if you continue to do that, you will find yourself with a several hundred thousand won power/gas bill.

Also note that as was mentioned here , two of the nuclear reactors were shut down recently, and the government is expecting high demand on a weakened power system this winter...which may very well lead to changes in power rates/penalties for exceeding certain usage...etc. If your system uses electricity, or otherwise you plan to use electric space heaters, do so with caution.
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young_clinton



Joined: 09 Sep 2009

PostPosted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 6:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The thermostat for the ondol has to be kept on and above freezing or the pipes will burst when it gets cold. Other than that you're not saving any energy by putting heat in to the ondol that is not being used.
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Lazio



Joined: 15 Dec 2010

PostPosted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 7:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My house is terribly insulated so if there is no heating it gets cold. I would need to burn a lot of gas to get the room temperature back to a comfortable level and I would sit in cold for several hours. A 20 min. cycle every 3 hours keeps the floor warm and therefore the room. This way it runs about 7 times in 24 hours for a total of 140 min. Which isn�t much and it�s warm when I get home.
At the previous place it was different and we only ran the heating at night during the coldest period in January. So it depends.

As for electric heaters: always check the wattage of these devices so you can estimate how much energy they use. Over say� 1000 W you shouldn�t use it for more than a couple of hours/day.
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young_clinton



Joined: 09 Sep 2009

PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 7:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lazio wrote:
My house is terribly insulated so if there is no heating it gets cold. I would need to burn a lot of gas to get the room temperature back to a comfortable level and I would sit in cold for several hours. A 20 min. cycle every 3 hours keeps the floor warm and therefore the room. This way it runs about 7 times in 24 hours for a total of 140 min. Which isn�t much and it�s warm when I get home.
At the previous place it was different and we only ran the heating at night during the coldest period in January. So it depends.

As for electric heaters: always check the wattage of these devices so you can estimate how much energy they use. Over say� 1000 W you shouldn�t use it for more than a couple of hours/day.


Look at your ondol system in the back part of the house. You should be able to shut the water off to most of the house except for the Master bedroom. If you want to keep the heat on all day just keep your room warm. Also you should be able to keep all the bedrooms warm and the rest of the house turned off. Look at the valves next to the heater unit. They are there for a reason.
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Stan Rogers



Joined: 20 Aug 2010

PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 8:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Perhaps your ondol is not cirruculating properly. Your whole floor should be warm. If part of it is warm and another area cold, then their may be a cirrculation problem.
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orosee



Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul

PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 3:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As for the nuclear power station shutdown; how does this effect the supply of gas which is used to generate the heat for your ondol? My ondol (and I bet most of other's, too) is powered by gas (well, a gas fueled water heater) so its use does not touch my electric bill but only the gas bill, to the tune of raising it from ca. 5,000 Won in August to 250,000 Won from December to April (each month).

And electric space heaters; I've never owned one myself because there are reports here in the Forum that tell shocking stories about their energy consumption and the associated increase in the power bill.

Mine has a button that's labelled "Away" and it'll turn down the heat somewhat without shutting off the display. I reckon that it's sort of a standby mode which allows for a faster re-heating after I return to the apartment. I'm more worried about my Winter vacation of 4 weeks December -January, I can't turn the heat off (frozen pipes!) and I haven't run any long-term tests on the away button, So I guess I'll have to leave the ondol on for the entire period (my minimum water temp is 40C (>_<) ).

As a former smoker I have to admit that some of my gas bill may have been due to leaving windows open in Winter for ventilation while having the ondol run at 75C to compensate for the heat loss Embarassed
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Smithington



Joined: 14 Dec 2011

PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 4:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Have you any idea how many chemicals, glues and other nasty stuff get released into the air every time you turn on the ondol. Stop and think about it.

I never turn on my ondol. I'd rather be cold than inhale all that crud.
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orosee



Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul

PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 5:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Smithington wrote:
Have you any idea how many chemicals, glues and other nasty stuff get released into the air every time you turn on the ondol. Stop and think about it.

I never turn on my ondol. I'd rather be cold than inhale all that crud.


Stops.

Thinks.

Turns on ondol.

Every Winter season, the hospitals' pneumonia wards fill with dying environmentalists and health nuts. Stop spreading disease! Stay warm!
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Gorf



Joined: 25 Jun 2011

PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 8:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have the opposite problem, my building has one (1) ondol control out in the hallway for all 7 apartments on our floor. Some bonehead thinks that it's necessary to turn our ondol on to about 50 degrees and leave it there. The floor will burn your feet and the rooms is constantly super hot and uncomfortable. Just be lucky that you can actually control your own.

I hate whichever neighbor of mine for some reason think it's comfortable to be in a room where teh air is constantly 35 degrees. I have to open my windows to keep the air cool enough to sleep in. It's insane.
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Zyzyfer



Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: who, what, where, when, why, how?

PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 8:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

orosee wrote:
Mine has a button that's labelled "Away" and it'll turn down the heat somewhat without shutting off the display. I reckon that it's sort of a standby mode which allows for a faster re-heating after I return to the apartment. I'm more worried about my Winter vacation of 4 weeks December -January, I can't turn the heat off (frozen pipes!) and I haven't run any long-term tests on the away button, So I guess I'll have to leave the ondol on for the entire period (my minimum water temp is 40C (>_<) ).


Yeah the away button is basically there so pipes don't freeze and stuff. Mine only kicks in at a very low temperature, 8 Celsius. So if you're gone for four weeks, turn that sucker on.
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orosee



Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul

PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 9:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Zyzyfer wrote:
orosee wrote:
Mine has a button that's labelled "Away" and it'll turn down the heat somewhat without shutting off the display. I reckon that it's sort of a standby mode which allows for a faster re-heating after I return to the apartment. I'm more worried about my Winter vacation of 4 weeks December -January, I can't turn the heat off (frozen pipes!) and I haven't run any long-term tests on the away button, So I guess I'll have to leave the ondol on for the entire period (my minimum water temp is 40C (>_<) ).


Yeah the away button is basically there so pipes don't freeze and stuff. Mine only kicks in at a very low temperature, 8 Celsius. So if you're gone for four weeks, turn that sucker on.


Thanks!
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Lazio



Joined: 15 Dec 2010

PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 1:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

young_clinton wrote:
Lazio wrote:
My house is terribly insulated so if there is no heating it gets cold. I would need to burn a lot of gas to get the room temperature back to a comfortable level and I would sit in cold for several hours. A 20 min. cycle every 3 hours keeps the floor warm and therefore the room. This way it runs about 7 times in 24 hours for a total of 140 min. Which isn�t much and it�s warm when I get home.
At the previous place it was different and we only ran the heating at night during the coldest period in January. So it depends.

As for electric heaters: always check the wattage of these devices so you can estimate how much energy they use. Over say� 1000 W you shouldn�t use it for more than a couple of hours/day.


Look at your ondol system in the back part of the house. You should be able to shut the water off to most of the house except for the Master bedroom. If you want to keep the heat on all day just keep your room warm. Also you should be able to keep all the bedrooms warm and the rest of the house turned off. Look at the valves next to the heater unit. They are there for a reason.


I�m well aware of that. We only use the living room and 1 bedroom out of 3 in the winter.
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Swampfox10mm



Joined: 24 Mar 2011

PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 1:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

We used to keep ours around 20ish just from the residual heat from neighbors downstairs. Then, we had a baby, and the wife set it to 25. I can now keep it around 22 to 23.5 in most of the house, and my wife will accept that, but it's still 24 in our daughter's bedroom.

When grandma comes, it's jacked-up to 25, and I have to watch out or she'll make the entire house that hot. Easy for her -- she's not paying the bill!
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s.tickbeat



Joined: 21 Feb 2010
Location: Gimhae

PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 2:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm on the south coast, so the coldest it gets outside for me is maybe -10 C? But I'm also Canadian.

You DO need to leave the heat on 24 hours a day when the temperature starts to dip below 0. However, you don't need to blast it at all. Just keep it at a steady 10 C and circulate the warm water under the floors. If you're worried about your bathroom or kitchen pipes, turn on the tap to drip a bit and the moving water will prevent a frozen pipe.

One thing that helps immensely is a humidifier. The moisture will heat up faster than the air, and you'll feel much warmer.

Additionally, to save power, use curtains on your windows. You'll still need to open the windows for 20 minutes a day or so, for ventilation to prevent molding, but the curtains will help in keeping a draft out.

Finally, what kind of building are you in? And, how big if your place? A one-room is fairly efficient to heat with a space-heater/ondol combo. Villas and Jutaeks tend to be built 'economically' so there are a lot of drafts and the ondol is crap. High-rises newer than 15 years are better built but tend to be larger. If you're on a higher floor, you might be able to get away with turning it on only in the morning and evening.
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