Yes insulation with this heating type (well in all cases really but more so here) is a must - otherwise you may as well open the door and toss your wallet on the street.

Ideally you'd be wanting to turn the input to max so its stores all your heating and the output to off or its minimum setting while you're out of the property, whcih of course cna be increased when you return in the evening. The older type heaters controls are rather poor at best for heat management i'm afraid.

Another possibility, is to enquire into Economy10 heating if you supplier supports this, this would provide you an additional 3 hours off-peak charge during the day. It may require some internal electrical work as well as the installation of a new meter. I would think long and hard about this and onyl take this step as an absolute must, as there are a number of cons to this sidea.

1. You may have to pay for the change in metering.

2. There are very limited pricing plans for Economy 10 and you will generally be unable to take advantage of many of the suppliers best deals.

3. Equally not all usppliers support E-10 so your choice of porivder may also be restricted.