Have you put your heating on yet?

Rambleygirl

I have found reading this thread very interesting, it's amazing how we are all different, isn't it?

I found this thread because I am one of those who has the heating set to come on at certain times of the day (morning to make getting out of my cosy bed a little easier and evening for coming home from work/school) and it's off for the rest of the day and all night (if I'm home like today I just add jumpers to keep warm!).

However, someone said to me the other day that it is more economical to keep the house at a low-ish but steady temperature all the time rather than using extra gas to heat a house from cold twice a day.

So does anyone know which is likely to be the most economical? Our heating is from gas and we have cavity wall and loft insulation and double glazing in our semi-detached home.

Thank you! :-)

tichtich

Rambleygirl wrote: »

However, someone said to me the other day that it is more economical to keep the house at a low-ish but steady temperature all the time rather than using extra gas to heat a house from cold twice a day.

Hi Rambleygirl,

That's a common myth, and intuitively appealing. But it goes against basic physics.

I assume that either way you are still planning to heat the house to the same temperature when you're in and awake. The only question is what temperature it will be during the remaining times. You're proposed scheme will have a higher temperature at those times than your current scheme. So, overall, the proposed scheme has temperatures which are always as high or higher than your current scheme. That's got to use more energy.

P.S. On re-reading, perhaps you meant that you will have the house at the lower temperature all the time, even when you're in and awake. Well, sure, you can save energy by being colder. But even then, there's no benefit in keeping the temperature up when you're out. Heating the house just when you need it is bound to be cheaper than heating it all the time.