heating - leave it on, or turn it off?

suiko

Having this discussion about this at the moment, so I though I'd see if anyone had any good ideas.

Some people say it's best to leave your heating on all day at a lowish temperature (15 degrees? 12 degrees?) rather than turn it off at 8.30 in the morning and have to reheat the place from scratch after 4pm. Is this true?

If so, is it only worth doing this if it's really cold, not the usual 7 or 8 degrees?

My place is a small modern 3-bed, end of terrace, in Central England, btw.

Thanks!

HappyMJ

This has been asked many times. It's cheaper to turn it off but the difference is small as your house probably wouldn't drop to 12 degrees in that time anyway. It probably wouldn't drop to 15 depending on what it gets to in the morning.

oldskoo1

Yes it is best to have it on low overnight or when you aren't there. For example, assuming your thermostat is located in a room or small hall with a rad. 20c when you are there and 15c/16c when you aren't.

This is best for comfort, not for cost, it WILL cost more to do this.

If you are asking what is the best with regards to cost then turning it off when it isn't needed will save you the most, even heating from cold providing it's a 24 hour cycle. A house should warm within 1 hour of heating so if you turn it on 30-40mins before you get home it should be adequately warm.

I have to find a balance, i work at home most days. Our heating is on 24/7 but i adjust the temperature throughout the day with a programmable thermostat. Overnight when it's really cold i have been setting it to 14.5c. This may seem low but our hall is big and cold. Our bedrooms will stay around 15.5c-16.5c at this temperature through the night. If i had it off overnight it would fall to around 12.5c which wakes up the youngest if she wriggles out of her duvet. On the plus side the house is slightly quicker to warm but the gas usage looking at the readings is almost the same, just edging over to costing slightly more per month, especially when it's cold. But we are talking around £5-£7 extra.

suiko

Thanks! Looks like I was right on this one, then.

macman

suiko wrote: »

Having this discussion about this at the moment, so I though I'd see if anyone had any good ideas.

Some people say it's best to leave your heating on all day at a lowish temperature (15 degrees? 12 degrees?) rather than turn it off at 8.30 in the morning and have to reheat the place from scratch after 4pm. Is this true?

If so, is it only worth doing this if it's really cold, not the usual 7 or 8 degrees?

My place is a small modern 3-bed, end of terrace, in Central England, btw.

Thanks!

There are endless other threads on this topic already...
Most people ask 'what is cheapest?', when what they actually mean is 'what is most comfortable?'
Two different questions, with 2 different answers.
Most modern boilers or programmers have a frost 'stat whch will kick in at around 5C anyway if it gets really cold in the property.

Wywth

suiko wrote: »

Having this discussion about this at the moment, so I though I'd see if anyone had any good ideas.

Some people say it's best to leave your heating on all day at a lowish temperature (15 degrees? 12 degrees?) rather than turn it off at 8.30 in the morning and have to reheat the place from scratch after 4pm. Is this true?

If so, is it only worth doing this if it's really cold, not the usual 7 or 8 degrees?

My place is a small modern 3-bed, end of terrace, in Central England, btw.

Thanks!

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/energy-saving-myths

suiko

You'll save energy, and therefore money, by only having the heating on when it's required. Using a timer is best, because your thermostat is designed to turn your heating system on and off to keep your home at the temperature you set it.

(thanks - copied for ease of printing!)