Central Heating On 24/7

Kimberley

Is it cheaper to leave the Heating on 24/7 rather then turning it on each day? I've Googled the question but get different answers some say yes and some say no.

Andy_WSM

It's always cheaper to turn it off when it isn't needed.

The amount of heat a house will lose is directly related to the temperature difference between the inside & the outside.

Keep the inside warm and heat will try to make it's way out. It's really as simple as that.

Do you keep your kettle simmering on the hob 24 hours a day? If not, why not? It's the same principle.

matelodave

It mostly depends on how well your house is insulated, the type of heating, the sort of controls you have and your lifestyle.
If it's well insulated then there won't be a big heat loss so it won't cost as much to keep it warm.

If the heating system can get the house up to temperature fairly quickly and you are out all day then there's not much point it keeping it hot all day or all night when you are cosily tucked up in bed.

A timeswitch & thermostat (or programmable thermostat) will ensure that the place is warm when you need it and turn it down when you don't.

The amount of heat lost from anything (including a house) is directly proportional to the temperature difference ie. the hotter something is the more heat it will lose to the surrounding air so a cooler house will lose less heat than a warm one.

You don't keep a kettle hot all day and all night just in case you want a cup of tea or coffee, the same should be for your heating and hot water just heat them as required.

It's subtly different if you've got a very slow response heating system like storage heaters or underfloor heating as they take a lot longer to heat the place. Ideally you turn them down a few degrees rather than off when you don't need the full temperature and then increase it at the times you do.

A programmable thermostat will allow you to have different temperatures at different times of the day and on different days if you like so you can optimise your heating to suit you.

molerat

The difference for me keeping the heating on 24/7 or 12 hours a day is around 35 - 50p a day.

Daz2009

molerat wrote: »

The difference for me keeping the heating on 24/7 or 12 hours a day is around 35 - 50p a day.

Which sounds small but is in fact between £128 and £182 per year so quite a substantial difference.

molerat

Daz2009 wrote: »

Which sounds small but is in fact between £128 and £182 per year so quite a substantial difference.

I don't have it on all year so maybe £60 for 4 months. Much prefer spending a few pence a day on heat than fags.

DragonQ

Do you even need it on for 12 hours? I have mine come on from 30 minutes before I get up to 15 minutes afterwards, then again 30 minutes before I usually get home until about 22:00 (thermostat controlled of course). If I'm home during the weekends, the heat from my home cinema or desktop PC usually keep the temperature reasonable and I shove on a jumper if needed.

Right now it's 18.5 °C in my living room with the heating off and I'm wearing a t-shirt and shorts.

SerialRenter

molerat wrote: »

I don't have it on all year so maybe £60 for 4 months. Much prefer spending a few pence a day on heat than fags.

Or... you could have it on a timer, notice no difference in the house's temperature and have a bit more money to put into the savings.

It just wouldn't be MSE otherwise :money:


My flat is set at 20c for an 45mins before i wake up, to do the heating and hot water. Then from 4-8pm it's on.

Although it's generally not actually running because of the amount of heat rising from the flat below, so i wake up to cold radiators and get home to them too. Free energy

Kimberley

Ok, thanks guys, it's just that my hallway is freezing even though the heating is on and was just wondering if it would help if the heating was on low all the time.

lstar337

Kimberley wrote: »

Ok, thanks guys, it's just that my hallway is freezing even though the heating is on and was just wondering if it would help if the heating was on low all the time.

You could turn up the rad in the hall.

Just a thought.

Cyberman60

If you always want heat, perhaps if you have a large family, then better to keep on as CH will just top up rather than starting at a low, but it will obviously be expensive anyway.

If you don't need much heat or don't want large bills then better just to warm up to a lower temperature (13-15%) when you want as I do, and wear more layers.