DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi,

I've had heard that leaving the central heating on constant during the winter is more cost effective that having it just switch on in the morning.

The theory being that once the house is up to temperature, less gas is used overnight with the boiler clicking on and off to maintain the temperature, than is used turning the heating on in the morning and having to reheat the whole house.

Obviously intersted is using as little gas as possible over the coming months.

Potential relevant facts are:

Thermostat set to 16 degrees
Combi Boiler

Can anyone verify this being tyrue or false?

This must be one of the most discussed topics not just in forums but within the trade itself.

I first heard this suggestion over 30 years ago, and since then, I have never ever seen or spoken to anyone who has seen any evidence to support this claim. Many years ago, I tried work it out, but as there are just so many variables involved, I found it impossible to draw any definite conclusion.

I look at it simply from the point of view that the amount of heat loss (£££) is dependant on the difference between the inside and outside temperatures. So if the house is warmer than it needs to be at night say, it will be losing heat you are paying for.

The modern accepted way of controlling heating efficiently is to leave the heating on 24/7 and use a programmable thermostat which allows automatic varying control of the temperature throughout the day so the temperature stays at a suitable level according to the usage. Mine for example is set at 16 in the morning, 14 during the day, 17 in the evening and 12 overnight with a different set for the weekend.

A last nail in the coffin could be to do with how modern systems compare to old ones. Years ago, the heating needed hours to start lifting the temperature of a house, now with modern condensing boilers and convector radiators taking only minutes to achieve the same warming, the heating does not need to stay on for anywhere near the same time.