Should I turn the heating off at night when I'm asleep or does the house take more energy to heat that way?

Question

I'm trying to understand whether we should turn off the heating at night (when we're alseep - and warm in our beds) or does the heating system use more energy to heat the house up after being switched off for 7 hours? We have gas central heating, 6" loft insulation and UPVC double-glazed windows and doors but I think that the house still loses quite a lot of heat. Currently the heating runs 24hrs a day with a thermostat keeping it at around 19-20 C - I think that it is wasteful to heat a house while we sleep but my partner thinks it is more efficient to keep the temperature constant... any ideas?

Answer 1

Your house will lose heat more slowly at a lower temperature, since heat loss is less the closer you come to equilibrium with the outside temperature.  Combined with your U value(inverse of the total R-value of your home) and your total surface area exposed to outside temperatures, your heat loss in watts will actually decrease in a linear fashion the closer you get to the outside temperature.  Since U and Area are constant, the only thing you can change is heat differential, thus losing less heat, and therefore less energy, at a lower temperature.  The wattage savings per degree would be the product of the constants U and Area.

Answer 2

Turn it down but not off...you are correct in that it will take a lot more energy to warm things up if you let them get too cold.

If you home is properly insulated this is no problem and very cost effective vs re-warming the place.

Also, many people sleep better when it is cooler.

Answer 3

Turn it down (not off) as much as you find appropriate.  The cautions above about going _too_ low are good.  But 50F won't hurt anything, except your comfort if you have to get up at night.  I use 60F as a reasonable setback.  The lower it is, the more energy you save.  Here's why.

Heat flows "downhill" just like water, from higher temperatures to lower ones.  The greater the difference between your house temperature and the outside the faster heat flows out.  And that's more heat the furnace has to put back.

That's why they make programmable thermostats to cut back heating/air conditioning, particularly when no one is home.  They let you set the house to warm up before you get out of bed, a good idea for peace in the family.

This is not a close call.  The idea that it's better to keep a constant temperature is pure myth.

Answer 4

turn your t-stat to 72,this will keep your house at a comfortable temp.it will also save on your energy bill. it costs more money and energy to re-warm your house than it would to keep the thermostat(t-stat) at 72 .

Answer 5

Turning your heat off is unwise if U live where it is cold out. Huge fluctuations in temperature cause damage to your house interior. It can cause dry wall to crumble and snap wood members as well as furniture and precious belongings of wood (ie: music instruments may warp, glue may crumble) when a house is warmed too quickly after being without heat in the winter.

Your heater should not be running constantly. Most oil, gas, and electric heaters have cycles. If you suspect yours is not running properly, get it serviced before it causes a fire.

You can turn your heat way down at night. But off would do too much damage over time.

If you live in a cold climate, and your home loses too much heat, you must insulate with the proper weight of insulation for your region. Plastic and caulking are good temporary fixes, but watch out for humidity being trapped around plastic, it will rot wood. Stuffing blankets and towels areound base boards and doors are also good temp fixes until U can upgrade your home insulation.

Good luck, keep warm!

Answer 6

You can get a set back thermostat that automatically sets the temperature back when you hit the rack...and turns it back up just before you wake up

Answer 7

Sure  Wasteful   all  right  ?   -   heating  that night   in bed  ?

or not that home  ? .

Gas  heating  , How Much   are your gas  bills   -    $ 700  +

If you are cold in bed  -  use a hot water B  -  Thing like that .

Gas Heating   is very bad for you -

Answer 8

I turn my heat off at night.  I live in Texas and the temperature in the house has never dropped below 14 C (overnight lows can get to around -9 C).  When I used to live farther north I would set the thermostat at 13 C overnight.  It saves energy because the rate of heat transfer is proportional to the temperature difference.  As the temperature in the house gets closer to the temperature outside the rate of heat loss decreases.  Additionally, there is less wear and tear on your furnace if it runs for a single (and longer) time in the morning compared to running multiple times overnight.