As winter sets in and the nights get longer, keeping your house warm becomes a priority.
Drafts must be excluded, and the temperature inside regulated for maximum comfort. But you don’t want your heating energy bills to go up as the chill sets in.
How you use your home heating is central to maintaining energy efficiency and warmth during the colder months, especially at night, when the house can get very cold. And when you turn your heating on is key to that heating energy efficiency. So what’s the best time to turn your heating on in winter to stay cosy all night long?
“With things getting chillier as winter sets in, people depend more on their heating to stay warm in the house,” says Llewellyn Kinch, CEO and co-founder of solar platform and home energy specialists MakeMyHouseGreen. “Night tends to suck the heat out of a house in winter. Who wants to get up in the morning to a freezing house? If you use your home heating in one key way, you and your family won’t have to.”
It turns out there’s an unexpected, optimum time to turn your heating on in the evening that can keep your house pleasantly warm all winter night long.
The Expert’s Home Heating Hack…
Llewellyn shares the best time to use your home heating at night to keep the cold at bay until morning.
“To create a balance between energy efficiency and home comfort at night, turn your heating on about an hour before you go to bed and leave it on for a few hours by setting the timer,” advises Llewellyn. “That way, the house won’t get too cold at night, and it won’t require so much energy to heat it up again on those frosty mornings.”
According to the expert, then, it’s when you turn your heating on in the evening that is the most important consideration for keeping the whole house warm on winter nights – and making waking more pleasant for all. Do this, and you’ll feel a difference to how your residence feels in winter, and in your energy bills.
…For Warm Winter Nights
- When to turn it on: If you time your heating to turn off late evening as most people do in winter, change that so it stays on for a couple of hours after you’ve gone to sleep – or turn it on manually about an hour before you go to bed.
- When to turn it off: Set your timer so your heating turns off an hour or so after you go to bed. This will allow the entire house to reach a comfortable temperature without overburdening the system – and likely make for a cosier bed time for your family.
- Be smart: Use smart thermostats to fine-tune your heating. You can use thermostatic radiator valves to control the heating of each room separately.
- Other tips for a warmer house: Close the curtains and shut the doors to keep heat in the rooms you use most – and those you use least: unused, cold rooms suck heat from warmer rooms through walls and doors, and that will waste heat energy. Use draft excluders around windows and external doors to stop Jack Frost getting in while keeping your house toasty, too.
Llewellyn Kinch, from MakeMyHouseGreen, Sums Up:
“The best time to turn on your heating to keep your home warm all night depends on your daily routine and the average external temperature. Of course environmental conditions outside will have a huge effect on the interior temperature of your house, and what you can do to keep it at bay,” says Llewellyn.
“But wherever you live, using your heating system optimally like this will make a difference. Nights are colder everywhere, and night is when the house cools down the most, so turning your heating on an hour or so before you go to bed or letting it run on for a couple of hours in the early night will make a difference. Do this along with our other insulation tips, and you should feel a difference in your home, while saving money on your home energy bills. It’s all maintaining consistent heat and avoiding spikes in energy consumption”.