To use the timer or not

[Ineedtobehappy]

Is it worth leaving the heating on permanently at a low temperature rather than having it come on using the timer for a few hours in the morning/evening?

It is if the extra comfort outweighs the extra cost, for you.

It'll cost you more to leave it on low allthe time. I have a smart metre and have been monitoring it for over a year now.

It depends on your needs. I think the old question of 'is it better/more energy efficient to leave heating on all day?' was trounced recently. Do you need it on in the day? Is your house very old and takes a long time to warm up?

We only use the timer here for morning. It comes on 15 mins before we get up and is on for an hour. In the evening we put it on if we need it. Ours is very new and efficient and warms the house quickly.

But if it's set on a low temperature all the time, won't you be cold?

I leave ours on and adjust the thermostat, turn it down a bit if I go out etc.

Heating the house from cold twice a day isn't very effective for us.

It costs less to use a timer and thermostat. If you leave it on low all the time would you not be cold anyway as it would not be as high as you would normally have it?

I have it on at around 19 so it’s not cold but pleasantly warm. It is a rather old house so I kind of thought it would use a lot more fuel to get it back to that temperature each time.

Heat loss is proportional to temperature difference multiplied by time.

So keeping it warm costs more.

Mine is set for 6-10am and 5-10pm and the thermostat is set around 19 degrees so if the house is colder than that during those times it will come on.

Depends what you mean by 'low' though as if you have it set at 16 all day then it won't feel as warm as 19