Which is more efficient - heating on timed or on constant and low?

[Tinker]

Thanks

I always have mine on and low....I never turn it off! I think I read it somewhere that this was more efficient. Am happy with this as I am always cold and so like to keep my heating on.

Some years ago a friend's father did an experiment - a couple of weeks on constantly, and a couple of weeks timed. When he compared the readings he was convinced the on constantly was more efficient. Like karen999 I feel the cold so my heating is on low all day.

I heard it was constant-and-low too. I did it last winter for the first time and NPower have just adjusted my monthly payment downwards for my projected use over the next 12 months so it could be right.

I guess it depends on what time of boiler you have. We have just had a new combi boiler fitted and the engineer recommended we leave it on constantly and adjust room temp when needed - he reckoned it was the most efficient way to run it!

This is for an empty house which is required to have heating on for insurance purposes. So not to keep it comfortably warm but to prevent pipes bursting (which obviously not a problem atm!) So low low low

Does that change anything?

I guess it depends on how well insulated you are too. If you are constantly loosing heat through the walls/roof/windows then it is better to just heat the inside when you need to. If it is well insulated then it is sensible to heat the fabric of the building and use it almost like one big radiator.

On constantly only works out cheaper if you have your heating on a lot usually. We're talking hours and hours every day. I did this as an experiment one year - a month of constantly on but adjusting thermostats etc, and a month just putting it on when we actually needed it on. We definitely used fewer gas units just putting it on as needed. But then we don't tend to use our heating much - unless it's really a harsh winter it's usually only on an hour or so in the morning and a couple/few hours at night.

I have done a bit of research into this and found very mixed opinions. Many in the industry say it is a misconception that it is cheaper to leave it on all the time, but some disagreed with this.

Try the experiment, it's easy to do!

Just re-read and found it's for an empty house. That might make a difference, I'm not sure. Your choice is to either have it permanently on the lowest 'frost-free' setting, or set the timer to come on a couple a times of day to stop the pipes from freezing.

Permanently on is an easy solution unless you live near enough to keep an eye on weather conditions and boost heating as and when needed.