With energy prices remaining a significant pressure on household budgets, a heating expert has unveiled a simple yet effective strategy to keep homes warmer for longer while cutting down on costly bills.
The Optimal Time to Heat Your Home
Llewellyn Kinch, CEO and co-founder of MakeMyHouseGreen, has pinpointed the most efficient window for using your central heating. Contrary to leaving it on low all day or using short bursts, he recommends a targeted evening approach.
"With things getting chillier as winter sets in, people depend more on their heating to stay warm in the house," Kinch explained. "Night tends to suck the heat out of a house in winter. Who wants to get up in the morning to a freezing house?"
A Pre-Bedtime Boost
The specialist's advice is to activate your heating system for a limited period in the late evening. The ideal time is between 10pm and 11pm, just before you go to bed.
Allow the heating to run for a couple of hours before it switches off automatically via a timer. This method helps to counteract the natural cooling that occurs overnight, ensuring residual warmth carries through until morning.
"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," Kinch added.
Maximising Comfort and Minimising Costs
This strategy focuses on maintaining a more consistent temperature, avoiding the energy spikes associated with reheating a completely cold property. The expert asserts that this practice, applicable wherever you live in the UK, will lead to noticeable improvements in both home comfort and utility expenses.
"Wherever you live, using your heating system optimally like this will make a difference," he stated. "Nights are colder everywhere, and night is when the house cools down the most, so turning the heating on an hour or so before you go to bed and letting it run for a couple of hours will make a huge difference."
Additional Tips to Trap Heat
To complement this heating schedule, experts recommend several low-cost measures to improve your home's insulation. These simple actions can significantly reduce draughts and help retain the warmth generated by your evening heating boost.
Key recommendations include:
- Drawing curtains as soon as it gets dark to create an extra barrier against the cold.
- Keeping internal doors firmly closed to prevent heat from escaping into unused rooms.
- Using draught excluders around window frames and exterior doorways.
- Fitting a letterbox brush or draught excluder to block cold air from entering through the front door.
"Do this along with other insulation tips, and you should feel a change," Kinch advised. "It's all about maintaining consistent heat and avoiding spikes in energy consumption."
For households across the UK looking to manage their winter energy use more effectively, this combination of smart timing and basic draught-proofing offers a practical path to a warmer home and lower bills.
