It seems like forever that this debate has been going on; is it cheaper to have the heating on low, all the time, or are you best just turning it on when you need it? It may seem like it would be cheaper and more efficient to simply switch your heat on as and when needed, but is this really the right (and most efficient) answer?
When Should I Turn It On?
The mentality of having your heating on all the time is that it won’t take up additional energy to warm up and down. You can see the logic behind this, as what’s the point of letting your building cool down if you must heat it all up again. It’s like a car; it uses more fuel to change gears and turn the engine on and off than to keep driving efficiently.
However, if you do leave your heating on 24/7 you can end up using more fuel because some heat loss will always occur due to the difference of temperature inside to outside.
The bigger the heat loss, the more energy needed to maintain the inside temperature; which can mean the cost of constantly leaving your heating on can be even more expensive. Leaving your heating on, in this situation, will drain a lot more energy. This can be down to your building not being energy efficient.
A Well-Insulated Building
If you are typically someone who likes to keep the heating on as much as possible, you need to ensure you have a well-insulated home. Making your house draught proof can be vital to minimising heat loss, and in turn minimising your heating bill. There are certain steps you can take to improve insulation, other than the obvious; don’t put the heating on and leave the windows open.
Installing cavity walls, a well-insulated loft, high quality double glazing and draught proof doors can help, or even taking simple steps such as purchasing draught stoppers or heat insulating curtains. However, the most energy efficient approach to heating your home or any building can be to schedule or programme the system to heat the space when it is needed the most – at peak times.
Schedule the Heat
With modern systems, you can usually set the temperature how you desire, and alter this to suit various times of the day and week. You may be even able to programme the unit differently at the weekend. Some units even allow you to control them via a remote system and change as and when you please. When you use these settings and put in a little more effort to control the temperature specifically, it can be the most energy efficient way to heating a home, building or office space.
You can test your system to see whether it is cheaper on 24/7 compared to certain times of the day. You can get a good idea of the usage of energy by leaving your heating on constantly for a week, followed by a week of programmed heating to your ideal times. You could take a reading at the beginning and end of each week and then analyse the results. You should be able to see which approach is more efficient to you- considering the weather and temperature outdoors were similar within the two weeks.
Our qualified experts at Heritage Heating and Cooling can assist you in the perfect solution; from small factories to large warehouses, we are your one-stop shop for industrial heating. Whether your space needs to be at a constant heat, or a specific temperature, our systems are energy efficient, environmentally effectual and are some of the highest quality products in the industry. If you would like any more information on our products or services, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team. We would be happy to help.
