It’s hardly surprising that at a time when heating bills are at an all-time high that there are lots of rumours and heating myths flying around about what steps you can take to reduce your consumption.
Along with the sensible advice about installing thermostats and investing in loft insulation, there are wackier ideas like painting your radiators black or running the heating at night rather than during the day.
Heating Myths - 1: It’s better to have the heating on low all of the time rather than turn It on when needed
This is one of the most common myths about central heating and one which is heard time and time again.
If you have the heating set at 18 degrees 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you will be paying to heat the house when you are not in, or when you are tucked up in bed.
Experts all agree that by running your heating in this way you will spend more money than only using your heating when your house feels cold – even if that means heating it to 20C or 21C rather than 18C.
The downside to this method is that you might have to endure a short period of cold when you get up in the morning and before the heating kicks in, but over the course of the year it will still cost less than having the heating on constantly.
Heating Myths - 2: Heating is cheaper at night when there’s less demand
To be fair, there is a nugget of truth in this. Some electricity companies offer a “white meter” or “Economy 7” tariff which means that you pay less for electricity which you use during the night.
You can save on your heating bills by switching to this tariff, but only if you use storage heaters which store up the electricity during the night and then slowly release it over the day.
This is quite an old-fashioned and inefficient way of heating though and the cheaper electricity you can get is not offset by the extra costs of heating your home with storage heaters.
Remember also that these cheap night time tariffs only ever apply to electricity, not gas.
Heating Myths - 3: All boilers are pretty much the same
Boiler technology has improved hugely over the past couple of decades. If you are living in a home with a boiler which is ten years old or more, it could be running at as little as 60% efficiency.
That means that 40% of everything you pay on your heating bill is going straight out of your home and not through your radiators.
By law, new boilers sold must be at least 86% efficient, and many achieve efficiency ratings of 90% or more.
Getting rid of your old boiler and investing in a new one will cost around £1000, but when you realise that installing a new, efficient boiler can save you £200 a year off your heating bill, your new boiler will soon pay for itself.
Heating Myths - 4: Put reflective material behind the radiators or paint them black
The logic behind this myth is that foil or another shiny material will help reflect heat back into the room and that painting radiators black will keep them warmer, and as a consequence your room warmer.
In reality, the difference this will make to the warmth of your home is minimal.
It’s far better to spend your budget instead on insulating your property’s loft or thinking about saving for double glazing or cavity wall insulation.
These methods are proven to keep your home warmer and will reduce your heating bills.
Heating Myths - 5: Allowing the warm air to circulate around the house is better
Think about how you live in your home.
If you’re anything like most of us, you’ll spend nearly all of your time in the living areas and kitchen, and much less time in the bedrooms or bathroom.
It therefore makes sense to heat your home accordingly.
Thermostatic valves (TRVs) attached to your radiators will allow you to adjust the temperature for each room, allowing you to have a slightly cooler temperature in the bedrooms and a warmer one in the living areas.
Fitting valves to all of your radiators at home can easily save between £70 and £150 each year, and if you’re good at DIY this is a job you can tackle yourself.
Getting a heating engineer or plumber in to fit valves to radiators will cost around £50 per valve, so it’s an investment which is well worth making.
Heating Myths - 6: All heating companies are the same so switching isn’t worth it
The fuel market here in the UK has never been so competitive and the major energy companies are falling over each other to sign you up as a customer.
Recent government changes mean that energy companies have been forced to reduce the number of different tariffs they offer, and this makes it a lot easier to compare prices.
Switching supplier could save you as much as £200 a year – the best savings are available for those who manage their meter readings and pay their bills by direct debit, and who take both gas and electricity from the same supplier.
Check out sites like uSwitch, Compare the Market and Confused.com where you can compare the major energy companies quickly and without committing to anything.
Heating Myths - 7: When it’s cold weather outside, you should whack up the thermostat
This is another one of the heating myths which boils down to a basic misunderstanding about how your heating works.
The thermostat is designed to keep your home at a standard temperature.
A small thermometer will measure the temperature in the house, and when it drops below a certain level, the heating kicks in. Once the house is warm, the heating reduces until it is needed again.
If in cold weather you turn the thermostat up to 25C, all that is achieved is that your home will become hotter. It won’t heat the house quicker, and will just mean that you spend more on your heating bills.
