Dominic Lees-Bell, a heating expert at Only Radiators, has explained why people shouldn’t turn their thermostat up when it’s cold – or down when it’s warm
As the UK continues to experience chilly temperatures following days of strong winds, rain, and snow, many are turning up their thermostats. However, this seemingly effective method of quickly warming your home could actually be costing you money.
Dominic Lees-Bell, a heating expert at Only Radiators, has shed light on why cranking up your thermostat when it’s cold – or down when it’s warm – isn’t the best idea. He explained that turning up your thermostat won’t heat your home any faster.
The thermostat simply instructs the boiler to keep heating until it reaches the set temperature and maintains it. So, if you set your thermostat to 20C in winter, your home will be heated to exactly that temperature.
Dominic pointed out that while it may seem logical to “crank up” the heat when it’s cold, that’s not how thermostats function. He clarified: “Your thermostat is, instead, a limiter, not an accelerator. A minimum and a maximum temperature limiter rolled into one.”
He added: “If you’re cold and you turn your thermostat up to 30C in an attempt to make your home hotter, you’re essentially saying to your boiler, ‘you couldn’t reach 20C, so give 30C a try’ with the rate of heating staying the same.”, reports the Express.
He likened it to someone telling you to run 20 miles, but when you collapse at 10 miles, they move the finish line to 30 miles away. Instead of cranking up the thermostat, it’s advisable to allow the central heating to reach its normal temperature.
Maintaining a consistent thermostat setting can aid in reducing expenses. While the urge to turn your thermostat up to 25C during icy conditions might be strong, you could end up overheating; this could become costly if done frequently.
It comes as a budgeting expert has shared their brilliant hack to help with the cost of heating. TikTok user Budgetingmumofficial told her 185,000 followers to leave the oven door open after they finish cooking to avoid the need to turn the heating on. She wrote: “Little hack to save you money on heating your home.
“If you’re already paying for the cost of the gas or electricity to heat up your oven, don’t forget to leave the door open after the food has finished cooking to help heat the room while the oven cools down.” Many online were quick to praise the hack. One wrote: “Yeah, it heats the kitchen, which is already warm because you’ve been cooking.” Another added: “Wow amazing who would have thought.” A third posted: “Wow. I didn’t know that.”
