29 January 2024 , 13:36
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With touches of snow, strong winds and ice, it's safe to say the weather across the UK is far from tropical as we continue to feel the chill of winter and for many households that means turning up the heating. As household bills soar hundreds of billpayers will be on the hunt to keep the costs down.
It means more people are flocking online to find the latest tips and tricks to cut money off their tariff, from making small changes to the thermostat, opting for plug-in heating gadgets to keeping the heating on low at all times.
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It's why the saying 'heat the person, not the home' has become popular among money-savers and seen items like hooded blankets, foot-long hot water bottles and heated gilets soar in popularity in a bid to cut heating spending, but you can't always avoid turning on the boiler.
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Now one consumer expert has de-bunked six 'go-to' tricks many households turn to to try and cut their spending, and despite receiving huge attention these well-known myths won't actually save you money. In fact, doing these things could actually cost you more.
Heating expert Jess Steele from BestHeating takes a look at the trending tips, from painting radiators a darker colour to opting for a bigger boiler including how it may end up seeing you waste energy. And the myths are de-bunked below.
Low heating on all day to lower bills
It may sound like a simple way to cut your bill, but this energy myth isn't as effective as it may sound. In the past, leaving heating on a lower temperature throughout the day, instead of turning it up for a couple of hours has been thought to save money.
Although Jess says it could cost you more, as she said: "It is wrong to believe that having the heating on low all day will use less energy than the boiler turning on and off, as this will cause bills to rise, particularly if your home has poor insulation.
"Instead, you should only use the heating when it is needed so it is only on for a few hours per day. A long-term solution is to ensure the home is properly insulated as this will keep energy in your home for longer and reduce bills.”
Thermostat high in short busts
Although keeping the heating on low throughout the day is dubbed ineffective, Jess also shares that bursting the thermostat with short, high-temperature bursts as a quick heating fix should not be done either - if money-saving is your aim.
She said: "This only makes the room warmer at the same speed and won’t reap any rewards other than higher bills. Instead, set a timer for the most common periods you need a warm house such as just before you wake up and when you are relaxing in the evening, but turn this off if the weather is a little warmer than usual during a cold spell.”
Electric heating over radiators
Another popular heating myth many consumers fall for, according to Jess, is that it is cheaper to generate heat with an electric heater instead of using a radiator. While plug-in heaters are a great option if you don't have a radiator, they can cost more to run per unit of energy.
"Central heating is a lot more cost-efficient to run compared to an electric heater as every unit of heat will cost around three times as much", said Jess.
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As bill payers are advised to pop on the radiator instead of running an electric heater all day, as Jess continues: "Also, whilst radiators can be turned off once the desired temperature is reached and retain heat around the room for a long period of time, the heat from electric heaters will be lost much quicker.”
Should I paint my radiators a darker colour to trap heat?
Another heat-saving myth is that painting radiators black can help cut the cost of energy bills, but it's another tip that's been debunked as it doesn't actually affect how the heat is distributed.
"The colour of a radiator will not affect how well it distributes heat because the majority of heat emitted is convective, which can’t be impacted by different shades.
"Instead, the heat output will only be significantly impacted depending on the reflectiveness of the finish, so a shinier surface will mean a lower heat output", said Jess.
It is better to have a big boiler than a small one
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Some home owners may have previously been under the impression that a larger boiler will work more efficiently than a smaller one, but this isn't always the case. According to Jess a boiler too big in relation to the property can inflate bills by creating more wasted energy.
As Jess explained: "This is because the amount of heat given out by a boiler is determined by the size of the radiators. Similarly, you also don’t want oversized radiators for the size of the room because this will again increase bills from wasted energy.”