Think of your house like a leaky bucket (which, let’s be honest, most older homes are). If you keep a tiny trickle of water running, the bucket never fills up, but it constantly drips out heat through walls, windows, and that crack under the front door.
That constant drip adds up. When the house is cold, the temperature difference between inside and outside is smaller, so heat escapes much slower. You’re paying for heat that literally walks out the door before you can even feel it.
Experts from the Energy Saving Trust and British Gas have been shouting this from the rooftops: program your thermostat, sure, but don’t be afraid to turn it off when you’re out or asleep. You’ll pay less overall.
The “big warm-up” myth (and why it’s a lie)
You’ve heard the fear: “But it takes more energy to heat a cold house back up!” Spoiler alert: it doesn’t. It takes the same energy to raise the temperature by 10 degrees, no matter when you do it—just over a shorter time.
Energy crisis: Heating expert shares five ways to save money on your
And here’s the kicker (and the part Dave wishes he’d known): modern condensing boilers and heat pumps are more efficient when they run hard and fast for a short burst, rather than chugging along all day. They hit peak efficiency faster.
So that whole “don’t turn it off, it’s wasteful” thing? It’s a cozy little lie sold to you by—ironically—companies that sell more gas when you leave it on. (Plot twist, right?)
