Leaving the heating on low all day is often described as cheaper, but that advice only applies in specific situations. For most UK homes, it depends on how quickly heat escapes once the system switches off.
If a house holds heat well, reheating it from a lower temperature doesn’t require much extra energy. In those cases, timed heating usually costs less than running the system continuously.
Homes that lose heat quickly can feel colder faster, which makes continuous low-level heating seem more comfortable. However, this often results in longer boiler run times overall, which increases energy use.
After testing this over winter, timed heating combined with better heat retention gave more predictable costs than leaving the system running all day.
This is part of the wider efficiency picture discussed in this guide, where controlling loss matters more than constant output.
If heating patterns feel inconsistent, boiler cycling behaviour and heat loss causes are worth understanding together.
