{"id":265529,"date":"2025-11-16T05:42:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T05:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/265529\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T05:42:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T05:42:13","slug":"householders-warned-they-are-using-thermostat-wrong-in-cold-weather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/265529\/","title":{"rendered":"Householders warned they are &#8216;using thermostat wrong&#8217; in cold weather"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>An expert has said that many people do one thing when the temperature drops and it&#8217;s costing them more money<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_thermostat.jpg\" alt=\"Freezing woman at home wears sweater and tries to raise the temperature on thermostat while energy crisis hits Europe in the winter.\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>How we use our thermostats in cold weather is costing us more money, says an expert(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">If you haven&#8217;t already, the majority of <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/all-about\/homes-and-property\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">households <\/a>are cranking on the central heating as temperatures have taken a noticeable plunge in recent days. Despite an unseasonal warmer start to November, rain and colder weather is here and keeping the house warm has become a priority.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">If you are one to turn up the thermostat when you feel the chill, an expert has warned that this action could be costing you more <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/lifestyle\/money\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">money<\/a>. But why? Surely it makes sense to increase the heat when feeling cold?<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">Dominic Lees-Bell, a heating expert at <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.onlyradiators.co.uk\/blog\/heating-essentials\/should-i-turn-my-thermostat-up\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Only Radiators,Link opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Only Radiators,<\/a> has shed light on why adjusting your thermostat in response to cold or warm <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/all-about\/weather\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">weather<\/a> isn&#8217;t advisable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">He has said that increasing your thermostat setting during cold weather won&#8217;t necessarily heat your home faster, the <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/life-style\/property\/1980919\/people-using-thermostat-wrong-cold-weather\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"ExpressLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Express<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">That&#8217;s because your thermostat simply instructs your boiler to maintain the house&#8217;s temperature at the set level. So, for example, If you set your thermostat to 20C in winter, it will heat your home to precisely that temperature.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">Dominic explained that a common practice is to &#8220;crank up&#8221; the heat when it&#8217;s cold, which might seem logical but doesn&#8217;t align with how thermostats function.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">He explained: &#8220;Your thermostat is, instead, a limiter, not an accelerator. A minimum and a maximum temperature limiter rolled into one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">&#8220;If you&#8217;re cold and you turn your thermostat up to 30C in an attempt to make your home hotter, you&#8217;re essentially saying to your boiler, &#8216;you couldn&#8217;t reach 20C, so give 30C a try&#8217; with the rate of heating staying the same.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">&#8220;It&#8217;s like someone telling you to run 20 miles. Yet when you flop at 10 miles they instead move the finish line to 30 miles away instead.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">You&#8217;ll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">All you have to do is <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/KSTVj4OXVzG0HyeQZBjVGo\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">click here<\/a>, select &#8216;Join Community&#8217; and you&#8217;re in!<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out any time you like.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose &#8216;exit group&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">If you\u2019re curious, you can read our <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/privacy-notice\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">So, instead of cranking up the thermostat, it&#8217;s advisable to wait for the central heating to reach its normal temperature. And maintaining a consistent thermostat setting can help to reduce costs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">Although the urge to turn your thermostat up to 25C during freezing conditions might be strong, you could end up overheating and this could become costly if done frequently.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">If you want to limit your use of the central heating, there are some clever hacks to <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/lifestyle\/how-keep-your-bedroom-warm-36241607\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">keep your bedroom warm<\/a> that don&#8217;t cost money.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">These include rearranging your furniture and moving your bed away from outside walls. As a general rule, it&#8217;s best to place your bed against interior walls, since these walls are less affected by outdoor temperature changes and help maintain consistent warmth throughout the night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">It also makes sense to keep your bed away from your windows and make sure there is no furniture in front of radiators to allow them to work effectively.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">Closing the bedroom curtains at sundown is another free way to keep the heat in the room.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An expert has said that many people do one thing when the temperature drops and it&#8217;s costing them&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265530,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,1344,4217,59,4981,655,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-265529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-energy","tag-fuel-bills","tag-gb","tag-homes-and-property","tag-lifestyle","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}