Can also cost more: night reduction is not always a sensible way to save energy
To save energy
Autumn is underway and most tenants and owners can no longer avoid heating. If you want to save costs, you can turn the thermostat up a little less than usual, because even one degree less can save up to 6 percent on heating costs.
Winfried Kretschmann, Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg, also advises night-time reduction. This simply means turning off the heaters at night or at least heating a little less.
However, this is not always a good idea and may even lead to additional costs. You must pay attention to this.
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Energy has never been as expensive as it is now. But instead of panicking, you should calmly check potential savings at home. As our guide shows, there are many of them.
What factors are important
In most households, night-time reduction can be carried out simply by manually turning down all the thermostats. Households with a smart home or owners with modern heating systems can often do this automatically.
It is not possible to make a blanket statement as to whether the night reduction is worthwhile for you. That depends on various factors:
- Duration of lowering: Night setback is most useful when you are asleep. Therefore, there is often talk of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Of course, you can also choose a longer or shorter period, depending on your lifestyle.
- Strength of the lowering: Of course, it also matters how many degrees you lower the temperature. Turn it off completely or just set the heating to 1? They should not fall below a temperature of 16 degrees to prevent mold growth.
- Type of heating: Gas and oil heating systems with wall-mounted radiators need high flow temperatures in order to be able to heat up a room quickly – this consumes a lot of energy. Low-temperature heating systems such as underfloor heating take longer, but work at lower temperatures.
- Outside temperatures: If the winter is mild, then you save on heating costs, but then the night reduction also has a lesser effect, since the rooms cool down less.
- Structural conditions: Whether night-time reduction makes sense also depends on the insulation, the masonry and the windows. A well-insulated building cools down slowly, but also takes a long time to warm up – in comparison, a garden shed gets cold quickly, but also heats up quickly. One speaks here of the thermal inertia of a building.
When the night reduction has no effect
It almost seems counterintuitive, but in well-insulated houses with a sluggish system such as a heat pump with underfloor heating, night reduction is less worthwhile or can even lead to additional costs – because under heavy loads, a heat pump uses an electrically operated heating element. The costs for this can exceed the savings of the night setback.
In poorly insulated buildings such as old buildings that have not been renovated, the rooms cool down more quickly overnight and have to be heated up the next morning. This is possible in a short time, but the heating system had a break of around eight hours during the night. Therefore it can be worthwhile.
Do the check yourself
You can also test for yourself whether the night reduction is beneficial for your home. Wait for a night when the outside temperature is 0 degrees Celsius.
- measure the indoor temperature in the evening
- turn your heating off completely
- measure the internal temperature again the next morning
The greater the temperature difference, the greater the savings from night setback. According to Vaillant, this is worthwhile from a difference of around three degrees.
However, you should not fall below 16 degrees, otherwise the risk of mold growth increases. With a combined Hygro- and thermometer you always have the conditions in view.
Because his son is freezing at school, father is bursting at the seams
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