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.
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.
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 general statement as to whether the night reduction is worthwhile for you. That depends on various factors:
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.
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.
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.