Best Heating Schedule for Thermostats in Winter & Summer

With the annoying relentless rises in energy costs, you may have thought about what you can do with your heating schedule to keep running costs down and which settings are best.

While there is no one size fits every home, here are some of the best heating schedule options for each season to help you along the way.

Wanting to save money on your bills? Did you know changing to an A-rate boiler can save you over £800 a year on your energy bills? Find out how what’s included and how much new boilers cost here.

Can setting a good programmable thermostat schedule save you money?

Yes, a programmable thermostat can save you money on your heating bills all year round. Here’s how they can help you control your combi boiler, system boiler or regular boiler, plus we’ve included some helpful heating schedules for each season further down for you to use. 

• Energy Efficiency: Programmable thermostats help you save energy by automatically adjusting the temperature according to your schedule. By lowering the temperature when you’re away or asleep, you can reduce your heating expenses.
• Reduced Waste: Programmable thermostats minimise energy waste by maintaining a constant temperature in your home, unlike traditional thermostats that rely on manual adjustments.
• Temperature Control: With a programmable thermostat, you have more control over the temperature in your home, allowing you to customise settings according to your preferences.
• Cost Savings: By reducing energy consumption and minimising waste, a programmable thermostat can help you save money on your heating bills.

Overall, a programmable thermostat can be an excellent investment, helping you save money and energy while ensuring a comfortable living environment.

Unsure how to use your thermostat? Read our guide here on how to use your central heating thermostat.

How to set the best heating schedule

To optimise the heating schedule of your programmable thermostat during winter, it’s important to consider your individual lifestyle and preferences.

Nonetheless, a general outline can be adapted according to your requirements and as you use your programmable thermostat you will learn which are the best times and temperatures to suit your routines. 

• Morning: Schedule the thermostat to activate heating 30 minutes before waking up, ensuring a warm and pleasant atmosphere in the house.
• Daytime: When you’re not at home, program the thermostat to decrease the temperature by 4-6 degrees Celsius to minimise energy consumption and heating expenses. Set the thermostat to initiate warming up the house 30 minutes before your return.
• Evening: When you’re at home, set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature of approximately 20-22 degrees Celsius while considering your comfort level and preferences.
• Bedtime: Similar to the morning, reduce the temperature by 4-6 degrees Celsius while sleeping to economise energy and minimise heating costs. You can program the thermostat to initiate heating 30 minutes before waking up in the morning.

By adhering to this general heating schedule, you can maintain a cosy and comfortable home while reducing your heating expenses as long as you have one of the latest energy efficient new boilers too.

Don’t forget to adjust the temperature according to your lifestyle and preferences to ensure you have a happy home. 

Always remember to change your thermostat when the clocks go back too.

Best heating schedule for winter

Unless you’re a penguin, winter is the worst. Higher bills are given, there’s no escaping the higher costs as well as the lower temperatures. Hopefully, our quick heating schedule guide can help keep you warm as well as limit the amount of time your heating is on.

With all our schedules, we assume that you have set your thermostat temperature to 20 degrees to keep it simple (if your thermostat reaches this before the off time it will switch off your boiler, saving you even more money), but as we say you may have to make some minor adjustments along the way. 

Schedule Day	On	Off	On	Off	Total Hours
Monday	5.45 AM	8:00 AM	4.45 PM	8:00 PM	5.5 Hours
Tuesday	5.45 AM	8:00 AM	4.45 PM	8:00 PM	5.5 Hours
Wednesday	5.45 AM	8:00 AM	4.45 PM	8:00 PM	5.5 Hours
Thursday	5.45 AM	8:00 AM	4.45 PM	8:00 PM	5.5 Hours
Friday	5.45 AM	8:00 AM	4.45 PM	8:00 PM	5.5 Hours
Saturday	5.45 AM	8:00 AM	As and when	8:00 PM	1.5 – 8 Hours
Sunday	5.45 AM	8:00 AM	As and when	8:00 PM	1.5 – 8 Hours

Best heating schedule for spring

In the spring heating schedule we start to really lower the amount of hours per week to start saving for next winter. If you can use your heating much less then you could possible set a shorter heating schedule too. 

Schedule Day	On	Off	On	Off	Total Hours
Monday	5.45 AM	7:00 AM	5.45 PM	8:00 PM	3.5 Hours
Tuesday	5.45 AM	7:00 AM	5.45 PM	8:00 PM	3.5 Hours
Wednesday	5.45 AM	7:00 AM	5.45 PM	8:00 PM	3.5 Hours
Thursday	5.45 AM	7:00 AM	5.45 PM	8:00 PM	3.5 Hours
Friday	5.45 AM	7:00 AM	5.45 PM	8:00 PM	3.5 Hours
Saturday	5.45 AM	7:00 AM	As and when	8:00 PM	1.5 – 8 Hours
Sunday	5.45 AM	7:00 AM	As and when	8:00 PM	1.5 – 8 Hours

Best heating schedule for summer

Ideally, you wouldn’t need to use your heating schedule at all over the summer period, however we all know there can be some chilly mornings, especially if you have climatised to the warmer weather. 

You can set your heating to come on in the morning at 20 degrees just incase, and it will be likely that your home will be warmer anyway, so will not switch on. 

Schedule Day	On	Off	On	Off	Total Hours
Monday	5.45 AM	6:30 AM	Off	Off	45 mins
Tuesday	5.45 AM	6:30 AM	Off	Off	45 mins
Wednesday	5.45 AM	6:30 AM	Off	Off	45 mins
Thursday	5.45 AM	6:30 AM	Off	Off	45 mins
Friday	5.45 AM	6:30 AM	Off	Off	45 mins
Saturday	5.45 AM	6:30 AM	Off	Off	45 mins
Sunday	5.45 AM	6:30 AM	Off	Off	45 mins

Best eating schedule for autumn

Your autumn heating schedule is likely going to be the same as spring, and technically we are looking at banking a few hours ready for a cold winter when we really need it. Blankets and an extra layer of clothes here could really help when its just starting to drop. 

Schedule Day	On	Off	On	Off	Total Hours
Monday	5.45 AM	7:00 AM	5.45 PM	8:00 PM	3.5 Hours
Tuesday	5.45 AM	7:00 AM	5.45 PM	8:00 PM	3.5 Hours
Wednesday	5.45 AM	7:00 AM	5.45 PM	8:00 PM	3.5 Hours
Thursday	5.45 AM	7:00 AM	5.45 PM	8:00 PM	3.5 Hours
Friday	5.45 AM	7:00 AM	5.45 PM	8:00 PM	3.5 Hours
Saturday	5.45 AM	7:00 AM	As and when	8:00 PM	1.5 – 8 Hours
Sunday	5.45 AM	7:00 AM	As and when	8:00 PM	1.5 – 8 Hours

FAQs

What is a programmable thermostat?

A programmable thermostat is a very clever device that allows you to set and control the temperature of your central heating according to your schedule. This is in comparison to the old traditional thermostats that rely on manual adjustments, programmable thermostats can be programmed (funnily enough) to automatically adjust the temperature of your home based on your daily routine.

What is a smart thermostat?

A smart thermostat is an advanced type of thermostat that connects to your home’s Wi-Fi network, allowing you to control the temperature of your home remotely using a smartphone, tablet, or computer. The best smart thermostats such as Nest or Hive can save you even more money on your energy bills. 

What is a boiler timer? 

A boiler timer is a device that allows you to control when your boiler turns on and off automatically. The boiler timer is usually installed near the boiler and can be programmed to turn the heating on and off at different times of the day or night.

Boiler timers however do not sense if the temperature in your home therefore will not turn off if the desired temperature is reached, which is what makes a programmable thermostat better.