Coastal Heating Myth Busted: Is Leaving Your Heating On Low Costing Shoreham Residents?

Coastal Heating Myth Busted: Is It Cheaper to Leave Your Heating On Low in Shoreham, Lancing, and Southwick?

By Andrew Tyler, Prime Boiler Care.

As a heating engineer working across Shoreham, Lancing, Southwick, and Sompting, I hear the same piece of advice every winter when I visit homes: 

“Andrew, I’ve been told it’s actually cheaper to leave my central heating on low all day than to turn it on and off with the timer.”

It’s a classic saying, passed down through generations, and it’s meant well. 

But after decades of fitting, fixing, and maintaining boilers in our coastal patch, I can tell you straight: for the vast majority of local homes, this is a myth that costs you money.

The Verdict from the Boiler Guy: Use the Timer.

My advice, which aligns with the Energy Saving Trust, is always to use a timer or a modern smart thermostat to turn the heating on only when you genuinely need it.

Here’s why I recommend switching off when you’re out or asleep, rather than maintaining a constant low temperature:

1. The Physics of Losing Heat (And Paying For It)

Think of your house as a leaky bucket.

• Continuous Low Heat: If you keep the heating on at 16°C constantly, your boiler is spending 24 hours a day constantly replacing the heat that is leaking out through your roof, walls, and windows. You are paying for continuous replacement of lost energy.

• The Timer Method: When you switch the heating off, the temperature inside drops, and the rate of heat loss slows right down. Yes, your boiler will work harder for a short burst to bring the temperature up from, say, 14°C to 20°C in the morning, but that short burst of maximum efficiency uses far less fuel than the continuous, all-day effort.

You are only paying to heat the house when you are actually in it to feel the benefit.

The Coastal Factor: Our Local Housing Stock.

This advice is doubly important for homes in the Adur district because of our specific housing challenges:

The Old House Problem.

A huge chunk of the housing stock in Shoreham, Lancing, and Southwick is older. 

We're talking semi-detached and period homes built long before modern insulation standards came into effect. 

These properties are often poorly insulated and draughty.

If your home is losing heat quickly—and many older coastal homes are—leaving the heating on low means your boiler is constantly running and fighting a losing battle against the wind and the cold. 

That continuous heat loss in a draughty house makes the “low and slow” method incredibly expensive.

Damp and Ventilation.

The only time I’d ever recommend a constant low temperature is in a special circumstance, like when a property is extremely damp or left empty for a long time, and you need to keep a frost-stat running to prevent pipes from freezing. 

But for everyday living, if you have damp or condensation, the primary fix is better ventilation and checking your boiler's flow temperature setting, not running the boiler all day.

The Exception to the Rule.

The only time the “low and slow” method genuinely works is in a modern, extremely well-insulated home (EPC rating of A or B). 

These houses lose heat so slowly that the energy needed to maintain a low temperature is minimal.

If you live in a new build on the outskirts of Sompting, you might get away with it. 

If you live in a 1930s semi in Shoreham, stick to the timer.

Andrew's Top Three Money-Saving Tips.

As your local engineer, here are three things that genuinely save money on your heating bill, far more than worrying about the myth:

1. Seal the Draughts: In our exposed coastal locations, draughts are huge energy killers. Use excluders on doors and windows. This is cheap, immediate, and effective.

2. Turn Down the Flow Temperature: Most boilers are set to heat radiators at 80°C. Turning the flow temperature down to 60°C or 55°C means the boiler runs more efficiently for longer. It takes a little longer for the house to warm up, but you save money on gas.

3. Drop the Thermostat: Reducing your main thermostat by just one degree (e.g., from 21°C to 20°C) can reduce your annual heating cost by a noticeable percentage. You barely notice the difference in comfort.

Final Word: For Shoreham, Lancing, Southwick, and Sompting homes, set your timer, seal those draughts, and only heat the house when you are awake and home. 

Your bank balance will thank you.

I hope this helps clear up the confusion!