Costs and pricing
Thermostat setback savings calculator
What setting it back while you are out or asleep is worth over a year.
Roughly what your energy bills rise by across the heating and cooling seasons, compared with a mild month.
How far you choose to move it while out or asleep. This tool does not suggest a temperature — that is your call.
Based on the common rule of thumb of about 1% saved per degree of setback per 8 hours. It is a rough model, not a measurement — insulation, climate and how long your system takes to recover all move the real figure.
Why setting back works at all
A house loses heat in proportion to the gap between inside and outside. Let the inside temperature drift closer to outside while nobody is home and the loss slows, so the system has less to replace. The saving comes from those hours of reduced loss, not from the system working harder later.
The old objection — that reheating costs more than you saved — does not hold. Recovering to the normal temperature costs roughly what you avoided spending, and you keep the difference from the hours in between.
This is a rule of thumb, not a measurement
The figures above use the common estimate of about 1% saved per degree of setback per 8 hours. It is a reasonable model and a poor promise. A well-insulated house cools slowly, so a setback saves less than the rule suggests; a draughty one saves more.
Heat pumps behave differently again, because they run most efficiently at a steady output and can lose ground on a deep setback. If you run one, treat this as a loose upper bound.
When not to set back
There are situations where this is the wrong economy. Homes with elderly or unwell occupants, pipes at risk of freezing, or humidity that needs controlling should not be run cold to save money.
This tool does not suggest a temperature and never will. What is comfortable and safe in your home is your decision, and a professional's if there is any doubt.
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