Households across the UK can keep their homes warm and cosy all night long without breaking the bank on heating costs.

Keeping energy bills low will be a priority for many this winter after Ofgrem this month increases its price cap.

The hike adds an extra £149 to bills for typical households in England, Scotland and Wales, rising from £1,568 per year to £1,717.

Of course, the cap does not limit the total cost of your bills as you pay for the amount of energy you actually use. So if you use more energy than average, you will end up paying more.

And with the cold weather now setting in, many households will be running the heating more often to keep warm during the winter months.

To help keep your bills as low as possible, while maintaining warmth in your home, particularly at night, experts recommend running your heating at a specific time each day. 

Llewellyn Kinch, CEO and co-founder of solar platform and home energy specialists MakeMyHouseGreen, says the optimum time to turn your heating on to keep your house warm all night is right before you go to bed.

According to health experts, adults should try to go to bed between 10pm and 11pm in order to maintain an optimum sleep schedule and a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, you should put your heating on between 9pm and 10pm, right before you go to bed.

Kinch explains: “To create a balance between energy efficiency and home comfort at night, turn your heating on about an hour before you go to bed and leave it on for a few hours by setting the timer. 

“That way, the house won’t get too cold at night, and it won’t require so much energy to heat it up again on those frosty mornings.”

Kinch adds that you should set a timer so that your heating switches off around an hour after you go to bed, which should be enough time to allow the entire house to reach a comfortable temperature without overburdening the system.

It’s also worth keeping your curtains closed during the winter to help prevent heat escaping, and shut doors in the rooms you use the most to lock in heat. Investing in draft excluders around windows and external doors can also help to keep your home warm at a low cost.