Electric blanket, heater or central heating? The most affordable ways to heat your house

Here's everything you need to know about the cheapest way to keep warm

Millions of families are set to see their energy bills skyrocket amid the cost of living crisis

ouseholds are going to be hit with a "winter like never before" this year, amid the cost of living crisis and rising energy costs, officials have warned.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, founder of Ovo Energy, said in October that people would go hungry and cold unless the Government acts swiftly, as millions of families were set to see their energy bills skyrocket.

Warning of a grim winter ahead, Mr Fitzpatrick said: "If we don't use every available moment over the next 12 weeks to solve this, we are going to see a winter like never before, with people going hungry and going cold and the NHS being overwhelmed by the health impacts of the energy crisis."

But how can customers reduce their living costs and energy bills? One way is to be smart about how you heat your home.

Here's everything you need to know about the cost of running an electric blanket, an electric heater, or central heating —and which works out cheaper.

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If you’re looking for ways to save money on your energy bill, then one of the most common questions is whether it is cheaper to leave your heating on low all day — or use it only when you need it.

The answer is, whether you have your heating on high or low, you’re still consuming energy. Therefore, if you leave it on low all day, the cost will quickly add up and increase your energy bill.

The general advice from the Energy Saving Trust is that have your heating on when you need it and turn it off when you don't need it.

Homes lose heat through windows, walls, doors and even chimneys. If you leave the heating on all day, not only will you be using more energy, but also more of it will be wasted.

However, if your house is prone to condensation, it might not be that clear-cut. The Money Saving Expert website says some specialists argue you should keep the heating on constantly if this is the case.

It advocates keeping the heating on low all day and turning all radiator valves up to the maximum level and the boiler down to the minimum. It says the problem with turning the heating on and off is that every time it's turned off, condensation collects within the walls. This can help to conduct heat outside the home, the website says, meaning you leak heat more quickly and will use more energy as a result.

The Energy Saving Trust says the average price per pence/kWh of electricity is approximately 20p. As such, a 100W electric blanket at 20p per kWh above would cost slightly more than 2p to run at full power for an hour, reports Metro.co.uk.

If you leave it on for two hours before going to bed — that's around 4p. If you were to leave it on all night for seven hours, that would amount to approximately 16p.

Earlier this week, money-saving expert Martin Lewis shared a guide to help "heat the human not the home" amid the energy-cap rise. He revealed that an electric blanket (costing £14) costs 3p an hour to run, which equals £1.37 per week if used for seven hours a day.

This equates to approximately £5.48 per month.

UK-based price comparison service and switching website Uswitch says a plug-in electric heater uses around 3-kilowatt hours of energy (kWh), reports the Sun.

On average in 2021, energy cost 21.2p per kWh, and so it would cost approximately 63.6p per hour to run an electric heater.

If we use these calculations, if you left your heater on for an evening while watching TV for say, four hours, it would cost £2.54. If you did that every day for a week, it would cost £17.78.

If we calculate this as a monthly average, it adds up to an expensive £71.12 per month.

From October 2022, energy bills soared once more, with another rise set to take place in January 2023. This is due to the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets’ (Ofgem) energy-price cap going up.

As per research by Energy Helpline, keeping your radiators on for nine hours a day costs £10.80. This amounts to £75.60 per week and a whopping £335 per month.

The calculations also assume the central heating has been left on for nine hours, with one hour of heating costing up to £1.20.

Overall, it's cheaper to run an electric blanket per month. However, this doesn't take into consideration the costs of keeping the radiators on overnight or using an electric heater all day.

It's best to consult your energy tariffs and to get advice on how to cut down how much you use your heating appliances.

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Central heating: leave it on low all day or turn it on when you need it? How much does an electric blanket cost? approximately 16p. £1.37 per week £5.48 per month How much does an electric heater cost? cost approximately 63.6p per hour it would cost £17.78 £71.12 per month How much does central heating cost? £10.80. £75.60 per week £335 per month one hour of heating costing up to £1.20 Which is cheaper, an electric blanket, an electric heater, or central heating?