Leaving heating on for your DOG could add £300 a year to bills

Leaving the heating on for your DOG when home is empty of humans could add £300 a year to energy bills, expert warns

  • Leaving lights on for a pet in a couple of rooms for six hours a day could cost £50
  • A fan left on would cost £5 but air conditioning could add hundreds of pounds
  • Vets say leaving heating on unnecessary, as pets have enough fur to keep warm

Dog owners could be paying almost £300 a year to keep the heating and lighting on for their pet in winter.

Dr David Glew, a Government adviser on energy efficiency, has seen several examples in his research of people leaving central heating on in their empty houses to keep dogs warm.

He warns that in a large family home, leaving the heating on for a dog could add £240 to the annual bill for gas. 

Dog owners could be paying almost £300 a year to keep the heating and lighting on for their pet in winter (stock image)

Leaving the lights on for a pet in a couple of rooms for six hours a day could cost £50 a year using modern spotlights, Dr Glew calculates, or £12 a year using LED lightbulbs.

A fan left on would cost only £5 but air conditioning could add hundreds of pounds more a year if left on in the whole house.

Vets say leaving the heating on is usually unnecessary, as most healthy pets have enough fur to keep them warm, and air conditioning is generally not needed by pets either.

Dr David Glew, a Government adviser on energy efficiency, has seen several examples in his research of people leaving central heating on in their empty houses to keep dogs warm (stock image)

Dr Glew, head of energy efficiency and policy at Leeds Beckett University, raised the issue in a talk at Cheltenham Science Festival this month.

He said: ‘There is no need to leave heating on for pets but if people feel they really must do it, perhaps they could consider only heating the room the dog prefers, or turning down the radiator dial or thermostat.’

Research by the Energy Saving Trust in 2015 found 43 per cent of pet owners leave the heating on for them.

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