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Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert has weighed in on whether you should leave your heating on all day for 'low and slow' or turn it on only when needed

The moment has come to fire up the heating, which revives the age-old argument about whether to leave your heating running continuously throughout the day or not.

The principle behind the "low and slow" method proposes that keeping radiators on a steady low temperature will heat your property more effectively. Yet, others vehemently challenge this technique. Martin Lewis ' Money Saving Expert has now revealed the best approach. Based on advice from the Energy Saving Trust, British Gas, an independent plumber, and MoneySavers social media responses - this constitutes the most comprehensively researched guidance on offer, reports the Express.

The conclusion seems to be that "leaving the heating on all day leads to greater heat loss and means higher cost", according to MSE. Nonetheless, the truth is that both camps in the heating argument hold water - although there's some wiggle room depending on your particular situation. The Energy Saving Trust insists that keeping heating on round the clock is less economical.

It advocates the better strategy is to simply provide warmth to your property precisely when needed - guaranteeing you only pay when essential. Using a programmable thermostat proves most successful for achieving your preferred home temperature exactly when you desire it. However, Heat Geek advises that if you possess a contemporary boiler or heat pump, remain at home throughout the day, or spend the majority of your evenings and weekends indoors, the 'low and slow' approach is the route to take.

Heat pumps, a low-carbon form of electric heating, draw heat from outside the home, while modern condensing boilers installed post-2005 recover some waste heat before it's lost. In such cases, keeping your house at a steady 18 or 19°C could be more efficient. Low temperatures and slow heating responsiveness - meaning you resist the urge to crank up your heating when you're cold - allows the boiler to recover more waste heat.

However, this might not be the best strategy if you're often away from home or if your walls are made of plasterboard, which heats up faster. But if you have cavity wall and loft insulation or underfloor heating, the 'low and slow' approach is ideal. Some suggest that the advantage of 'low and slow' is that it prevents condensation from building up within the walls each time the heating is turned off, which can conduct heat outside your home and potentially promote damp and mould.

Given there's no definitive answer, MSE recommends a trial and error approach - comparing energy usage with each method. Take meter readings at the start and end of each experiment and compare them - but aim to match the temperatures of the weeks you are testing in.