How to properly heat a space and conserve the most energy?

Question

My boss likes to turn the office heat totally off at night, which means we have to blast the heat all day and endure a freezing office in the morning until the heat warms the space. It’s a purely financial decision on his part, but I’m not certain he’s right, I just can’t prove it. My theory is that if we just turn the heat down at night; then turn it up a little in the morning, we will actually be saving energy because we’re maintaining a level temperature instead of having to blast the heat all day. I need to back this up, but can’t find anything online to support my theory.

Answer 1

it is more expensive to do it your boss's way. personal experience.

Answer 2

Does your office heat pump have an 'electric resistance strip heat stage' to boost the temperature quickly? (sorry, nothing's simple).

This might help (from http://www.sfpower.org/newswire/energy15.php ).

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If I turn off the heat pumps will it take more energy to bring the building back up?

The problem with setting back the temperature of a heat pump or turning it off is that many models have a fast recovery "electric resistance strip heat" stage that engages when you turn up the temperature more than two degrees over the existing room temperature. The electric strip heat is one-half to one-third as efficient as the heat pump's refrigeration cycle.

There are a few possible solutions for this. One is to set the units back 5 degrees and manually set them up a few degrees at a time. Another option is to install an intelligent recovery heat pump thermostat that will automatically raise the set point and will avoid activating the strip heat. Another good idea is to install an outdoor thermostat that judges ambient temperature and prevents the strip heat from activating when the outdoor temperature is above the heat pump's balance point, which is usually between 35 and 40 degrees.
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Answer 3

I'd say to turn the heat down at night and turn it on until you get the desired temp is correct because if you leave it at the desired temp all night you'll burn more heat then you want. He should probably make sure the building is insulated properly to ensure minimal heat loss.