No, the government isn’t banning central heating after 9pm

Videos viewed tens of thousands of times on Facebook are falsely claiming that the government will ban people using central heating after 9pm from 1 November.

The clips are styled to look like a news report about the supposed new policy, which is apparently being introduced for “energy efficiency” reasons. The voiceover says breaking this rule could incur “heavy fines”.

But these claims are completely false. No such ban is being introduced.

These videos form part of a spate of alarmist content being shared on social media making false and misleading claims about incoming changes to rules around daily life in the UK, such as a £500 ‘exit fee’ to leave the UK and the introduction of a nighttime curfew.

While many of the comments on these videos recognise the claims are false, lots of people interacting with the posts seem concerned it may be genuine policy.

Full Fact could not find any credible evidence or reporting on central heating bans after 9pm.

Some energy providers actually offer customers with smart meters specific tariffs where they can use energy at ‘off-peak’ times when it is cheaper, such as during the night.

The same account sharing this content has also shared a large number of similar ‘breaking news’ videos making false claims about supposed changes, such as people needing to verify their bus pass from October.

Before sharing videos like this that you see on social media, first consider whether they come from a trustworthy and reliable source. Our Full Fact toolkit can help you better navigate bad information being spread online.