The paper presents the methodology developed to investigate the various effects of different heating patterns and schedules on the overall thermal performance of a dwelling that does not receive solar gains, taking into account the living habits of its users. Five typical Living patterns were defined, represented by activity and clothing schedules. The factors that were investigated include: total daily energy consumption, partial energy during evening hours, weighted cost of the total energy (with weighting factors equal to the marginal hourly costs of electrical power production in winter), and improved thermal comfort (referenced to the non-heated situation) measured by the daily average of predicted percentages of satisfied users. From these factors two criteria have been established for identification of the preferred heating patterns and schedules for each type of weather and Living pattern: the energy vs. improved comfort criterion, and the weighted cost vs. improved comfort criterion. The main types of heating patterns that were considered are: a one-period pattern that ends at 23:00, with various starting times, a two-period heating pattern (afternoon-evening + night-morning) and a round-the-clock continuous one. Examples of results for generally heavyweight construction with various external walls, in the local moderate, cool and cold climates are presented. The main conclusions are that, from the user＇s point of view, as long as energy prices are constant throughout the day, heating hours should be accommodated according to living habits, and even in non-moderate climates it is not valid to introduce night heating when people stay away from home for many hours. In general, the cooler the weather and the more domestic the Living habits, optimal utilization of energy is achieved by advancing afternoon heating and introducing early morning heating. From a national point of view (of power production marginal costs) and for users who enjoy non-constant energy prices (adjusted to production marginal costs), it is valid to add early morning and night-time heating hours, instead of early afternoon hours, in order to achieve the same levels of thermal comfort, spend more total energy, but less partial energy during the peak production hours, and thus pay less.