Having a home that is the right temperature for the time of year is paramount to make yourself and your family comfortable. You don’t want to be too hot in summer or piling on the jumpers in winter so it’s best to find a suitable heat so you don’t have to faff around in the long run.
The ideal room temperature is usually around 18°C but I think most people do prefer it a little warmer than this, especially in winter. And then your main room is usually warmer than the rest. I mean, you don’t really need to heat up your kitchen when it’ll be getting warmth from the oven whilst cooking.
I’m a bit of a weird one in that I like a really cold bedroom, so much so that I have a fan on most nights and the windows open, even in winter. For me, the warmest room of the house is the bathroom as I hate getting out of the bath into a cold room.
I do try to get the rest of the house a certain temperature for us though and that is 19°C. We have a digital thermostat which, once set, will make sure the rooms stays at that temperature and will change how and when it heats up from the boiler to make sure the room stays a constant heat, although I do set it to change during the day once the sun comes out and warms up the house.
When it comes to saving money on your heating though, that’s when it becomes a bit more technical…
Do you switch off the heating completely, or turn it down to even out the heat? This one can vary depending on your own home. If your house is heavily insulated and doesn’t have much draught, it would be always be cheaper to turn down the thermostat instead of switching off the heating. On the other hand, if your home loses a lot of heat, you’ll be best off turning it off to save money and unwanted heat loss.
So the best way too keep heat in your home and save money, is to invest in insulation and block any draughts coming in, and warm air leaving.
My tip… If you are taking a trip for a couple of weeks and will normally turn the heating off, the temperature will drop drastically. That can lead to problems with damp and so whilst you’re away, it is better to set the thermostat to a lower temperature to keep the house ticking.
Helpful advice, thank you. It can take a while to get it optimised for both efficiency and comfort.
Thank you for the advice – heating is so expensive so good insulation is very important.
Good advice here, we keep the heating ticking over if we are away in winter – and the same as you, my bathroom must be warm, too amy memories of getting out of a bath as a child before we had central heating!
Great tips. It is hard to keep the house warm on a budget. Thanks.