Are you making these heating mistakes? Experts explain how to make sure you and your home are warm this winter.
Finding the correct temperature for your home can be a balancing act. You need to take into account the (sometimes different) comfort levels of the people that live there, but also other factors including cost, environmental impact and, most importantly, health.
According to geriatrician Dr Duncan Gerry, prolonged exposure to temperatures either too high or too low can have serious implications.
“It is very well documented that after either a cold or hot snap, disease and death goes up. Too long a period exposed to hot or cold temperatures leads to a greater risk of heart attack or stroke. Temperature extremes put stress on the body, which affects our defences and other homeostatic functions.”
According to John Lawless, content manager at Best Heating, “the average thermostat setting in the UK is 20.8°C (69.4°F).”
Although previous guidelines had recommended a minimum of 21°C in living rooms, there wasn’t necessarily clear evidence to support that. So most health bodies, including the World Health Organization and the UK Health Security Agency, now recommend a minimum temperature of 18°C for the general population.
The World Health Organization adds: “A higher minimum indoor temperature than 18°C may be necessary for vulnerable groups including older people, children and those with chronic illnesses, particularly cardiorespiratory disease.”
It goes without saying that the higher your heating, the higher your bills. According to Joanna O’Loan, Knowledge Manager at the Energy Saving Trust, “If you’re feeling warm enough, lowering your thermostat from 22°C to 21°C can save you £90 annually.”
We’ve put together some top tips for boiler maintenance and safety checks, so you can avoid unexpected repair costs.
How much sleep we get, and how well we sleep, can be influenced by the temperature of our bedroom – which might mean turning your thermostat down at night.
The Sleep Foundation says: “A higher core body temperature has been associated with a decrease in restorative slow-wave sleep and subjective sleep quality.” They recommend a room temperature of around 18°C is optimum.
If your heating is set at 20°C, you could either turn down the radiators in your bedroom a little, or turn down the thermostat when you go to bed. If it’s not too cold outside, you could even switch off your heating at night, but be sure to programme it to come on an hour before you get up, to avoid morning chills. It may take a little experimentation to find what works for you and your home.
Confusingly, there is another temperature gauge that could help you to save the pennies without getting chilly. Many boilers are set at a temperature 10–20°C higher than they need to be.
Age UK advises that “a temperature of 60°C (140°F) is fine for most people – but make sure it doesn’t drop below this as it can cause bacteria to grow in the tank.” Running a boiler at 60°C should be ample for heating your home, and could result in savings of up to £100 a year.
Turning down the boiler’s temperature doesn’t just save on heating bills, it prolongs your boiler’s lifespan too. Running your boiler at a high temperature, suggests heating company Baxi, could start to stress out your boiler.
“An overworked boiler will likely have a reduced lifespan, decreased efficiency, and be more prone to breakdowns and repairs.”
In order to ensure that the heating inside your home remains at the required temperature, it’s important not just to set your thermostat, but to have it in the right place.
“Room thermostats need a free flow of air to sense the temperature,” cautions Joanna O’Loan.
“They should not be blocked by curtains or furniture, or placed in direct sunlight or near heat sources that could give them false readings. It’s usually best to fit the thermostat in a room that is heated most of the time, such as a living room, or in a central space like a hallway as this gives a good indication of the temperature of the whole home.”
How many of us have said, in our time, “It’s going to get cold tomorrow – I might crank up the heating”? Yet we don’t need to – such an action fundamentally misinterprets what a thermostat is for, as none other than money-saving guru Martin Lewis points out:
“A thermostat says: ‘we will keep it at a set temperature’. Why are you turning it up in winter? That’s what the thermostat does. If you want it to be 20 degrees it will stay at 20 degrees and that’s the right temperature for you.”
All you’re doing is ensuring that your home is warmer than it needs to be – and your home won’t heat any quicker with the thermostat dial turned up.
Another common mistake is keeping the curtains closed. While this is a helpful insulator at night, by day the sun’s rays help heat the home, so it pays to keep them open. And, if they’re closed at night, make sure they aren’t closed over the radiator itself, as this will limit your heating’s efficiency.
It makes sense to only heat the rooms in your home that you’re actually using. But that means you need to keep the doors closed between the rooms you’re heating and the rooms you’re not.
Turning down the heating needn’t necessarily leave you feeling colder. The Energy Saving Trust has some excellent tips on maximising your heating’s efficiency, meaning you get more heat using less power.
Firstly, bleeding your radiators twice every year will help to maximise their heat output by ensuring the hot water can circulate freely. You don’t need a plumber’s qualifications to do this, it’s really straightforward – as the British Gas instructions on radiator-bleeding illustrate.
Secondly, to get the most out of your newly-bled radiators, make sure there’s no furniture directly in front of them, stopping the heat from radiating into the room. Also, give them a clean – it might sound ridiculous, but a clean radiator is more efficient.
If you want to maximise their effectiveness, you could install radiator reflectors, which sit behind the radiator and stop heat from disappearing into your walls, instead bouncing it back into your room.
And you can’t beat a good draught excluder – which will stop cold air coming in, and heat escaping, through the gap at the bottom of your door. If you’re feeling creative, you could even make one yourself.
While there’s little point in heating the rooms you don’t use, there’s even less point in heating your home while you’re not there. Many people believe that it’s cheaper to leave the heating on low while you’re out, so you’re starting from a higher base temperature when the heating comes back on.
The Energy Saving Trust suggests otherwise:
“Keeping your heating on all the time will use more energy and cost you more money.
“It’s more energy efficient, and better for your bills, to have your boiler come on when you need it.”
The exception to this rule is if you use a heat pump, in which case it’s more efficient to leave it running at a low output.
If your routine is likely to vary from day to day, it might be worth investing in smart heating controls, which allow you to control the heating via your smartphone while you’re out and about. That way, you can switch the heating off when you go out, and programme it to come on 30–60 minutes before you arrive home.
Guard against inconvenient and unexpected boiler failure with Saga Home & Heating Emergency cover and boiler service option.
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