Choosing the ideal temperature for your home is often a case of personal preference. While many factors can make a house seem warmer or colder, choosing the right temperature is usually down to the inhabitants of the home.
In general, the ideal temperature of your home should be the coldest temperature you are comfortable with. It’s cheaper and more energy-efficient to keep your home cooler and only use the heating when you need to. But what temperature should you set your thermostat to?
According to studies carried out in the UK, the ideal room temperature is 18°C to, yet us guys in the UK & USA will set their thermostats to around 20°C or even 22°C. In this article, we will look at the different factors that will determine how warm you keep your home and how you can make your heating system even more efficient.
Who lives in the home?
If there are young children or the elderly living in the home, you will need to pay close attention to your thermostat. This is because babies and the elderly are less capable of regulating their temperature. They are more likely to be chilly in the winter and to overheat in the summer.
The ideal temperature for a baby
A baby’s room should be kept at around 16-20°C. Keep a thermometer in the room so you can keep an eye on the temperature. Many parents like their baby to sleep in their bedroom for the first 6 months as it is easier to regulate the temperature when you are in the same room.
The ideal temperature for the elderly
For elderly residents, the room temperature should not fall below 18°C, even at night. This is because cold temperatures can aggravate chest and heart conditions by raising the blood pressure. To help save on energy bills, you can focus on heating only the inhabited rooms in your home.
Elderly residents can also layer up their clothing to make sure they are comfortable. If the temperature drops below 9°C, there is an increased risk of hypothermia. And a temperature between 9-12°C and above 24°C can increase the risk of stroke.
Heating for your health
According to the World Health Organisation, a well-dressed person will be comfortable in a room that is heated to 18°C. If you’re unwell, you may want to increase this to 20°C to help aid your healing. If you are conscious of the energy you are using and want to reduce your carbon footprint, you should be able to drop your thermostat to the lowest you are comfortable with, provided you do not have any underlying health conditions.
Efficiency versus comfort?
If you want to conserve energy and you do not have any underlying health conditions, you may want to set your thermostat as low as 16°C and then simply layer up your clothing. Dropping your thermostat temperature by just 1°C can help to save as much as 10% on your energy bills. Throwing on an extra layer could, therefore, add up to some big savings.
Focus on improving heat efficiency
Turning up the thermostat is one way to heat your home, but you could also focus on improving efficiency. By regularly servicing your boiler with the help of a boiler care plan, you can help to increase efficiency and make sure you aren’t wasting any energy. You should also focus on getting rid of draughts, covering hard surfaces and making sure your roof is properly insulated. If you fail to take these steps, you home could feel a lot colder, no matter how high you set your thermostat. This can help you to get a lot more for your money and enjoy a more energy-efficient home.
