Heating: the real savings of leaving it off in winter

Turning on the heating is throwing money away: the 18-degree method

Can you get through the whole winter without turning on the heating? Yes, and some people do it at -3 degrees. The thesis running through this responsible-consumption discussion is simple: in most Spanish homes, heating is not a necessity, it's a comfort paid for at a premium. With gas bills that in some cases reach 150 euros, others close to 200, and some admitting to paying 400 and 600 euros a month in the depths of winter, the debate is no small matter.

The starting approach is radical: jacket, two pairs of socks, a blanket on the sofa and a duvet on the bed. Not a single radiator on so far this winter, and that's writing from Zaragoza with a pharmacy thermometer reading -3 degrees and fog that multiplies the feeling of cold. The key, they say, is not to suffer, but not to wear short sleeves in January.

What it really costs to keep the house at 24 degrees

The first eye-opening figure is the bills. Some pay 150 euros, some get close to 200, and some, in a detached house, admit to between 400 and 600 euros a month in the harshest months. Against that, one striking case: an old 300-square-metre house, well insulated, with a biomass boiler fuelled by olive pits, comes out at around 40 euros a month while keeping the home at 21 degrees. The boiler costs more, but by that calculation it pays for itself in two winters.

The range is enormous, and there lies the first lesson: the heating system matters as much as or more than the decision to turn it on. A communal boiler that switches on at midday and off at eight in the evening leaves neighbours with small children no room to manoeuvre, and whoever pays the fixed cost of an empty home wonders what the point is.

Insulation rules: where the heat escapes

The second front of the debate is the building envelope. People point out that the cold comes in through the glass, through the shutter box opening and through the window frames themselves. One person changed to aluminium windows with thermal break and 6+4+4 glazing, also paid for a polystyrene panel in the shutter box, and found that cold air still comes in through the small hole of the strap. A design flaw repeated in many more homes.

The deeper criticism is aimed at construction: quality has been cut to shameful limits, there are no energy audits when a building is finished, and no penalties for actual quality versus what was in the plans. In France, it's noted, the energy performance diagnosis has been mandatory since 1 November for home sales, and there are grants of up to 20,000 euros per property for renovations. Here, a landlord who rents out without investing leaves the tenant with severe condensation, mould around the window frame and air pockets under the laminate flooring that only appear in winter.

Why are radiators placed under the window?

Because they create a thermal barrier: the heat rising from the radiator blocks the cold coming in through the glass. The question of why they're installed there has a technical answer, even if instinct says otherwise. What's harder to defend is the thermostat placed in the worst corner by whoever installed it, or the radiator valves in empty rooms left open.

That's where the household savings playbook comes in: dressing in layers, an electric blanket for the TV, heating only the bathroom for a shower, a hot water bottle for bed, turning down the radiator valves in unused areas. And one figure that breaks the sacrifice narrative: some homes never drop below 18 degrees no matter what, with a summer T-shirt and a fleece, without turning anything on. Orientation, sun and insulation do the rest.

The line between saving and misery

The dividing line is the question hanging over the whole conversation. Some argue that keeping a house at 12 degrees, like a child's bedroom mentioned in the thread, is outrageous; others defend that a thermostat at 19 degrees, lowered to 18 at night, is the sensible thing, without shutting off the boiler all winter. The cold, the argument goes, is bad for you: you end up spending more on sick leave and doctors than on heating oil.

The counterpoint comes from the other extreme: someone who lives in shorts and a T-shirt at 23 or 24 degrees, with a baby who kicks off the covers at night, and accepts the hit on the bill. "Being comfortable isn't paid for with money," that position sums up. In between, the cold calculation: some will discover they spend more per year on internet and mobile phone than on heating.

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In the end, the question isn't whether you can live without heating in Zaragoza with fog and -3 degrees. You can. The question is how many of those complaining about the bill wear short sleeves in January, and how many of those boasting about their savings have a home that holds the heat without asking Endesa's permission.