The ideal home temperature: from 11 degrees in an unheated flat to 26 in a drying room
While 21 degrees is considered comfortable, some people live at 11.5 and say the body acclimatises in two weeks. The real temperature range in homes is far wider than you might think.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
From 11 degrees in an unheated flat to 26 in a drying room
With winter tightening its grip and the energy bill hanging like a sword of Damocles, the same question comes back every year: how many degrees should you set your home to? Judging by what goes on in households, the answer ranges from the 11.5 degrees admitted by someone who boasts about never switching anything on to the 26 of someone living in a block with central heating they can't control. In between, a majority sits somewhere between 18 and 21 degrees and has turned the thermostat into a domestic battleground.
The starting point comes from a house with young children: 21 degrees achieved with occasional use of hot-water radiators and a communal gas boiler. Wrap up without overdoing it — winter pyjamas, thermal top, thick socks — and let the sun do half the work during the day. The question they raise is a fair one: is it worth saving degrees at the cost of colds, sick days and medicine?
How many degrees are ideal, depending on the home
No two households are alike. Some set it to 18 degrees during the day and bump it up to 20 in the evening; others keep 21 by day and 19 at night with a couple of hours of boiler time at midday. Some program the thermostat to 16 degrees overnight and 18-19 during the day, and there are those who live in a flat so well oriented to the south that just by airing it and letting the sun in, the place settles at 20-20.5 with five minutes of radiators.
The range that comes up most often is 17 to 21 degrees, with room for everyone to choose. Below that, things get tricky: some manage 14-15 degrees by day and 13 at night with two children, one six months old, and one person lives outright at 11.5 degrees in the living room and insists the body acclimatises in two weeks. The first year was rough; the second, they say, not so much.
The myth of cold that cures and heat that makes you ill
The discussion soon turned to health. One camp holds that feeling cold doesn't make you ill and may even be healthier than living at 24 degrees in short sleeves, because the contrast with the outdoors is smaller. The other points out that colds arrive just the same with the heating on, and the savings aren't worth it if you end up at the pharmacy. The evidence offered is anecdotal, not clinical: nobody cites a study, everyone talks about their own experience.
Where there is agreement is on humidity. A home that's too dry is bad, especially with young children, and it should be kept regulated. There's also agreement that excess heat has a hidden cost: someone living in a block with communal central heating that can't be switched off describes rooms at 24-26 degrees with relative humidity sometimes close to 20%. A drying room, they call it.
The body gets used to it, but the vvife doesn't
The acclimatisation argument comes up again and again: put up with the cold for two weeks and the body responds. And so does the wallet argument: someone who has gone two winters without switching on the heating has cut their gas consumption compared with the previous year, though the drop in kilowatts hasn't shown up as clearly in euros because of price rises and VAT. The mandatory boiler service and the gas inspection together add more than 150 euros a year before burning a single cubic metre.
The domestic note comes from the battle of the sens: men say women feel the cold more, women say men don't look at the numbers. The most common solution is a digital programmer that changes the temperature only between day and night, because the manual thermostat always ends up being turned up. And a technical detail that keeps coming up: hot water at 42 degrees to avoid mixing, the radiator circuit at 70-75 and one bar of pressure when cold.
The figure that really throws people isn't any of the above: it's the person who sleeps with the window slightly open even in cold weather, convinced they rest better. With the house at 18 degrees and the winter duvet, they say, nothing more is needed. Some will call it saving; others, penance. The thermostat, like life, allows few universal truths.
With winter tightening its grip and the energy bill hanging like a sword of Damocles, the same question comes back every year: how many degrees should you set your home to? Judging by what goes on in households, the answer ranges from the 11.5 degrees admitted by someone who boasts about never switching anything on to the 26 of someone living in a block with central heating they can't control. In between, a majority sits somewhere between 18 and 21 degrees and has turned the thermostat into a domestic battleground.
The starting point comes from a house with young children: 21 degrees achieved with occasional use of hot-water radiators and a communal gas boiler. Wrap up without overdoing it — winter pyjamas, thermal top, thick socks — and let the sun do half the work during the day. The question they raise is a fair one: is it worth saving degrees at the cost of colds, sick days and medicine?
How many degrees are ideal, depending on the home
No two households are alike. Some set it to 18 degrees during the day and bump it up to 20 in the evening; others keep 21 by day and 19 at night with a couple of hours of boiler time at midday. Some program the thermostat to 16 degrees overnight and 18-19 during the day, and there are those who live in a flat so well oriented to the south that just by airing it and letting the sun in, the place settles at 20-20.5 with five minutes of radiators.
The range that comes up most often is 17 to 21 degrees, with room for everyone to choose. Below that, things get tricky: some manage 14-15 degrees by day and 13 at night with two children, one six months old, and one person lives outright at 11.5 degrees in the living room and insists the body acclimatises in two weeks. The first year was rough; the second, they say, not so much.
The myth of cold that cures and heat that makes you ill
The discussion soon turned to health. One camp holds that feeling cold doesn't make you ill and may even be healthier than living at 24 degrees in short sleeves, because the contrast with the outdoors is smaller. The other points out that colds arrive just the same with the heating on, and the savings aren't worth it if you end up at the pharmacy. The evidence offered is anecdotal, not clinical: nobody cites a study, everyone talks about their own experience.
Where there is agreement is on humidity. A home that's too dry is bad, especially with young children, and it should be kept regulated. There's also agreement that excess heat has a hidden cost: someone living in a block with communal central heating that can't be switched off describes rooms at 24-26 degrees with relative humidity sometimes close to 20%. A drying room, they call it.
The body gets used to it, but the vvife doesn't
The acclimatisation argument comes up again and again: put up with the cold for two weeks and the body responds. And so does the wallet argument: someone who has gone two winters without switching on the heating has cut their gas consumption compared with the previous year, though the drop in kilowatts hasn't shown up as clearly in euros because of price rises and VAT. The mandatory boiler service and the gas inspection together add more than 150 euros a year before burning a single cubic metre.
The domestic note comes from the battle of the sens: men say women feel the cold more, women say men don't look at the numbers. The most common solution is a digital programmer that changes the temperature only between day and night, because the manual thermostat always ends up being turned up. And a technical detail that keeps coming up: hot water at 42 degrees to avoid mixing, the radiator circuit at 70-75 and one bar of pressure when cold.
The figure that really throws people isn't any of the above: it's the person who sleeps with the window slightly open even in cold weather, convinced they rest better. With the house at 18 degrees and the winter duvet, they say, nothing more is needed. Some will call it saving; others, penance. The thermostat, like life, allows few universal truths.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (41 replies).
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