What temperature should my house be?
Your home should be set to a temperature where you’re physically comfortable and mentally alert. While ideal temperatures vary from room to room, aim for a benchmark figure of between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius.
Setting the right thermostat temperature is a balancing act. If you’re struggling to pay your bills, it can be tempting to leave the heating off for long periods, but this may be a false economy. When you do put the heating on, it takes longer – and more energy – to heat your house back up to temperature. In addition, letting your house go unheated for large periods of time creates other risks, from increased exposure to damp and mould as well as the potential for your pipes to freeze in sub-zero temperatures, which could lead to expensive repair bills.
So what is the acceptable minimum room temperature for the UK? The answer is at least 14°C. By ensuring the temperature never drops below 14°C, you’ll help combat the effects of moisture while ensuring internal pipes don’t freeze (don’t forget to lag external pipes).
How does my home's temperature affect my energy bills?
Generally, if your home is on the warmer side, you shouldn't need to have your heating on as much or as high, so you should save money on your bills. If it's colder, it may cost you more money if you turn your heating on or keep it at a high level.
If you’re worried about your energy bills and your heating is on the higher side, then there are things you can do to reduce the amount you spend on energy. For instance, consider turning your thermostat down by one degree Celsius. This can knock around £80 a year off your annual bill based on July 2024 prices. It also has the added environmental benefit of saving 320kg of CO2. So, if you’ve been heating your home to 20 or even 21°C, you could save up to £160 by reducing it by 2°C without putting your health at risk (consider adding an extra layer of clothing while you acclimatise to the new norm).
If your home is colder, this could be because it's losing heat. You may want to invest in new or better insulation for your walls or loft to counter this. However, this is a costlier measure - you can read more about it below.
What is the ideal temperature for each room?
There’s no one-size-fits-all temperature that covers all the rooms in your home. It depends on the room itself, what it’s used for, how often you’re in it, and where it is in the house. Here’s what experts recommend for the different spaces in your home during the colder winter months:
| Room | Ideal temperature | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| Living room | 19-22°C | People spend a lot of time sitting here relaxing, so a warmer temperature is preferable. |
| Home office | 19-22°C | Again, you spend a lot of time sitting in here while not being physically active. |
| Kitchen | 18-20°C | People tend to be more physically active in the kitchen. Coupled with the increased fluctuation in heat and humidity when using your cooking appliances, it means the temperature can be kept slightly lower than elsewhere. |
| Bathroom | 20-24°C | A higher temperature is recommended to keep the room feeling comfortable after a bath or shower. |
| Bedroom | 16-19°C | Your body temperature drops during sleep, so lower temperatures here are more comfortable. Older people (65+) should aim for the top end – 18-19°C – as a minimum. |
| Baby or child's bedroom | 16-20°C | Infant bodies don’t regulate body temperature as effectively as older children and adults, plus it’s recommended they sleep under thinner, fewer layers, so increase their room temperature one degree higher than yours. |
| Corridors, laundry rooms, etc | 15-18°C | People spend less time in these areas, so they’re not as important to keep warm. |
What factors influence room temperature?
There are many contributors to a room’s temperature. They are:
- Outdoor temperature: this is the key factor – warm air always flows to where cold air is settled. This means any heat in your home will attempt to escape through the walls, windows and roof during the winter months; conversely, the heat outside your home will attempt to enter in the opposite direction during the warmer, summer months
- Insulation: the insulation in your walls and roof work not only to retain heat in your home during the winter months, but it also helps prevent outdoor heat coming in during the warmer summer months
- Windows: the number, size, position and type of window all affects a room’s temperature. Double-glazed windows can provide similar benefits to insulation, while south-facing windows allow more sunlight – and therefore warmth – into rooms
- Air humidity: this indicates how much moisture is in the air. When air humidity is low, the room is likely to feel colder
- Ventilation: good ventilation helps air circulate within rooms and your home generally to prevent the build-up of moisture, which can lead to condensation, damp and mould
- Size of room: smaller rooms warm up more quickly, while rooms with high ceilings can suffer from poor air circulation, which results in hot and cold spots. This can be fixed with the help of ceiling fans that distribute both warm and cold air more evenly
- Physical activity: the more active you are, the lower a room’s ideal temperature should be. Therefore, in rooms where you’re less physically active such as your living room, a higher temperature is required to make it comfortable.
What is the ideal temperature for the elderly?
We become more sensitive to temperature changes as we age, so it’s important to try and maintain a warm temperature of at least 18°C – and considerably higher if possible (your ideal room temperature could be as high as 26°C depending on your individual circumstances).
This ideal temperature applies to the bedroom as well as other rooms – poor muscle strength and mobility can be aggravated by the cold, and your risk of hypothermia increases. Keeping your body temperature above 35°C is vital.
If you’re struggling to stay warm, first look to see if you can help get with paying your bills by seeing if you qualify for any (or all) of the following forms of government help:
Another way to maintain your body temperature at a safe level is to explore ways of heating the air around you. Extra layers of clothes can help, but also hot water bottles, electric blankets (these can cost from 2-6p an hour to run) and even specialist garments like heated gilets, which are warmed using a rechargeable battery. Also make sure you have at least one hot meal a day.
What is the ideal room temperature for a baby?
Young children and babies are less able to regulate their body temperature, which is why it’s important that they don’t overheat – particularly during the summer when it’s warmer and the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) is greater.
To avoid overheating, it’s recommended babies sleep in fewer and thinner layers, such as in a lightweight sleeping bag. This means it’s important their nursery or bedroom is sufficiently warm during winter months – the NHS recommends 16-20°C for a sleeping infant. Typically aim for one degree warmer than your own bedroom.
It’s a good idea to monitor your baby’s conditions regularly – particularly during the first six months when they’re probably sleeping in with you. Get a room thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature and monitor your baby’s actual temperature by touching the back of their neck or stomach when they’re sleeping – if it’s sweaty to the touch, remove a layer of clothing or bedding.
What should my thermostat temperature be?
If your home only has a single thermostat for regulating temperature, then an average of 18-20°C should suffice. If each room is independently controlled, then use the table above to determine the best temperature on a room-by-room basis.
Ultimately, however, the thermostat should be set to whatever temperature you feel most comfortable in or what temperature is required for a particular room.
Should I upgrade my thermostat?
If you’re relying on manual controls or one with a basic on/off timer, it may be time to upgrade. The disadvantages of relying on older technology include:
- They tend to be less energy-efficient: by relying on a simple timer or manual controls you waste time and energy – both in having to heat the home to warm it up from a colder start, and then not switching off the heating when your desired temperature has been reached
- They tend to be more difficult to use: relying on manual controls means waiting 20+ minutes for your home to warm up to a comfortable level.
Switching to a thermostatic controlled system allows you to set a comfortable temperature for the house – less energy is used because the heating will switch off when that temperature is reached, then only come on as and when it’s needed to maintain that temperature.
Combine a thermostat with a timer system and you can save even more energy – for example, by setting different temperatures for different times of day (lower at night or when no one is at home during the day, then raising them in the morning and evening when the house is being used).
How do I adjust thermostat settings for different times of the day?
Consult your thermostat manual for precise instructions, but your choice of what temperature and when will depend on your individual lifestyle. For example, if no one is at home during the day, you can set a lower temperature (14-16°C) while your home lies empty, then increase it during the evening before reducing it again during the night.
The following example schedules are designed for a home with adults and older children. Consider increasing the base temperature at night by 1-2°C if you have small children or babies.
| Time period | Recommended temperature (for those at home all day) | Recommended temperature (for those out during working hours) |
|---|---|---|
| 06.00-08.30 | 19-21°C | 19-21°C |
| 08.30-12.30 | 16-18°C | 16-17°C |
| 12.30-14.00 | 19-21°C | 16-17°C |
| 14.00-16.30 | 16-18°C | 16-17°C |
| 16.30-22.00 | 19-21°C | 19-21°C |
| 22.00-06.00 | 16-18°C | 16-18°C |
How does insulation help keep heating bills down?
Insulation helps to regulate temperatures by reducing heat loss during winter. This helps keep bills lower because your heating system doesn’t have to use as much energy to get your home up to temperature and then maintain it.
Insulation has the following benefits:
- Reduces bills: less heat escapes through your walls, so your heating system uses less energy to heat your home
- Prevents mould building up: but make sure your home remains adequately ventilated
- Regulate temperatures in both summer and winter months: in addition to reducing heat loss, insulation also helps keep your house cooler during the summer months by preventing outdoor heat from getting into the house
- Increases your EPC rating: this can boost the home’s value and make it more attractive to prospective buyers.
There are multiple ways to insulate your home:
| Insulation type | How it works | Estimated savings* |
|---|---|---|
| Cavity wall insulation | Most houses built since the 1920s have cavity walls – separate inner and outer walls to reduce moisture in buildings. Filling this gap with special foam helps reduce heat loss. | £100-£370 a year |
| Solid wall insulation | This insulates your home by adding an extra layer that’s fitted either to the external (more expensive but won’t affect internal room sizes or décor) or internal walls (cheaper, but potentially more disruptive). | £140-£500 a year |
| Roof and loft insulation | Without loft insulation, one quarter of your heat would be lost through the roof. It’s one of the most effective ways to cut your bills and should last 40 years. There are important considerations, as it can exacerbate existing conditions like damp – the Energy Saving Trust offers lots of tips you should follow before laying it. | £180-£340 a year (£17-£30 a year if upgrading from 120mm to 270mm) |
| Double-glazed windows | Double (and triple) glazed windows contain sealed pockets of air or an insulating gas like argon between two or three panes of glass. | £120-140 a year |
| Floor insulation | You can insulate solid concrete by laying rigid insulation on top or placing mineral wool insulation between wooden joints in older houses. | Up to £100 a year (£145 in NI) |
*Savings provided by The Energy Saving Trust. Based on July 2024 energy prices.
When insulating your home, make sure it doesn’t block any existing ventilation, such as airbricks, wall vents or trickle vents; otherwise, you may end up introducing damp into your home.
Energy efficiency tips
If you’re worried about rising energy bills, the following tips should help you achieve an ideal room temperature while also helping cut money from your bills.
Boiler
- If your home is well insulated and warms up quickly, you can save £65 a year by reducing your boiler flow temperature on your combi boiler with the help of the Money Saving Boiler Challenge website. You can also safely reduce the temperature to 70°C on non-combi condensing boilers too
- Switch off your combi boiler’s pre-heat mode if you’re out during the day
- Keep your boiler regularly serviced to maintain optimal efficiency
- Make sure your boiler’s pressure is correct (between 1.0 and 2.0 bar).
Hot water system
- Save £40-45 a year by fitting an 80-mm thick jacket to your hot water cylinder if you’ve not already done so
- Reduce your hot water tank’s thermostat to 60°C if possible, to cut your bills further.
Heating system
- If you have a heat pump or new condensing boiler, and your home is poorly insulated or suffers from damp or mould, you may find it more efficient to leave the heating on all day, with the thermostat set to 18-19°C.
Radiators
- Bleed your radiators annually, and use a radiator brush to regularly dust them down to improve their effectiveness
- Fit reflector panels behind your radiator (or fit a shelf above it) to redirect the heat back into the room, so it warms up more quickly and less heat is lost through the walls
- Leave at least a 10cm gap between your radiator and any other furniture
- Shut the doors to rooms you rarely use, and turn down the thermostatic control on radiators in those rooms too.
Keep heat in
- Keep curtains drawn when it’s cold and dark to trap warm air inside. Invest in thermal blinds or curtains to increase the effect
- Draught-proof your home – fitting draught excluders to doors can make a real difference, but also track down gaps around windows, floors and chimneys (leave ventilation devices like air bricks and extractor fans alone)
- Lay down carpet or rugs on floorboards or tiled floors – choose one with an underlay that prevents it slipping while adding extra insulation
- Once you’ve finished cooking, leave your oven door open to let the residual heat warm up your home.
How do I keep my home cool in the summer?
In the summer, your home naturally heats up, so you need to explore ways of keeping the temperature a happy medium – 21-23°C ideally, and below 27°C before things start to feel sticky and uncomfortable.
Some of the ways in which you can keep your home cooler in the summer include:
- Improved ventilation
- Draw curtains on windows facing the sun for long periods
- Improve your insulation and passive cooling (such as fitting thermal blinds)
- Invest in fans or air conditioning.
