It’s cold outside, but hot as summer in our homes
Average thermostat is set at a toasty 23C and is cranking up bills
IT IS still coat and scarf weather outside but indoors we are enjoying the height of summer.
Research shows that the average household thermostat is set at 23C (73F) – a degree or two warmer than a typical summer’s day in the south of England.
Some 36 per cent of people keep the gas dial at 25C (77F) and one in 20 has it turned right up to 30C (86F).
This is hotter than many a summer day in Sydney and well above the recommended temperature for good health.
Emergency repair firm HomeServe, which commissioned the poll, warned that such hothousing is hitting our pockets severely – with every degree adding 10 per cent to already crippling energy costs.
This means that £65 will be added to the average annual heating bill for each degree Celsius that the thermostat is turned up, according to the Energy Saving Trust.
More than 2,000 adults were asked what temperature their central heating thermostat is set at, which room it was in, and how long they kept their heating on for.
Despite spiralling power prices, 18 per cent said they leave their heating on day and night.
Those aged 18 to 24 were among the least likely to hit the off button, with 23 per cent leaving it running unchecked.
This may be because they have recently moved out of home and are unused to budgeting and paying energy bills.
In contrast, 36 per cent of pensioners polled said they worry about finding the cash to pay for gas and electricity.
The survey also revealed that men are more likely than women to know what temperature their thermostat is set at. It found that most thermostats are in halls or spare bedrooms rather than the main living areas.
The devices use the temperature of the air around them to control when the heating fires up, so this makes it more difficult for householders to heat the main rooms to exactly the right temperature. As a result, many end up cranking up the thermostat to ensure the rooms they use the most are warm enough.
Martin Bennett, CEO of HomeServe said: ‘Sixty-nine per cent of thermostats are located away from key family areas like the living room, which makes it hard to run your heating efficiently.
‘ Households are effectively guessing how warm their hallway has to be to make their living room a pleasant temperature. Keeping in mind that homes are far better insulated today, it’s neither necessary nor cost- effective to heat homes to sub- tropical temperatures.
‘Between 18C and 21C is ideal for health and wellbeing and will help to ease pressure on your finances in the long run.’
Government health advice is that living rooms should be heated to temperatures of 21C (70F) and the rest of the house to 18C (64F). Its Cold Weather Plan states: ‘If you can’t heat all the rooms you use,
‘Sub-tropical temperatures’
heat the living room throughout the day and your bedroom just before you go to bed.
‘Remember to close curtains and shut doors to keep heat in the rooms you use most.’ A separate Governmentcommissioned report put the winter temperature of the average home at 17.7C ( 63.8F) – four degrees warmer than in 1970.
Greater insulation, new building regulations and better boilers have all been credited with helping to lock in heat.