Why it can cost £425 more to keep women warm in winter than men

WOMEN get men hot under the collar by raising the thermostat and the energy bill by £425, a study revealed.

The huge gulf in the cost of keeping warm would appear if co-habiting couples lived apart, researchers found.

The average British male does not like the thermostat above 22C (72F) and claims the perfect temperature is 19C (66F).

While the most popular setting for women is 24C (75F).

During a normal winter, and at current energy prices, that works out at £655 on heating bills for women but just £230 for men, the study of 2,000 co-habiting couples revealed.

It may explain why having control of the thermostat causes disagreements in so many homes, the report claims.

Nearly nine in ten men (88 per cent) said they constantly turned the thermostat down in the house after their partner had turned it up. Men, it seems, are more likely to control the settings among couples as 69 per cent of them claimed to know what their thermostat was actually set at compared to only 32 per cent of women.

And despite the popular image of soft southerners, it is northerners who have the warmer households with temperatures averaging 25C (77F) compared to 23C (73F) in the South, which is also around the national average according to Energy Savings Trust figures.

Kirsty Hunt, of Duette Blinds, which commissioned the survey, said that the study offered an interesting insight into the battle of the sexes going on over the thermostat. She said: ‘Government health advice puts the ideal living room temperature at 21C (70F) and the rest of the house at 18C (64F) as the optimum for health and wellbeing. Our poll found that one in 18 women would like their home as hot as 30C (86F).

‘It’s worth highlighting the cost and energy savings that can be made by simple steps such as turning down the thermostat and insulating homes.’

Experts claim around £85 can be saved on the average annual energy bill in a three-bedroom semi-detached home for each degree the thermostat is turned down.

Biologically, scientists believe that the way a woman’s fat is distributed around the body compared to men means they feel the cold more when the temperature drops.