Keeping your home warm
Keeping your home warm
Most of us will spend a lot of time indoors in winter. It's natural for us to want to hibernate this time of year. Our home is where we should feel warm and safe, but all too often for many older people this isn't the case.
With the rising cost of energy prices some people are put off putting their heating on.
Keep warm indoors
Know the magic numbers!
- 21°C/70°F is the ideal temperature for your living room.
- 18°C/65°F is the ideal temperature for your bedroom room
- The rest of the house should be heated to at least 18°C/65°F
Use our thermometer card to check the numbers in your home.
- Avoid moving from an overly hot room to a colder room, especially one you can see your breath in. Sudden changes in temperature can be bad for your health and raise your blood pressure.
- Preheat your bedroom so that it's warm for when you settle for bed.
- Keep your home at a warm and stable temperature.
- Close doors to keep the heat from moving to the rooms you don't use.
Top tip: Get your heating system serviced every year by a Gas Safe Registered engineer, they will check that it's working both safely and efficiently for you.
- Get to know how the timer and thermostat on your heating system work. If you’re uncertain, ask to be shown by the Gas Safe Registered Engineer when they service your boiler. For more information about how to understand your heating controls, see our free guide Save energy, pay less
- Set the timer to switch the heating on earlier in the morning, rather than waking up in the cold and turning the thermostat right up to warm your house quickly.
- Set the time to come on an hour before you get up in the morning and an hour after you got to bed.
- If you have thermostats on your radiators, you can set them differently depending on which of your rooms you spend time in.