Turn the thermostat down one degree — barely felt, easily saved
One degree lower is the gentlest energy cut there is: hard to feel, easy to live with, and worth around 6% off the biggest bill in your home for the rest of the season.
Of all the energy advice out there, “turn it down a degree” is the one that punches absurdly above its effort. The reason is simple arithmetic: heat loss from a building rises with the gap between inside and outside temperature, so trimming the inside by one degree shrinks that gap a little for every cold hour. Across a whole season that works out to roughly 6% less heating energy — and because heating is the biggest single line on most energy bills, 6% of it is real money.
What makes it stick is how little you actually feel. The jump from 22°C to 21°C is barely perceptible once you’ve a jumper on, and your body adjusts within a few days. Stacking it with simple comfort moves — closing curtains at dusk, shutting doors, warm socks — means the room can feel just as cosy a degree cooler. Cooler bedrooms are pleasant for sleep anyway.
The one boundary worth respecting is that this is about gentle, comfortable reduction, not toughing out the cold. Being genuinely chilly isn’t healthy, particularly for older people, small children or anyone unwell, and a damp, under-heated home brings its own problems. Find the lowest setting that still feels good, not the lowest you can bear — that’s where comfort and savings meet, and where the habit lasts.
How to do it
- Find your current setting — if you're heating living rooms to 22–23°C, you've got easy room to drop.
- Turn the thermostat down by exactly one degree, to around 20°C, and leave it there for a week before judging.
- Make the lower setting comfortable: add a jumper and slippers, close curtains at dusk to hold the warmth in, and keep doors to heated rooms shut.
- If after a week one degree was painless, try one more. Aim for the lowest temperature that still feels genuinely comfortable — for many that's around 19–20°C.
- Set bedrooms and hallways a degree or two lower again — you don't need 20°C in rooms you only sleep in or pass through.
Pro tips & pitfalls
- A degree is roughly the difference a thin jumper makes — so reach for the layer before the dial. The cut compounds with draught-proofing and a good schedule: a sealed, warm-feeling room is far easier to keep one degree cooler.
- Don't chase savings into discomfort or cold rooms — being too cold isn't healthy, especially for older people, very young children or anyone unwell. Comfort comes first; the saving is a bonus.
What it's good for
Good for the planet
- Saves energy Lowering the thermostat by 1°C cuts heating energy by roughly 6% — and heating is typically over half your home's total energy use.
- Cuts CO₂ Less heat demand means less gas burned (or less electricity for a heat pump) every hour the heating's on, all winter long.
Good for you
- Saves money That ~6% comes off the largest bill in the house, so a single degree often saves an everyday household something in the order of €50–90 a year, depending on the home and fuel.
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