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Experts Advise 18–21°C Thermostats During UK Cold Snap

Dropping the dial by 1°C can save roughly 10% on heating bills.

Overview

  • Met Office guidance prioritises heating the living room during the day and the bedroom before sleep if you cannot warm the whole home.
  • Health professionals say indoor temperatures should not fall below 18°C for older people, those with limited mobility, or anyone with underlying conditions.
  • Energy specialists urge using timers and steady settings rather than on/off “boosts,” which force systems to work harder and waste energy.
  • Common errors include heating unused rooms, placing thermostats where they misread temperatures, and running boiler flow settings unnecessarily high.
  • For combi boilers, lowering the flow temperature to about 60°C can maintain comfort while reducing strain and potentially cutting costs, with other systems requiring engineer advice.