Page last updated on 16th March 2026
Maintaining the ideal home temperature
What temperature for the home is the right one? It’s not a straightforward question to answer. Different homes have different needs, but this guide will discuss the ideal home temperature to keep most households comfortable and warm.
What temperature should your house be?
To stay warm, you should heat your home to a temperature that’s comfortable for you and other members of your household. The NHS says that your home should be at least 18°C, particularly in the rooms you use the most. This might be too low for some people, such as the elderly or those with a health conditions, so it’s important to consider what’s right for you and your household.
According to Energy Saving Trust, setting your thermostat between 18°C and 21°C is the lowest comfortable temperature range most people go for. If you’re not sure where your own comfort level lies, try one week at 21°C, then another at 20°C, and keep going until you find a comfortable temperature. Note the emphasis on comfortable temperature, rather than tolerable temperature. If you feel cold indoors, it’s time to turn the heating back up.
This goes for staying cool in the summer months too – during warmer weather, you may find that you don’t need to use as much heating or can turn it off entirely. During periods of particularly hot weather it’s important to make sure your home stays a comfortably cool temperature. For more information, please see GOV.UK’s guidance for keeping cool at home.
Of course, you’ll also want anyone else you live with to be comfortable, so remember to consult them on what temperature to set the heating to before you start adjusting the thermostat.
What should I put my heat on to save money?
Reducing your thermostat setting is a straightforward way to save energy and money. According to the Energy Saving Trust, switching your heating from 22 to 21°C – a change of just one degree – could save you £90 a year in Great Britain.
When it comes to heating your home, maintaining a safe temperature is most important. If you find your home is cold, or expensive to heat, then you may want to consider other options to improve this. For example, the culprit might be poor insulation rather than your thermostat setting.
Concerned about your energy usage? With a smart meter, you can monitor how much energy you are using and how much it’s costing you, helping you make more informed decisions about your energy consumption.
What temperature should a bedroom be?
The ideal temperature for sleeping tends to be a little cooler than what might be considered a good temperature for a house in the daytime. After all, when you’re sleeping, you’re probably bundled up in a duvet or blankets.
BBC Future suggests that the ideal temperature for sleeping is between 16°C and 18°C, or slightly higher for older adults.
Maintaining the ideal home temperature
If you’re finding it hard to keep the temperature consistently comfortable, your home might need some adjustments for better energy efficiency. Here are some tips for how to keep your surroundings at the ideal home temperature:
- Bleed your radiators on a regular basis. Regularly bleeding your radiators will keep them running effectively.
- Avoid putting furniture in front of your radiators. If your sofa is right up against the radiator, it’ll block the heat, and your room won’t warm up as efficiently.
- Install radiator reflector panels behind your radiators, if the radiator is attached to an external wall. These will reflect heat from the radiator back into your home, rather than letting it flow out through the wall.
- Use thermostatic radiator valves to adjust the temperature of radiators in different rooms, so you’re not running the heating at full blast in rooms that don’t need it. You can learn more about how to adjust your thermostatic radiator valves in our guide.
- If you’d like to activate your heating on your way home so it’s already comfortable when you come in, consider a smart thermostat.
- To prevent heat from escaping, make sure your home is well-insulated and draught-proofed.
- In the summer months, keep your home cool by opening windows when the air is cooler outside, closing blinds and curtains during the day, and staying in cooler parts of the house.
For more tips on cost-effectively maintaining a good temperature for your house, take a look at our page on how to heat your home efficiently.
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