After several years of strict energy-saving guidance and soaring gas prices, experts are now rethinking what a “good” indoor temperature really means. Comfort, health and household budgets are being weighed again, and this time the answer is not quite as simple as keeping the thermostat locked at 19°C.
The end of the 19°c mantra?
For a long time, 19°C was presented as the golden standard for heating homes in winter. Governments promoted it, energy agencies repeated it, and many households tried to comply, sometimes with a jumper permanently on their shoulders.
That advice was largely shaped by the energy crisis of recent years. With wholesale prices exploding, cutting just one or two degrees indoors was a quick way to reduce bills and ease pressure on national grids.
Winter 2025 looks different. Forecasts suggest a chillier season, while wholesale energy prices have eased slightly compared with the peak years. That doesn’t mean heating will be cheap, but the immediate emergency has softened enough for experts to look again at comfort and health.
More specialists now argue that 19°C as a strict rule is outdated, especially for vulnerable people living in older, draughty homes.
Doctors and building engineers point out that a permanently cool home can be stressful for the body, particularly for older adults, babies, or anyone with cardiovascular or respiratory problems. Muscles tense up, circulation slows, and even simple daily tasks feel harder when you are slightly cold all the time.
So what temperature is recommended for winter 2025?
The emerging consensus is a little higher than the old slogan. Instead of a single figure for the whole home, specialists now talk about a range, adapted to each room and its use.
For living areas, the ideal indoor temperature for winter 2025 sits between 20°C and 21°C, with cooler bedrooms and warmer bathrooms.
Room-by-room guide for a balanced home
- Living room / dining room: 20–21°C for comfort without overheating.
- Bedrooms: around 18°C to support good sleep and reduce dry air.
- Bathroom (in use): about 22°C during showers or baths to avoid a cold shock.
- Rarely used rooms: close to 16°C to limit energy use while preventing damp.
This approach aims to reduce temperature gaps between rooms and between indoors and outdoors. Smaller differences mean fewer thermal shocks when moving around the home or stepping outside.
➡️ Matcha-Latte ist von gestern: Dieses neue blaue Pulver gilt jetzt als der gesündeste Wachmacher
➡️ Hydrangeas: the 2 varieties to prune in late winter… and 5 you must leave alone if you want flowers
➡️ Warum erfolgreiche Routinen fast immer langweilig beginnen
Health agencies stress that the way we feel cold is very personal. A slim 80-year-old person sitting still in front of the TV will not react like a 30-year-old jogging after work. That is why they now speak of “comfort bands” rather than a single rigid number.
Energy use: what one degree really changes
Raising the thermostat obviously affects your bill, and that is where many people start to worry. Yet the change from 19°C to 20°C or 21°C is not always dramatic when it is carefully managed.
As a rule of thumb, each extra degree indoors can add around 7–10% to heating consumption – but smart regulation can offset part of that increase.
| Average set temperature | Estimated change in heating use* |
|---|---|
| 19°C | Reference level |
| 20°C | About +7–10% |
| 21°C | About +14–20% |
*Figures are broad estimates. Real impact depends on insulation, type of heating and local climate.
This is where behaviour matters. If radiators are well programmed, doors are closed between zones, and the home is reasonably insulated, the cost of adding one degree in key rooms may stay manageable.
How to adapt your heating without blowing the budget
Experts recommend focusing less on “heating more” and more on “heating smarter”. That means matching warmth to actual needs across the day rather than running everything at the same level from morning to night.
Practical moves for winter 2025
- Use programmable thermostats or radiator valves: set different temperatures by time slot and by room. Warm the living room in the evening, lower bedrooms during the day, and avoid keeping unused spaces toasty.
- Shut curtains and blinds at night: this creates a barrier against cold windows and can noticeably reduce heat loss.
- Ventilate briefly but regularly: open windows wide for 5–10 minutes instead of leaving them tilted for an hour. Walls stay warm, air is refreshed, and humidity drops, which actually makes the room feel less chilly.
- Maintain your boiler and radiators: servicing once a year, bleeding radiators and checking pressure help the system run more efficiently, producing more heat from the same energy.
- Add simple insulation measures: thermal curtains, draught excluders under doors, and sealing gaps around windows can raise perceived comfort at the same thermostat setting.
A well-adjusted, well-maintained system often brings more comfort than turning the dial up by two degrees on an old, unregulated boiler.
Balancing comfort, health and the climate
The move towards 20–21°C in living spaces does not erase environmental concerns. Heating remains one of the biggest sources of emissions in many European countries, and gas and oil boilers are under growing scrutiny.
Public campaigns now focus on “reasonable comfort” and insulation rather than strict temperature limits. The message is: warm the rooms you actually use, avoid overheating, and invest, when possible, in better windows, roof insulation or more efficient systems such as heat pumps.
Medical bodies also remind people with chronic illness not to sacrifice their health for the sake of energy savings. Prolonged exposure to cool, damp rooms can aggravate asthma, joint pain and heart conditions. For households in difficulty, social support schemes and targeted subsidies are often available, although they remain underused.
Key concepts: thermal comfort and perceived temperature
Two homes at 20°C can feel completely different. That is where the idea of “thermal comfort” comes in. It combines air temperature, humidity, air movement and the temperature of surrounding surfaces, such as walls and windows.
If your walls are cold and your feet are on a tiled floor, you will probably feel chilly at 20°C. A carpet, good glazing and dry air can make the same 20°C feel pleasantly warm. This is why small changes – a rug, a door seal, a dehumidifier – sometimes bring more comfort than an extra notch on the thermostat.
Perceived temperature is another useful term. When humidity is high, the air feels cooler and raw, pushing you to turn the heating up. By airing briefly and controlling moisture, you can often keep the thermostat slightly lower while still feeling comfortable.
Scenarios: choosing your target temperature this winter
Imagine a family in an average semi-detached house. Last year, they held the thermostat at 19°C to cope with soaring bills. The children often complained of feeling cold while doing homework, and colds lingered longer than usual.
This winter, they decide on 20.5°C in the living room from late afternoon to bedtime, 18°C in bedrooms at night, and 16–17°C in unused rooms. They programme the system, add thicker curtains to the front windows and place draught excluders under doors. The bill rises slightly, but not as much as they feared, and the general comfort level improves noticeably.
Another case: an older person living alone in a poorly insulated flat. For health reasons, they struggle at 19°C. Local guidance now encourages them to keep the main room at around 21°C, provided they close doors, seal draughts and ventilate correctly to avoid damp. Social energy tariffs and local grants can help cover part of the cost of this safer, warmer setting.
These examples show that the “right” temperature for winter 2025 is not just a number on paper. It is a compromise between physical comfort, health needs, building quality and financial reality. The previous 19°C mantra is giving way to a more flexible rule: aim around 20–21°C where you live your life, stay a bit cooler where you sleep, and make each degree you pay for really count.
