As a bitter cold snap tightens its grip on Britain, households are facing the familiar dilemma of staying warm without facing crippling energy costs. With prices remaining stubbornly high, the Met Office has issued targeted guidance to help people manage their heating effectively during the freeze.
Priority Heating: The Two-Room Strategy
The core advice from experts is clear: if you cannot afford to heat your entire home, focus your efforts on just two key spaces. Heat the living room throughout the day and warm your bedroom just before you go to sleep. This strategy is based on the simple fact that these are the rooms where people spend the majority of their time.
Health professionals reinforce the importance of maintaining adequate warmth, particularly for vulnerable groups. They recommend that indoor temperatures should not fall below 18°C, especially for those over 65, people with limited mobility, or anyone with pre-existing health conditions.
Maximising Heat and Minimising Costs
To make this two-room approach work, the Met Office suggests programming your central heating to come on shortly before you wake up and to switch off at bedtime. During periods of severe cold, it is better to extend these heating times slightly rather than turning the thermostat up higher.
Simple, cost-effective actions can trap heat in your priority rooms:
- Remember to close curtains and shut doors to the rooms you are heating.
- Consider installing draught excluders to prevent cold air from seeping in.
Safe Use of Supplementary Heaters
For additional warmth in your living room or bedroom, you might use fires, electric heaters, or electric blankets. However, safety is paramount.
If using an open fire, ensure you have a working smoke alarm, use a fireguard, sweep the chimney regularly, and never leave the fire unattended. Electric heaters must be kept away from curtains and furniture, never used to dry clothes, and always unplugged when you leave the room or go to sleep.
An electric blanket can be an efficient way to pre-warm your bed. It is crucial to unplug it before you fall asleep unless it is specifically designed with a thermostat for safe overnight use.
By adopting this focused heating strategy, UK residents can better navigate the current cold spell, protect their health, and keep their energy bills under control.
