Revealing the secret thermostat wars breaking out in UK homes

But just how frequent are disagreements over the heating? And can we really trust those we live with not to be tweaking the heating behind our backs?

We’ve taken a deep dive into household thermostat habits across the UK to find out more!

17 million UK adults admit to thermostat deceit

In our survey of UK households, we found that almost a third (32%) of UK adults say they’ve secretly changed the thermostat temperature in their homes – that's 17 million adults across the UK.

The secret temperature meddling is leading to some ‘frosty looks’ and some ‘boiling rage’, with one in five people (22%) who live with others admitting to arguing about the ideal thermostat temperature. The figure rises to 27% among Gen X.

Millennials admitted to being the biggest culprits, with 28% of those surveyed admitting to changing the temperature in secret.

The big temperature debate within our homes isn’t anything to be ignored... It features alongside top household disputes about energy bills, finances and household chores!

The impact of thermostat wars

Of those facing thermostat battles, nearly two thirds (63%) say it has had an impact on them.

The top challenge reported is physical discomfort by almost a third of people (28%), while heightened worry and anxiety about the cost of increased heating use impacted almost a fifth of people (17%).

Others (16%) said they’d felt more stress and tension and had broken out into full-blown arguments or conflict. In fact, 8% argue about it daily, rising to 11% among Gen Z.

Ever had a back and forth about the office temperature when at work? If so, you’re not the only one as we found UK workers report eight temperature disagreements a month, compared to six at home!

The ideal thermostat temperature - 20 degrees is the sweet spot

A huge 84% of people we surveyed said they have an ideal thermostat temperature.

On average, 20 °C came out as the optimum temperature. More than a third (36%) of people, however, prefer it warmer than this, and just over a quarter (26%) want it cooler.

We want to end the UK’s temperature wars

To help find a middle ground and a point we can all agree on, we’re launching our own ‘Thermostat Peace Treaty’ which you can use to set out expectations in your home and workplace and form an agreement that everyone can stick to – so no more thermostat deceit!

Download the Thermostat Peace Treaty here. Get your household to agree to it and display it for all to see and, more importantly, stick to!