We all hope for a mild winter, so that we don’t have to heat so much. These days it is still doable and you may not have to turn on your heater yet, but that may change in the coming months.
From 19 to 18 degrees
Earlier this year, ministers Rob Jetten (Climate, D66) and Hugo de Jonge (Living, CDA) already called on us to keep the heating at 19 degrees and to put on a thick sweater at home. Lenneke Kuijer, industrial designer and assistant professor at the Eindhoven University of Technology, thinks it’s easy to get used to 18 degrees at home.
Room temperature kept getting higher
She did research in Great Britain and also looked at how people lived in the past. After studying the history of social housing heating in England, she came to the conclusion that heating standards were constantly changing.
Social developments caused the room temperature to rise more and more, says Kuijer in Volkskrant Magazine. She cites the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953 as an example. “That was a reason for many people to buy a television. And with that television came the need to heat the living room, while previously the fireplace was not lit there. That was just too much effort.”
Sleeping with the heating on
Houses are becoming better insulated, but we use much more energy than ever, says Kuijer. “For example, a considerable group of Dutch people are used to sleeping under a thin blanket at night with the heating on. While you can save a lot of gas with a night temperature of 15 degrees.”
Dress warmly and cuddle on the couch
Her tip for a slightly lower room temperature of 18 degrees: dress warmly and keep moving. TNO researcher Boris Kingma is also coming in Volkskrant Magazine with tips: keep the thermostat at 18 degrees and provide local heat sources such as electric blankets, so that you don’t have to heat the whole house.
Huddling Of course you can also: sit close to each other on the couch. “This reduces the body surface that you expose to the cold.”
If you don’t like all that, there are many more smart tips to save on gas.
The royal couple also sets the thermostat to 18
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima have also turned the thermostat down, they told a press conference during their state visit to Sweden. “The moment the government was asked to bring all government buildings back to 19 degrees, we did that. We have now gone back to 18 degrees,” said the king.
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Bron: Volkskrant Magazine