At 7:12 a.m., Léa is standing barefoot in her kitchen, staring at the little “19” glowing on her thermostat. Outside, November drizzle. Inside, her breath almost visible as the kettle slowly heats. She hesitates. One click and the number jumps to 21. A tiny guilty pleasure, like stealing a square of chocolate before breakfast.
For years, that 19 °C mark has hung over us like a moral rule. The “good citizen” temperature. The threshold between responsible and wasteful.
Yet between energy prices, remote work, and our bodies that don’t all react the same way to cold, that old rule suddenly feels… off.
Experts say the number has changed.
Why the 19 °C rule no longer fits our real lives
The famous 19 °C recommendation comes from another era. The benchmark was created when people spent their days moving around, working outside home, layering clothes, not sitting eight hours in front of a screen. Today, more of us live, work, eat, and even exercise in the same 60 square meters.
Our bodies experience cold differently when we barely move. A temperature that felt fine when you came home at 7 p.m. after a long day can feel icy if you’ve been typing on a laptop since 8 a.m. on that same couch. The context has changed. The number stayed frozen.
Ask around and you hear the same confession in a low voice: “I’m sorry, but 19 °C, I just can’t.” Marie, 42, works from home three days a week. Last winter, she tried to stick to the rule. Wool socks, a big cardigan, a plaid on her knees. After a month, she had constant tension in her shoulders, struggled to focus, and felt drained by 4 p.m.
One afternoon, she cracked and bumped the thermostat up to 20.5 °C. The difference felt small on paper, huge in real life. Her hands stopped freezing on the keyboard. She finished her day less exhausted. Her heating bill went up a bit, yes. But not as much as she feared.
Energy and health experts are starting to say out loud what many already feel. The new recommended range for living spaces now gravitates around **20 to 21 °C**, with nuances depending on age, activity, and insulation. Not a single magic number, but a band you navigate.
The logic is simple. Instead of a rigid “don’t go above 19”, they focus on balance: thermal comfort, energy sobriety, and mental well‑being. That means accepting that a retired person who feels the cold more will not live at the same temperature as a sporty 25‑year‑old, and that both can still be “reasonable”. The rule is no longer moral. It’s practical.
The new target: 20–21 °C… but used intelligently
So what do experts recommend now? For most homes, the new comfort target is around **20 °C in living rooms**, up to 21 °C if you’re sedentary or sensitive to cold. Bedrooms: 17–18 °C. Bathroom during use: 21–22 °C. The key is not just the number, it’s when and where you heat.
Think of your home like a series of micro‑zones rather than a single block. The room where you work all day won’t have the same setting as the hallway you cross twice. Lower where you only pass through. Prioritize where you live, rest, or concentrate. Your thermostat becomes a steering wheel, not a judge.
Many people fall into the “all or nothing” trap. They freeze at 19 °C all week to save money, then blast the whole place to 23 °C Sunday morning because they can’t stand it anymore. The body doesn’t like these thermal rollercoasters. Your heating system either.
A smarter move is to accept that 20–21 °C is your normal cruise speed in the living room, then shave off degrees during the night or when you’re away. A 1 °C reduction over several hours often saves more energy than trying to hold an unrealistically low temperature all day. *Stability beats heroism.*
Many specialists insist on one almost boring but crucial idea: comfort isn’t just the air temperature. It’s also humidity, drafts, and how your walls and floors store heat.
“Two homes at 20 °C can feel completely different,” explains one building engineer. “In a dry, drafty apartment with a cold floor, 20 °C feels harsh. In a well‑insulated home with rugs and no air leaks, 20 °C can feel almost cozy.”
To act smartly, they suggest a simple checklist:
- Track your real indoor temperature with a small thermometer, not just the thermostat reading.
- Seal drafts around windows and doors before touching the thermostat.
- Add textiles (rugs, curtains, throws) that cut the “cold wall” effect.
- Adjust room by room instead of heating everything the same.
- Test 20 °C for a week, then 21 °C, and notice how your body responds.
A new, more personal way to think about warmth at home
This shift from the sacred 19 °C to a 20–21 °C band changes more than just a number on a screen. It invites us to look at how we actually live. Are you someone who moves a lot in the house, or someone who spends hours in front of a monitor? Do you live with a baby, an elderly parent, or someone with circulatory issues?
The “right” temperature becomes something you co‑create with your daily life, your health, and your budget. Less about guilt. More about adjustment. A quiet negotiation between comfort and energy sobriety, rather than an internal trial every time you press that little “+” button.
| Key point | Detail | Value for the reader |
|---|---|---|
| New target range | 20–21 °C in living areas, 17–18 °C in bedrooms | Helps set realistic, expert‑backed goals without over‑heating |
| Room‑by‑room logic | Heat more where you stay, less where you only pass through | Reduces bills while keeping comfort where it matters |
| Comfort factors | Humidity, drafts, insulation, and textiles affect how 20 °C feels | Gives concrete levers beyond “turn the heating up” |
FAQ:
- Is 21 °C really acceptable, or is it “too much”?Most experts now see 20–21 °C in living rooms as a reasonable compromise, especially for people who are sedentary or sensitive to cold, as long as you lower the temperature at night and when you’re away.
- Does 1 °C more really change my bill that much?On average, +1 °C can add roughly 7% to a heating bill, but this depends on insulation and your system; small, well‑targeted increases in key rooms usually cost less than constant overheating everywhere.
- Is 17–18 °C in the bedroom safe for children?Yes, these temperatures are actually recommended for sleep quality, including for kids, with adapted pajamas and bedding so they feel snug without overheating.
- I’m cold at 20 °C, does that mean there’s a problem?Not necessarily; check for drafts, cold floors, and humidity first, because poor insulation or air leaks can make 20 °C feel much colder than it should.
- Should I keep turning the heating down when I go out for short periods?For absences of a few hours, a small reduction (1–2 °C) is enough; large drops and rises all day long drive your system harder than a slightly lower, stable setting.
