Londoners officially have lower tolerance for the cold than people in other parts of the UK.
The capital is the only part of the country that sets its boilers to come on at more than 17 degrees, on average.
People in Northern Ireland, the North West and Yorkshire have their thermostats set to the lowest temperatures – less than 16 degrees – according to tado, a smart thermostat company which collected data from 165,000 homes in the UK.
The UK average in 2021 was higher than the current London level, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked a hike in energy prices.
Between 2021 and 2022 people collectively adjusted their thermostats down by an average of one degree, to levels that have been maintained since then.
A survey, also by tado, revealed that the increasing price of energy was the main reason people lowered the temperature at which their heating turned on, and that more than four in five people do not believe energy prices will drop significantly over the next three years.
“People are clearly still worried about high energy costs almost three years after the invasion of Ukraine, and the price cap rises again this winter show how vulnerable we all remain. It is crucial that people take control of their energy consumption,” said Christian Deilmann, chief product officer and co-founder of tado.
When do people turn their heating on?
The data also reveals what date most people switched on their heating this year in different nations and English regions.
More than half of people in Scotland and Northern Ireland had already started their heating by 2 September, a whole nine days before the UK average.
The North East was next, with a majority switching on by 7 September. London and the East of England waited longest, until 12 September.
Part of being able to wait longer is due to more temperate local climates. Although Scots turned the heating on first, they also allowed it to get coldest before they did.
The average Scot turned their heating on when the outside temperature was down to 12.1 degrees, compared with 13.9 in Northern Ireland.
Commenting on the findings, Mr Deilmann said: “It isn’t too much of a surprise that it is a case of Scotland the brrrr-ave when it comes to being the hardiest against the cold outside.
“But it is interesting to see the Northern Irish and the Welsh are the first to switch on their heating rather than the clichéd ‘southern softies’.”
As with people themselves, it’s what’s on the inside that counts most when it comes to the warmth of your home.
There’s not much variation in indoor temperature across the nations and regions of the UK, accounting for differences in outside temperature and how well-insulated homes are.
Outside of Scotland and London, each nation or region averaged out slightly under or over 19 degrees. But fitting with the stereotypes once more, Scottish homes were slightly colder on the whole, while those in London were the warmest.
The World Health Organisation says that 18 degrees is a suitable temperature indoors for healthy people who are appropriately dressed, but disabled, very old, very young or sick people should try and keep indoor temperatures above 20 degrees.
Electricity prices are lower than they were in the peak in the summer of 2023, but still about a third higher than they were in 2021 on average.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
