Economical Heating Tips for a Family House

In a family house you can heat economically without giving up comfort if you control the temperature with a thermostat by room and time of day, keep the warmth in with good thermal insulation and sealed windows and doors, maintain the heating system regularly, and automate control with a smart thermostat. The five points below go through these.

As the heating season approaches, many homeowners look for how to get a smaller heating bill while the family still feels good. Economical heating not only saves money but also reduces energy use. We have collected the simple, proven steps that work in most family houses.

1. Control the heating with a thermostat

One of the simplest and most important steps is using a proper thermostat. As a guide, in winter 19–21 °C is generally enough in the living room, and in the bedroom a cooler temperature of around 18 °C may be enough – many people sleep better in a cooler room. Every degree counts: according to a 2022 estimate by the International Energy Agency (IEA), setting the thermostat 1 °C lower saves roughly 7% of heating energy.

Why is it worth it?

• A thermostat avoids overheating, which needlessly raises the bill.
• With a programmable thermostat you can set the house to heat at full temperature only when you are home.
• It is worth lowering the temperature for the night and when you are away. Even for a longer absence, do not switch it off completely: cooled-down walls are harder to heat up again – on when and how much turning down pays off, we write in our article on switching the heating off.

You can read about thermostat types and where it is worth installing them in our guide to room thermostats.

2. Thermal insulation and windows and doors

Good thermal insulation is the basis of economical heating: in an insulated building the warmth stays inside, and less energy is needed to hold the desired temperature.

What to do

• Replace old windows: if the existing windows insulate badly, a thermally insulated window with double or triple glazing improves things a lot.
• Seal door and window frames: a lot of warm air escapes through gaps; it can be fixed cheaply with sealing strip or thermal insulation film.
• Insulate walls, floor and attic: most of the heat loss goes through these, so the greatest saving can be achieved here. How much depends on the starting condition of the house – much more for an uninsulated old house than for an already insulated building.

3. Room-by-room control

With radiator heating it is worth using valves – for example thermostatic ones – with which the heating of individual rooms can be controlled separately. With electric surface heating, such as heating film or infrared panels, this is given from the start: typically every room is controlled by its own thermostat.

Advantages

• It heats only where and when needed – this is the most direct saving.
• In a larger, multi-room house the system is easier to manage.
• Rarely used rooms are not heated needlessly.

4. Regular maintenance

The efficiency of the heating system also depends on its condition.

Maintenance tips

• Have the whole heating system inspected at least once a year.
• Bleed the radiators, because air trapped in them hinders heat output.
• Have the boiler or heat pump checked so that it works at good efficiency.
• With electric surface heating there is no pipe to bleed or combustion chamber; here it is worth checking the thermostat settings and the position of the sensors at the start of the season.

5. Smart thermostat

Smart home devices are becoming more and more accessible, and with them heating can also be controlled remotely.

Advantages of a smart thermostat

• It can also be controlled from a phone, so it heats only when really needed.
• It learns habits and starts or backs off the heating in good time.
• You can follow consumption with it, which helps conscious setting.

Summary

Economical heating in a family house does not mean doing without, but conscious setting: a moderate, room-by-room controlled temperature, good insulation, a maintained system and smart control. If you follow the steps above, the heating bill can be smaller while the home stays just as pleasant. You will find further ideas, mainly for radiator-heated flats, in our article collecting ten heating tips.