Degrees cooler

Layer up to warm up

Chunky knits are back in fashion (were they ever out of it?!), so dig out your favourite cardie, turn the heat down and relax in style.

Turning down the heating (ideally using a thermostat) by just 1^oC can save 340kg CO₂ a year¹, the equivalent of leaving your TV on for 84 days straight!² What's more, it gives you a great excuse to cuddle up under a duvet with your other half/dog/gorgeous flatmate.

Why

Here are a few reasons to take action.

Click for more info or scroll to read them all.

Climate change
Money

Climate change

Turning your thermostat down helps to keep the planet a little cooler too. If every household in the UK turned the heating down by 1°C, the carbon savings would be the equivalent of removing 1.7 million cars from our roads.³

Money

It costs nothing to turn your thermostat down. In fact, depending on a few variables, every degree you reduce by will save you money.

What’s more, keeping your home that little bit cooler can help reduce the presence of clothes moths, who love nothing more than an expensive meal of your favourite cashmere jumper.⁴

Global Goals

In September 2017, an historic agreement was signed by UN member nations agreeing to work towards 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development by 2030, otherwise known as the SDGs.

Achieving these ambitious goals will require action from governments, businesses, NGOs, and individuals alike. We can - and must - all play our part.

By making the 'Degrees cooler' pledge, you are contributing to the following SDG targets:

12.8: By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature

13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning

How

No one wants to feel cold in their own home, but there’s a lot you can do to stay warm without having to turn up the heating.

Step 1 - knowledge is power

A thermostat automatically regulates temperature, but not all homes have one. Thermostats give you much better control over your heating, but they’re not essential to reducing your use.

Got a thermostat? If you already have a thermostat installed, turning it down couldn't be simpler: just turn down the dial and pop an extra jumper on. We bet you won’t notice the difference until you see your energy bill.
Not got a thermostat? Get one! Installing a thermostat is simple. The Energy Saving Trust has lots of information about different types of thermostats and provides impartial advice on how to heat your home efficiently. If that’s not an option, fear not - read on for more tips on staying warm in a cooler home.

Step 2 - layer up

Want to stay toasty without ramping up the heating? We have two words for you: thermal underwear. No? Either way, a warm underlayer plus a woolly jumper (or two) will mean you don’t have to fire up the heating so often. And while you’re at it, don’t underestimate the warming power of the humble sock (or the hat and scarf).

Step 3 - a warmer home

Houses in the UK are notorious when it comes to keeping warmth in and the cold out. There are lots of ways you can wage war on the draught, just check out our Draught busters Do Action.

Bonus tip: You could save even more energy and money by upgrading to a smart thermostat. Modern heating controls let you heat just the rooms you want, decide how warm you want each room to be, and control when the heating turns on and off. If that sounds like your idea of fun, check out the Nest Learning Thermostat.

Success Stories

2,437

Pledges
in total

194,577kg

CO₂
pledged

“

The first (obvious) step is to wear warmer clothes before turning the heating up

“

Used to have my heating on 30 degrees turned it down by actually 10

“

Each time I put the heating on, I set it to 18 degrees and then only moved it up when it was very cold and then only to 20 degrees. The pledge helped me to be more conscious of only increasing the temperature when absolutely necessary. It has been particularly cold over the last two months, so I didn't do as well as I'd hoped, but I will continue to be mindful of how I'm using the heating.

“

Overall I managed to turn down my thermostat by 3 degrees, and I didn't even notice the difference. This was an easy change and I will continue with it.

“

Will absolutely continue to have my thermostat lower... I am training my husband to stop putting it up (!!)

“

I have not used my central heating as much and my bills are lower

“

I have bled my radiators, balanced the heating system and turned the thermostat temperature down by 6 degrees. The system was so inefficient before but the jobs I have done have made it much more efficient which is saving money on my gas bill

“

We already had our thermostat set at 18 degrees, so with the recent cold snap we realised that taking it lower than that was a step too far. We'll turn down when we can, and be conscious about turning off sooner in the spring.

“

I have programmed my Nest thermostat to ensure I utilise the eco mode more frequently!

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heaters totally off. unplugged. I had to bring out the blankets for few chilli summer nights.

“

Just the kind of tap on the shoulder I needed.

“

Have bought a nest thermostat and it looks like we've saved tons of heating as a result.. but we'll see when the first bill comes in!

“

I turned it down, and reduced the amount of time I had it on for!

“

Any little bit we do to reduce greenhouse gases emissions is worthwhile and I will certainly continue doing my bit.

“

Saving the environment and saving me money on heating bills. Win, win!

References

Energy Saving Trust
YouSustain
Turning down heating by 1 degree saves 340kg (EST). 25 million homes in uk (BBC). 25,000,000 x 340 = 8,500,000,000 kgCO2. On average, each car drives 7,134 miles per year in 2015 (The Guardian). An average cars emissions are 0.71 kgCO2 per mile (Berners-Lee, M (2010). How Bad are Bananas?). 7,134*0.71 = 5,065 kg CO2 per year. Therefore, if everyone turned their thermostat down, it’d be like taking 8,500,000,000 / 5,065 = 1,678,183 cars off the road.
Daily Mail

Images

2. Do The Green Thing