The Ideal Temperature for Your Home: Room-by-Room Recommendations

Choosing the ideal temperature room by room: balancing comfort and energy savings

1. Living areas: 19°C for the living room, dining room, kitchen, and home office

The recommendation established by the French Construction and Housing Code (Code de la construction et de l’habitation) is straightforward: the temperature in living areas including the living room, dining room, kitchen, and home office should be limited to 19°C. In reality, however, comfort levels vary. If you are actively cooking in the kitchen or sitting down to watch a film, the temperature you perceive will not be the same. The same applies if your home is particularly humid or benefits from strong southern exposure.

Every degree matters. For example, lowering your heating by just 1°C can reduce your energy consumption by approximately 7%(2), while increasing it has the opposite effect. Over the course of a year, these energy savings can make a meaningful difference both to your household budget and to the environment.

2. The bedroom: 16°C, the ideal temperature for restorative sleep

In bedrooms, 16°C(3) is the temperature recommended by ADEME (France's Agency for Ecological Transition). Combined with suitable bedding and a warm duvet, it helps promote restorative sleep and a more comfortable wake-up experience.

Closing shutters, blinds, and curtains properly can also help limit heat loss. Do you enjoy reading before going to sleep? A hot water bottle can significantly improve your comfort without increasing heating costs.

For babies' bedrooms, the recommended temperature is slightly higher between 18°C and 20°C because newborns do not fully regulate their body temperature during their first months. The same recommendation applies to young children, who often uncover themselves during the night.

It is also important to air your rooms for a few minutes every day. This healthy habit improves indoor air quality while having only a minimal impact on energy consumption.

3. The bathroom: between 17°C and 22°C for this occasionally used room

Certain rooms require different temperature settings depending on how they are used and who uses them. In a bathroom, 19°C is generally not sufficient to feel comfortable when stepping out of a bath or shower, yet it is unnecessary to maintain a higher temperature all day long.

A practical solution is to heat the bathroom to 22°C when it is in use and reduce the temperature to 17°C the rest of the time. The same recommendation applies to toilets and circulation areas such as hallways.

An added bonus? A heated towel rail or fan heater can warm the room within just a few minutes.

Have you chosen the ideal temperature for your home? Now it's time to regulate it effectively!

At night, in unused living areas, or during daytime absences, 16°C is generally sufficient. During longer periods away from home, temperatures can even be lowered to 12°C provided your heating system raises the temperature again in time for your return.

To avoid wasting energy while maintaining optimal comfort, programmable heating controls are essential. Fortunately, there are several effective solutions available:

• Thermostatic radiator valves: installed directly on radiators, they maintain the chosen temperature according to room occupancy and any free heat gains, such as sunlight.

• Smart thermostats: these allow you to control and programme your heating remotely, helping you adapt consumption to your lifestyle.

• Outdoor temperature sensors: these measure the outside temperature and transmit the information to your boiler, enabling it to anticipate weather changes and automatically adjust indoor temperatures according to your needs.