Keeping the heating turned off is one surefire way of reducing gas and electricity bills this winter, but it could come at the expense of people’s health – particularly those with heart and lung conditions.
According to a survey of more than 2,000 UK adults, 23% are planning to do without heating this winter, while about 70% said they planned to turn their heating on less. Yet each centigrade degree reduction below 18C in Britain has been calculated to correspond with an extra 3,500 deaths. Here are the main ways in which cold homes can contribute to worse health.
