Research says there’s a simple solution to improving the world. So why isn’t staying warm a hotter topic?
Can something as simple as the temperature change how we feel about ourselves and the world? Can it boost our mood, concentration and even make us nicer people? Science and a growing body of research is, well, warming to the idea.
Sadly, the recent rise of the energy price cap in the UK is further compounding the problem of cold homes and workplaces that affect the nation’s depleted reserves of health and happiness. Britain’s energy prices are among the highest in Europe according to the International Energy Agency and the country has some of the continent’s least energy-efficient homes. Our cosy cousins on the continent enjoy buildings that are up 30 per cent more energy-efficient than ours, says research by Imperial College London.
Luckily, benighted Brits needn’t look far for inspiration. Copenhagen is powered by a one-for-all heating system, largely from biomass that would otherwise be wasted. Sweden is a world leader in the installation of heat pumps, while Norway has nearly fully decarbonised its heating system: 85 per cent of its buildings are now warmed through electricity (the majority produced sustainably). That’s all before we point to the Scandis’ pragmatism and superior policies on everything from building development and certification to insulation.
Some problems in the UK are literally structural – I say this as the owner of a century-plus-old home with a rickety roof, thin brick walls and disastrously draughty windows. Sadly, my own experience with the onerous planning system left me as likely to jump out of a window as replace it.
Some solutions are listed in the Cosy Manifesto in our December-January issue, which is out now. There’s triple glazing that can withstand a Nordic gale, which the Danes do best: think Horsens-based Velfac to Viborg’s Unik Funkis and Glaseksperten in Hjørring. We recommend ideas as simple as using suitable natural materials such as cork in homes and wool in our outfits, and encouraging architects to consider smaller, cosier, easier to heat rooms. Our editor in chief, Andrew Tuck, also pens an enthusiastic aside for sharing a bed.
Beyond survival and a basic biological need to maintain a constant temperature, humans also instinctively connect physical warmth with comfort and positivity – in life as in idiom (warm hearts and welcomes, and fuzzy feelings, for instance).
Research has shown that literal warmth also promotes interpersonal warmth (so cold people really can be meaner). A Swiss study from the Journal of Environmental Health in 2023 confirms what anyone out in the winter with wet socks and a thin jacket could tell you for free – being warm makes us feel better. The cold hard truth? Cosiness and how it’s achieved should be a hot topic.
Josh Fehnert is Monocle’s editor. For our Cosy Manifesto and plenty more to keep you warm this winter, buy our out-now December/January issue, subscribe today or read it here.
