Temperature battles heating up bedrooms, says BC Hydro

A new BC Hydro report finds couples cannot agree on a bedroom temperature at night, resulting in arguments and sometimes even separate rooms.

The report, titled ‘Bedroom battleground: B.C. couples are butting heads over bedroom temperature,’ finds over 80 percent of residents complain to their partner about the temperature in their home.

One-third of complainants say this leads to a full-blown argument, and a quarter of these arguments are happening over the bedroom temperature.

BC Hydro says some disagreements even escalated to a point where 30 percent of people have slept in a different room.

“This might be because about three-quarters of B.C. couples are going to bed with the heat on higher than the recommended 16 degrees Celsius in the winter months – despite 8 in 10 preferring a cooler bedroom,” says the report.

While most residents do prefer a cooler room, those who like it warmer have the window to deal with.

Nearly half say they often keep a bedroom window open at night, no matter the temperature outside — some have even battled over whether the window stays open.

While the bedroom thermostat is a contentious issue, it is not the only thing B.C. couples cannot agree on.

An overwhelming 78 percent said their partner does something during the night that they do not like – like snoring, taking up too much space, and moving too much.

BC Hydro says there are some ways to get around the arguments:

• consider a compromise for the thermostat, and keep it at the agreed-upon number.
• settle for suggested temperatures to keep things energy efficient.
• agree to disagree and use separate duvet covers/ wear warmer or cooler pajamas to bed.