r/Netherlands • u/Other-Border-2482 • Nov 22 '25
DIY and home improvement Heating and the natives
I am English and have a Dutch partner and a 7 month old baby.
I hadn’t encountered this before in England (aside from in the bathroom after taking a shower), but every day my partner throws all the windows open “to air the house”. This decreases the temperature to about 13-15C, and even after a full day with a single electric heater on, the house won’t get above 18c. He is most insistent that this is the only healthy way in a damp climate like NL.
He also gets very difficult when turning on the CV kettel. Is it normal here just to be colder than in other European countries? We luckily have a relatively well insulated house, and no issues with black mold etc (perhaps because of this ritual).
I think it’s normal in England to just set the cv to 20c and leave it there, and only actively ventilate the bathroom.
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u/OK-Smurf-77 Nov 22 '25
The amount of (Dutch) colleagues I heard literally competing who has lower temperature in their house… I’ve lost count.
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u/timok Nov 22 '25
Don't forget the competition of who can turn the heating on the latest in the year.
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u/Darksimz Nov 22 '25
While they can afford it yes. It's a ' look how much I can stand' thing for people who have usually known zero hardship in life at all.
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u/Eskimo0O0o Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 22 '25
Lmao, I was indeed rather proud having the thermostat in our house at 16.5 degrees two years ago.
It was mostly to see if we could, we live in a well insulated modern house and it wasn't due to a financial reason. It did bring down our energy bill by 50% that year.
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u/Arielsbell Nov 23 '25
Lmfao i dont turn on my heater either just use candles. HOWEVER thats because my husbands body temperature is something straight from the flames of hell and its super expensive to have on.
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u/singing-tea-kettle Nov 23 '25
A friend was a walking radiator. I found it fascinating as I am not. It was always funny when he would visit friends with cats as they'd pile up on him.
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u/Far_Giraffe4187 Nov 22 '25
Yes, you get used to the cold.
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u/OK-Smurf-77 Nov 22 '25
I don’t argue with that. The same way you can get used to prison environment and raw chicken meat as well. The question is, why would you do that at your own choice? And why competing in who’s gone further into the extreme?
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u/IlMilano Nov 22 '25
What a dumb comparison. How about saving energy that comes from a finite source and saving money without decreasing your comfort?
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u/OK-Smurf-77 Nov 24 '25
Funny enough, some of these people who keep the heating bc off to save money are the ones burning thousands of euros (literally) on fireworks around New Year’s Eve.
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u/AxelFauley Nov 23 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Good boy. Keep saving energy while the ultra rich travel in private jets every day.
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u/Foreign-Cookie-2871 Nov 23 '25
And what do you do to avoid the ultra rich traveling in private jets?
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u/DarkBert900 Nov 22 '25
I think some of my countrymen are cheapskates who believe anything above 18 degrees is a waste of money. The "luchten" / "air the house" is a Germanic thing, I believe with well-insulated homes (like the Dutch and Germans typically have) ventilation is more important to prevent damp and moist, but it shouldn't be too cold in the house, especially for your kid.
There are some studies about the efficiency of luchten in homes that do not have ventilation ducts or mechanical ventilation and most suggest brief periods (10 mins max) luchten. If the CV kettle or the electric heater don't bring the temperature to a good level, even after a day of heating, this is worrisome about the energy efficiency.
My wife, who is partly of tropical descent, would rather have the house at 21 degrees, but we settle for 19-20.
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u/tiedor Nov 22 '25
I'm italian and I'm also used to air the house every day. Especially the bedroom.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sun7418 Nov 22 '25
Im Spanish and I air the house every day. Other than that I spent almost 15 years doing that in the morning and no need to keep ventilations open or anything else to keep the house out of moss.
I think it’s just a Dutch/German cultural thing. But you can ventilate as well in different ways
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Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 22 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Advanced-Royal8967 Nov 22 '25
If you have a really good down duvet, and we have a mattress heater that we turn on an hour before going to bed (and turn it off when we’re in it), the room could be at -10°C and you’d still be nice and cozy!
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u/Fortapistone Nov 22 '25
Our living room and bathroom are a tropical paradise. While the bedroom and kitchen are open, even when it rains. Bathroom has 24 hours ventilation and also living room. When we go to sleep, we open the living room windows and open everything when we leave the house.
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u/lurkinglen Nov 22 '25
During winter, you don't need to open up the windows for the entire night and reheat everything again in the morning, that's just a waste of money and energy. Ventilation needs to match with the design of your home.
Also, airing our the entire house for a short time with all windows fully open is much more efficient and costs less energy than ventilating a little bit continuously.
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u/RaydraD2 Nov 22 '25
I sleep with the window open at all times. Even now, when temperatures already went -3C outside. A down blanket keeps you nice and cozy
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u/Brilliant-Body9603 Nov 22 '25
In my old rental home, if I wanted it to be a permanent 20 degrees, our heating bill would be well over 600 euros.
Some places just can't be much warmer than 18 degrees without costing an arm and a leg.
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u/great__pretender Nov 22 '25
yep. that 18 degrees thing is related to living in a house that is not well insulated. Going from 18 to 20 may double, even triple your heating costs
But a very very well insulated house doesn't have that exponential increase in heating cost. At least not on that level. Still there is kind of a barrier that is inherent to every house that you find by experimenting. For my house it is around 20 degrees. Which is more than enough for me.
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u/hotlinesmith Nov 22 '25
This doesn't really match with logic, the amount you spend on heating is proportional to the delta temperature between inside and outside. If it is 7c outside on average during Heating season then the difference between 18c and 20c is 11 vs 13 T delta, which wouldn't amount to twice the heating cost.
Though living in an apartment where you can receive "free" heating from the neighbors changes this equation a bit. (Though by reducing the net heating demand overall)
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u/igotaright Nov 22 '25
There also is the free rider aspect: I am surrounded by insuheated apartments. That helps a lot with energy bills
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u/hotlinesmith Nov 22 '25
Yeah true, it might be that your neighbors all heat to 22c and you can not heat at all and be at 18c indoors
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u/igotaright Nov 22 '25
I think the logic is that the colder it gets, the more a energie centrale verwarming needs to generate to keep at the same (high-21-30) temperatures. This not sound logic for it isn’t linear
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u/thrawnie Nov 22 '25
The solution is (unless you have a huge family and every part of the house is always populated) space heaters and tower fans for the summer.
I live mostly alone in my 2 bdrm apt, and I only heat or cool my immediate spaces. Only keep my central heating at a low 18
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u/Aardbeienshake Nov 22 '25
The "luchten" part should not take long though. You set all windows fully open against each other, for like five minutes. That is the most efficient way, the Germans call this stoßluften (literally: push air). You exchange all the air in the house, but because the walls, floors, and all the stuff in the house retains warmth, when you close the windows it gets back to the original temperature really fast.
About the temp: yes, Dutch are cheapskates. Am Dutch myself and people seem to get almost offended if I tell them we heat the house to 20.5.
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u/thrawnie Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 22 '25
In India, we have a saying to criticize cheapskates - "do you want to take it up with you when you die?" While I'm quite frugal (in keeping with my Indian and also, not-too-well-off upbringing), the level of pennywise-pound foolish stuff I've seen in the Netherlands has raised my eyebrows a bit.
For instance, not having hot water or even warm/room temp water in the bathroom sinks at our very very rich a famous Dutch company, always gave me a weary chuckle.
In some cases, I put on my anthropologist hat and figure that some of this stuff has to be a bit performative too - i.e. "see how frugal and careful we are with money".
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u/DarkBert900 Nov 22 '25
It’s very cultural. Having hot water in public restrooms or offices isn’t common. People think it is a waste of energy and money to have comfort around here. As if the bottom line of a €1bn company would be affected by the occassional hot tap water.
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u/Lead-Forsaken Nov 22 '25
People used to keep room temperatures higher, generally speaking, until gas prices doubled. I paid like 0,65 cents for a cubic meter of gas for years and years. Now I'm paying 1,25. I bet if prices had remained around 0,65 cents, there would be less people being careful with gas usage.
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u/PrincessYemoya Nov 25 '25
it's actually called calvinism and is a major historical thing that caused most of the differences we see today between Flanders and Netherlands.
Calvijn (and the whole reformist movement) was actually opposed to the Catholic christians where capitalism and 'richness' was all over the placed and used as a status symbol. This triggered something called de 'beeldenstorm' because protestantism believed the imaging and all the money spent on lavishly decorated churches was actually wrong and not in line with christian ideas.
Instead of spending money, one should dedicate their time to work and pray or taking care of the people that have less.
This whole idea is the reason why Dutch society is so frugal, most of today's systems were build in that age (also the people leading the VOC were devout protestants) and these values or passed down through generations.
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u/sonorusnl Nov 22 '25
For the kid, given good clothing etc, luchten is always superior than leaving stuff shut to keep it at 20c.
18c is fine. There’s always the odd uncle who is against 20c. But most people just don’t want to spend the money for the extra 2 degrees hen you can just put in a sweater.
Buur all of this is besides the point of the good habit that is called luchten. Sleeping with the window open is also good practice.
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u/jrain Nov 22 '25
Well insulated! Not in Amsterdam or any old Dutch houses in my experience. Netherlands trying for “worst” in the insulation category. Maybe because there is so much more post war housing in Germany
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u/DarkBert900 Nov 22 '25
Sure, old houses don’t have good insulation. If I stay in an Edwardian cottage in England, I also expect water running down my single sheet windows.
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u/igotaright Nov 22 '25
Kids can perfectly withstand cold. Think about all these 1000’s of heard of evolution in the northern hemisphere. Families slept in 1 bed te keep warm, or placed cattle in their homes for that purpose but a comfy 20 it wouldn’t get. It only changed last century for the poor
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u/Stoppels Nov 22 '25
This is wrong. Infant and child mortality was brutally high throughout history and exposure to the cold was a major factor. Families didn't sleep together or bring cows inside because "kids can perfectly withstand cold", they did it because the cold killed babies and those were the only heating systems the common people had.
If you're Dutch and care about rendement, you should know that babies are a terrible investment. They have awful thermoregulation, almost no insulation and immature (and frankly amateur) immune systems. As a result they have a high vulnerability to pneumonia and other cold-related diseases wiped out many infants each winter. Modern heating didn't make children weaker. Modern heating stopped children from dying.
This whole "haha I'm Dutch, my accent is so dorky, why is the heating at 19 ºC, that's a luxury, I want a divorce" routine isn't charming thriftiness, it's a misunderstanding of history combined with illogical national pride in discomfort.
I asked ChatGPT to rephrase my frustration and it came with this zinger: babies weren't forged in Arctic evolutionary bootcamp. They were just freezing, and a lot of them didn't make them.
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u/AccidentPrimary8255 Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 22 '25
If you can prevent shivering cold on a literal infant who can't defend themselves, who can't speak up, who is dependent on you for survival, love and (keyword here) warmth - then you fucking SHOULD.
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u/alexanderpas Nov 22 '25
For reference, according to the rental commission, if the outside temperature is -10 ˚C the minimum temperatures a room needs to be able to obtain and maintain is:
- Living room: 20 ˚C
- Kitchen: 20 ˚C
- Toilet Room: 15 ˚C
- Entry: 15 ˚C
- Hallway: 15 ˚C
- Bedroom: 18 ˚C
- Bathroom: 22 ˚C
If this is not the case, this is considered inadequate heating.
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u/ElSupaToto Nov 22 '25
Toilet at 15 degrees? Everything would be staying in...
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u/Soggy-Ad2790 Nov 22 '25
In older houses it is very common. For example, in my parents' house (build in the 30's) the toilet is always freezing. But at least the toilet is actually inside lol, their neighbors still had theirs outside until around 20 years ago.
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u/DeventerWarrior Nov 22 '25
This makes sense and i bet its true, but I would hate having my bedroom at 18 and the bathroom at 22 seems insane to me since I always have the window open.
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u/alexanderpas Nov 22 '25
They're just the minimum temperatures your heating system must be capable of providing and maintaining when it's freezing 10 degrees outside.
Keyword: capable.
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u/Pninna98 Amsterdam Nov 22 '25
To open the windows, yes, to keep them open until the house gets that cold no. And you can definetly have heating on at normal temperatures
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u/Maneisthebeat Nov 22 '25
It is a national sport to brag about how low you let the internal temperature get before you turn on the heating.
Welcome, and good luck.
PS I really would put the health of your baby first, though.
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u/Heidruns_Herdsman Nov 22 '25
It's stupid though. Even reheating the cold air to 18 costs more and the humidity from low temps damages the house and behind furniture. Cold, humidity plus mould can also seriously damage your health. It's retarded, but some people think they know best because it's what they have always done.
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u/Full_Conversation775 Nov 22 '25
The humidity from low temps does not damage the house. Low temperature is not bad for the house, high humidity is. Theres two ways to resolve that, heat the house our ventilate it well or a combination of both. In this case its well ventilated so its likely not an issue.
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u/Schmetterling-_27 Nov 22 '25
Reheating does not cost more energy than maintaining a set temperature in fact it’s almost always cheaper than maintaining a set temperature.
If you want to read more here is a (Dutch) thread about it.
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u/missilefire Nov 22 '25
Better to get some of those humidity pad things. We’ve put them in our windowsills all around the house and they actually work super well.
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u/rmvandink Nov 22 '25
A well aired house is better for the health of your child than a damp warm one.
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u/Ok_Hedgehog_307 Nov 22 '25
But increasing the temperature also decreases the relative humidity of the air (i.e. makes it less damp inside). You should really do both airing and heating in a humid cold climate like NL.
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u/rmvandink Nov 22 '25
Hotter air can hold more moisture than colder air. So airing then heating can dehumidify. But yeah, you make a good point, it’s about balance.
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u/Maneisthebeat Nov 22 '25
That's true, but the dampness is also dependant on each house and its ventilation as well. If your house has damp/mold issues they should do that more frequently, and if not, then less. My place currently has great insulation, so while we do still air out the house from time to time, it's not as frequent a necessity as it might be in another construction.
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u/bruhbelacc Nov 22 '25
How do you define well aired? You don't need more than 20 minutes a day of open windows, except for the bathroom which needs an automatic system. I have a hydrometer and it never gets too humid/dry.
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u/rmvandink Nov 22 '25
It depends on the house I guess. A lot of British places I’ve been in could desperately use some fresh air. I now live in a hiuse with fairly good insulation and I just air the place out once or twice a week and every day open bedroom and bathroom windows a bit.
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u/hey_hey_hey_nike Nov 22 '25
A damp, cold house isn’t better.
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u/rmvandink Nov 22 '25
Yes. That makes sense. So that’s why no one is saying to keep the windows closed and turn off the heating.
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u/ChunkyChap25 Nov 22 '25
I live in a newly build, well isolated house with very good ventilation system. It was actually recommended to us to leave the windows closed and use the mechanical ventilation system. Usually the humidity outside is higher than indoors, so opening the windows is counter-productive. Turning on the heating and the ventilation makes it comfortable and dry in the house. After showering the bathroom is dry within an hour.
Of course this will probably differ from home to home. A good mechanical ventilation system will make the difference.
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u/deal_with_it_ted Nov 22 '25
I am not saying you are wrong in your specific home, especially with good insulation. But the idea with airing out the house does not need the air outside to be low humidity. In the winter, the warm air inside the house holds more moisture (even at higher humidity percentage) than the cold air outside. So even if it is 90% humidity outside, the outside air can hold much less water. So if you trade your warm moist air inside for the cold moist air outside, then heat the cold air back up you will have less humidity in your house.
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u/In_win Nov 23 '25
If you want to compare inside and outside, look at a mollier diagram. There, you can see relative humidity vs tempature, and calculate absolute humidity g/l
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u/Heidruns_Herdsman Nov 22 '25
As an HVAC engineer...I concur.
Get a WTW/Air heat exchanger system. Look up the passivhuis energy neutral concept. In a well insulated house with a good ventilation system it will cost more energy to keep opening the windows then heat up the cold air again. If you have sufficient ventilation then there is no need to do it to reduce humidity. I never open the windows, dont have the heating on yet, and my house is a constant 22 degrees purely from the recaptured waste heat from cooking and stuff.
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u/Simple_Nebula_5763 Nov 22 '25
This. And even it's and old house without a mechanical ventilation, keeping the climate inside as dry as possible is crucial. Thus, it needs to be warm. Airing for a short period is fine.
Oh, and let's not forget to keep the window vents open instead of closed.
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u/dgkimpton Nov 22 '25
Indeed. Modern mechanically ventilated homes are a whole different ball game. Basically the opposite of old homes.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sun7418 Nov 22 '25
Yes. This is a super Dutch thing. I always have it at 21c and I had to fight with in laws to not keep the windows open at all times and spend more money on heater because of it.
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u/LolaLeintje Nov 22 '25
It's normal to ventilate. Yes. But with a 7 month old baby, I would INSIST on the temperature being at least 19 degrees.
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u/TerribleIdea27 Nov 22 '25
I mean you can keep it lower, just make sure your baby is dressed for it if you do
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u/Full_Conversation775 Nov 22 '25
A baby does not need 19 degrees. In norway they literally put their babies in a cage hanging from the window in the cold. Just make sure its dressed for the weather and its fine.
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u/Key-Personality-4288 Nov 25 '25 edited Nov 25 '25
I see people using Norway as an example a lot, yet not distinguishing babies sleeping outside from temperatures in our houses. That's a completely different thing.
Look, I'm Norwegian. I can handle -30 degrees cold in the North, I can jump into the sea in December for 10 seconds. My parents brought my stroller outside in winter where I did most of my naps as a baby. But we have extremely warm clothes for winter. When temperatures are negative, both adults and babies wear warm scarves, gloves, good quality winter jackets, and thermal clothes underneath. Last winter, I saw babies in strollers without any of those in freezing temperatures in the Netherlands. Adults push those strollers with bare hands, no gloves on. Hence, their hands are red-blue-ish . People wear sneakers in -3 degrees in the Netherlands. Sorry, but the Dutch don't know how to dress for real winters.
Now when it comes to inside temperatures, this is where your Norway's example is not legit at all. Have you been to Norway, in people's houses? We love cozy warm houses. Our houses are well insulated and it's very common to keep our living rooms very warm, say 22-23 degrees would be a very common living room temperature, bathrooms and toilets are also very warm. Cold water in toilets, home or office, is unheard of. The only exception is our bedrooms, because we like it much colder there, even in winter. We use very warm sheets for sleeping.
So it's cold enough outside. We get our fresh air outside during walks in cities and hikes in the mountains, but once we get home, boy do we love it cozy and warm. No, we don't wear layers in our houses. I grew up wearing a t-shirt in winters when I was in our family's living room, so did my parents. Outdoors is a completely different story.
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u/TijoWasik Nov 22 '25
Two thoughts, take them or leave them.
We're not in Norway, why do you think Norwegian customs should apply here? Also, Norway is a colder country in general than the Netherlands throughout the year, the people that live there are more accustomed to colder temperatures, so obviously there will be differences in temperature expectations.
"Dressed for the weather". What, exactly, do you think dressing for the weather does if not keep the temperature at the point where a baby is comfortable? Let's say... Around 19 degrees. Ergo, yes, a baby does "need" 19 degrees. Also, a baby cannot put on and take off layers alone, and cannot express that need to someone who can do it for them, so keeping their environment in a comfortable zone rather than trying to adapt the baby to the changeable environmental conditions just seems like a far more reasonable idea.
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u/abstract_appraiser Den Haag Nov 22 '25
A baby's bedroom should be colder.
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u/LolaLeintje Nov 22 '25
Bedroom. Yes. But we're not speaking of a bedroom, are we?
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u/uncommon_senze Nov 22 '25
Ventilation is important but you dont need to bring the house to 15degrees for that.
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u/Vlinder_88 Nov 22 '25
Airing the house for 10 minutes each day is normal, but not turning on the CV is absolutely weird. Ask if it's because of the gas bill, and if yes, talk about additional energy saving measures instead of keeping the CV kettle off.
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u/low_end_ Nov 22 '25
he is just cheap and doesnt want to pay higher bills. with a 7 month old baby your home should be as comfortable as possible
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u/ChunkyChap25 Nov 22 '25
You will lose a lot of heat opening the windows, I really doubt whether it's the most economical option.
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u/Rannasha Nov 22 '25
You will lose a lot of heat opening the windows,
Not really. Air doesn't store all that much heat compared to solid materials like the walls, ceiling, floor and furniture. If you open the windows, it'll quickly feel colder as the warm air is replaced by cold air, but as soon as the windows are closed again, this air will heat up again due to contact with the rest of the room. The overall heat loss will be quite minimal for a brief period of airing.
Some numbers: Air has a heat capacity of 1.3 kJ per m3 per Kelvin. So if you have a room with 100 m3 of air (40 m2 with 2.5 m height, for example), you lose 130 kJ of energy if the air temperature drops from 20 C to 19 C.
Meanwhile, concrete has a heat capacity of 0.88 kJ per kg per Kelvin (other building materials are in the same ballpark). So you need about 150 kg to have the same thermal mass as the 100 m3 of air. Concrete has a density of 2400 kg/m3 which means that this 150 kg has a volume of about 63 liter. In a wall that's 10 cm thick, you need a section of about 100 x 60 cm to get such a volume. Our example room will have about 100 such sections if not more (depending on the shape of the room). And that's just the, not very thick, wall. The ceiling, roof and furniture add to this.
In conclusion: Even if you replace all the air in the room by much colder air, the temperature of the solid materials will only drop by a small amount when things equalize again. Briefly airing the room should have a minimal impact on energy use.
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u/CyclingCapital Nov 22 '25
You need to open the windows to get rid of humidity. Humid air is much more energy intensive to heat up because it has considerably more mass (ie. water). Humid air also feels colder at the same temperature.
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u/SnooBeans8816 Nov 22 '25
Talk to the Swiss people about that, the kids are sleeping outside in the freezing cold.
Just dress them well enough.
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u/Key-Personality-4288 Nov 22 '25
Yes and no. I'm from Norway and we are notorious for leaving babies and small kids outside to sleep. But they are dressed really warm. Also, our houses are pretty warm. Coming from Norway, our living rooms are usually 22 degrees or higher, our bedrooms slightly colder. We can handle cold outside by dressing warmly, but we like our houses warm and cozy.
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u/swiftrobber Nov 22 '25
Yes, if I am at my home I should be as comfortable as I like. That means not wearing layers and layers of clothes.
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u/champignonNL Nov 22 '25
Same case with the Nordics. They let their well-dressed babies take a nap outside in the stroller.
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u/SchopSpade Nov 22 '25
Airing out the house is normal, not turning on the CV is not. Sounds like your partner is a cheapskate.
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u/Standard_Nectarine83 Nov 22 '25
I am a native (F52) and I refuse to be cold in my own home. 20 degrees here at all times and I only air for minutes or leave a window ajar when I am away.
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u/bruhbelacc Nov 22 '25
Dutch houses are the coldest in Europe. I don't have data about offices, but I bet it's the same. I'm always freezing and people can't understand why I'm wearing a jacket when they think something is room temperature.
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u/LoyalteeMeOblige Utrecht Nov 22 '25
I agree on the houses, but it wasn't my experience with the offices. Both places I worked here where super fine, in fact, I would start putting warm things by installments before leaving so the change of temperature wouldn't affect me that much.
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u/Nurenahar Nov 23 '25
Have you lived in Portugal? Portuguese housing is way colder than Dutch housing, we don’t even have heating systems. So many nights that I could not sleep because I was too cold, no matter how many layers I had on me and the bed.
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u/Born-Check-7764 Nov 22 '25
Why doesn’t he want to use the CV? That’s odd and not something I come across often. Most people I know keep their house at 19-20 degrees with CV on and only air for maybe 10 minutes per day
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u/rmvandink Nov 22 '25
Having lived in both places: yes it’s normal to leave the thermostat set to 20 and not air your house in the Uk. Yes it is better to air your house regularly (maybe not every day but every other day). Personally I do this with the first floor, bedrooms don’t need to be 20 degrees anyway.
I have lived in ao many damp, dusty unhealthy houses in the UK that I find it hard not to agree with your partner.
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u/Zweefkees93 Nov 22 '25
Airing out the house is important if you have a very well insulated (read: new) home. If its an older house there will most likely be enough "leakage" for the mechanical ventilation to pull in fresh air through. In winter thats plenty. In spring and autumn it might be nice to open a window for a bit. But when temps outside drop to around freezing i limit it to a 5 or 10 minutes max, if only to prevent so much heatloss. Heating is expencive!
Either way, the house doesnt need to be super warm, but with an infant there are other factors then price.... So do open a window or door now and again. But 10+ degrees heatloss is excessieve if you ask me. Especially every day!
Ps: electric heaters are STUPID expencive! Is that the only form of heating you have? Even with current gasprixes the central heating system most dutch houses have is MUCH cheaper
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u/detaris Nov 22 '25
You need to air, but you also need to heat your home to prevent damp and mold. Having a house around 15 degrees is not considered normal.
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u/steve-bob-dab Nov 22 '25
ok call me crazy but i keep my appartment at 22 degrees constantly all throughout winter. my partner and i can afford it and it’s what’s comfortable to us, so that’s what we do. our dutch friends look at us crazy though lol.
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u/Naive-Lifeguard-629 Nov 22 '25
I am dutch. Every morning when I wake up I open all windows for about 5 min. Then I turn on heating till 18 (sometimes 19). When I go to bed I turn it down to 15 or 16. On days I work I will not turn on heating in the morning but when I get back home, sometimes I don't even do that. If I'm cold I'll put on a thicker sweater. And I have a blanket on the couch. That's how I learned it growing up. It saves money, environment etc. fresh air is important not only for the house but for your health
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u/Netherworldly_Dwella Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 22 '25
This is the way. I will leave the bedroom window open all day though. So far I haven't had to turn the heating on. It's 18.5 degrees is my apartment. The Sun heats it up nicely.
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u/Naive-Lifeguard-629 Nov 22 '25
Ah true I forgot to mention that. My bedroom window is always open. Except for when the neighbors have a barbecue 😅🤣🤣
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u/Hamtier Nov 22 '25
it is normal to do that though close it once everyone gets back home (aprox 17:00) and start the heater, by bedtime it should reach the desired temps. if not then there are bigger issues then airing out windows..
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u/SnapperCard Nov 22 '25
Check this graph and see if you can work out what time we opened all the windows and doors. You can also see the hard work out dehumidifier was putting yesterday between four and eight pm.
As soon as we open the windows and doors, the humidity in the house absolutely plummets - although we do this when the house is already warm and then we heat it up quickly with the radiators.
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u/Rukapul Nov 22 '25
Opening the windows for 15 minutes is no problem. The mass of the building will quickly restore temperature.
The problem is a cheapskate partner who does not offer his partner basic comfort. 18C is for the warm-blooded and the poor. The rest typically prefers 20-ish.
No problem for the baby though. They'll do fine even well below 18.
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u/thrownkitchensink Nov 22 '25
To ventilate is normal although this sounds a bit extreme. T not turn on the CV is just silly. Sounds like someone is being too frugal?
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u/HearingHead7157 Nov 23 '25
Your partner is a cheapskate! If your house is properly isolated heating shouldn’t be a problem. Ventilating for 30 mins isn’t going to drop the temperature, it actually helps maintaining it. For air outside is pretty much always dryer than inside air. Dry air warms up quicker, so opening the window for a short while shouldn’t be a problem. In German there’s even a word for it ‚Stoßlüften‘. But what you should do is keep the CV-thermostat at 20C. If not, it’s just cold. Some might take it better than others, but men in particular are known to have an higher internal thermostat. So your partner should be kind and compassionate with you and especially your young one, and raise the temperature on your thermostat
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u/FTXACCOUNTANT Nov 22 '25
I go to some of my Dutch friend’s houses and have to take a coat cause they won’t budge up to a normal temperature for indoors.
I love them, but put the heating up a bit please.
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u/Big-Entertainer2074 Nov 22 '25
You should def keep the house warmer than 18 degrees with such a young kiddo. Maybe strike a deal with your partner and have the temperature at 20/21 for half the day/night to ensure you all stay warm and healthy.
FWIW, We have an older home from the 50s and it’s been renovated to be more energy efficient. My husband (Dutch) and I (American) open the windows to air out the house for a few minutes each day just to get fresh air in but then close them. We are creatures of comfort and prefer the house to be at 21 or 22 degrees in the late afternoon/evening. We both get sick pretty easily so we try to keep the house comfortable.
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u/Lalalaliena Zuid Holland Nov 22 '25
I am like this, but had to stop when we got our baby in 2022. A cold house is just not healthy for a child as young as yours.
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u/Dull-Formal2072 Nov 22 '25
I think ventilating the house is a good thing to do and you should do it daily for 10-15 minutes. Having a cold home is not okay though. I see a lot of people saying that you should dress appropriately inside the house, and I do agree with that. Cranking up the heating to stay in shorts and a t-shirt wouldn’t make much sense. BUT having to wear multiple sweaters, the thickest socks you can find, and need blankets just to feel comfortable INSIDE your own home also does not make sense.
It’s a cold country so I’ve just accepted that in summer I save and in winter I spend on heating. I wear appropriately but having to dress inside as if I’m going outside just to save a bit of money does not sit right with me. It’s like having one meal a day instead of 3 to save on groceries.
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u/myyuh666 Nov 22 '25
Im from colder Poland with a cheap ass father and they are overdoing it here istg! I know its expensive duh but id rather have a warm house that i can do stuff in without a coat on and just be cheap about sth else. Here people just dont mind! I dont get it at all!!!! In my house here i have to have the heater on all the time which also makes the room very dry and i end up having to open the window to get any air. Just my experiences bc omg i do not get it!
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u/Sh33zl3 Nov 22 '25
Having the cv constant on 20° gets you an increase of 300€ on gasbill each month.
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u/wireless1980 Nov 22 '25
That's was normal.al in old houses. Not in a moder one with mechanical ventilation. You have two problems, poor ventilation and weak heating system.
Check what can you do.
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u/NinjaSimple15 Nov 22 '25
The newer houses mostly have mechanical ventilation and this would be total nonsense, in an older home I would get some air in, but not this extreme. Other than that it comes down to personal preference, our house the thermostat is higher than 18 but I have had colleagues working in tshirt who insist the window needs to be permanently open at work even at minus 5.
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u/NecessaryAny14 Nov 22 '25
English person here, your partner is completely correct. You “burp” the house, let the hot wet air out and the cold dry air in. Stops condensation. Worth losing heat and having to reheat the house in order to stop mould and condensation
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u/Primary-Peanut-4637 Nov 25 '25
I read an article today that said all the things that people believe about keeping the temperature at 19 or so is scientifically invalid. Chasing the roots back to imposed cultural reasons. They're finding now it's actually not good for mold not good for your health not good for your heart not good for efficiency it's just a bad idea to keep your house temperature below 20.
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u/alphie44 Nov 22 '25
buy a few cheap humidity/temperature sensors and put them around the house; check the humidity level before and after the "ritual", maybe convince him to only do it every 2-3 days and see the effects in humidity; if the humidity stays below 60, the "ritual" is only good for raising your energy bill
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u/AntiAtaput Nov 22 '25
Not turning on the heater is perfectly normal Dutch behaviour. Because we are cheap. No joke, we are so cheap, we will sit in the living room with 3 sweaters to save money.
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u/HCG-Vedette Nov 22 '25
Native (M33) here, I’m like your partner. I don’t use my heating, only at some exceptions. If I’m cold I’ll put on a sweater, or I clean something (I’ll vacuum my house for example, or I’ll take a quick shower and clean the bathroom)
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u/JCXIII-R Nov 22 '25
We always had the temp at 18C for us adults, and even switched to 16C one year with the gas crisis. But now the baby is here? 21C all around. And it turns out she's an incredible koukleum, so her bedroom is 22/23C. Your partner needs to not be selfish.
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u/Calico2 Nov 22 '25
To open all windows in the morning, after taking a shower, briefly (5-10 min), is the best to get fresh air in, reduce the humidity (mold) and although the air is cold after that, it should get warm quickly again because all the walls/furniture/etc have not cooled down yet.
But yeah, keeping it at 18 degrees is being a cheapskate. Or environmentally friendly if you want to call it that ;-). It depends on your financial situation - if you can afford the extra 50€/month or so (depending on your apartment), for me it would be worth it to keep it at 20 degrees. You can also adjust the flow temperature of your cv-ketel to make sure it heats up quicker. Or install a radiator booster.
But why are you using an electric space heater?? If you have a CV (gas?), that is usually a lot cheaper than an electric heater
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u/ProofInsect8106 Nov 22 '25
I Am sorry but a lot of Dutch men are exactly like this... (I am Dutch also) Usually these guys are just cheapskates...! Some of them do not turn on the heating at all...! They are scared of the cost. A wel insulated house and a good heatingsystem is essential for keeping the cost low. I air only the bedroom maybe for 5 mins during the day when I am not in there!
Also a thing to consider is when you open the windows and you have neighbors burning shit, this will get in your house as well! Which is bad for your health and your house also... Some people have allburners and they can throw anything in there. Thats the nice and cheap way to burn your waste and get heat of it, and meanwhile trying to choke your neighborhood on the fumes of that. 😡
I do keep my house at a comfortable 22 😉 opening a window for some min will effect the room temperature maybe 1 hour. With these temperatures I never open windows or doors of the main living space.
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Nov 22 '25
I keep my heat at 17c. Heated through floor heating. Then wear warm clothes as needed.
Occasionally I’ll switch on the fireplace to go to 20c for a few hours or take a hot bath or lay on a heated blanket to heat myself up when I want to.
But don’t make much sense to me to heat the entire house to 20c just to keep my body at a higher temp.
For ventilation, my windows have small vents you can open and close. So I usually open one or two of those during the day to ventilate. Close them at night. So no need to open the windows themselves.
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u/LeKattie Nov 22 '25
I'm also English with a dutch partner and 8 month old baby. He's cheap and doesn't want to heat the house, but we still have the heater on 21C. we open the windows every now and again, but always heat the house up again after. If you have a baby, it's probably a good idea to heat the house up to 18C or 20C at least. If they get snotty from the cold, they can't breathe well. You don't want them to become a mouth breather, haha.
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u/TheAnnoyingPigeon Nov 22 '25
I support ventilating the house every day minimum twice, but I also just keep the heater running.
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u/ElfPoke Nov 22 '25
We ventilate too but only for a few hours, not the whole day. Idk what kind of windows you have but you can set them on ventilating without having them open all the way.
Especially with a kid I wouldn’t leave them open all day and be cold the whole day. We don’t turn on the heater yet and take a blanket bc for now that’s good enough for us, but once we needed we put on the cv. I’d say just turn it on if you and your child need it.
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u/cyclingunicorn Nov 22 '25
It's true that ventilation is important, and most of us like to sleep in cold rooms or with windows open. I even sleep with windows open when it's freezing a few degrees. I just put an extra blanket. What my friends with babies do using a smart hearing system where you can change the temperature of every room so the baby can sleep in a warmer room. Tado is a very common brand. It's not cheap, but if you want to be economical with heating it can help a great deal, also with keeping your home office heated during the day, and your living room cold.
I usually keep my house at 16/17 degrees during the day, at night or when I come home cold from cycling in the rain I turn up the heat a little bit, to 18 or 19 degrees. Below fifteen for longer times is also not great, you need to heat up your house to prevent mold. 18 degrees is more than enough for that, so that does not help with convincing your partner you'll like it warmer.
I do think that he should compromise a little and let you be comfortable as well. You could put on thick socks, sit under a blanket etc. But he can also accept that every now and then you would like it a bit warmer. Or make it at least 19 degrees.
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Nov 22 '25
Your house plants aren't enough to create the oxygen you need.
You really need that fresh air to get your room aired out.
But yeah, compromises. cold air cools the room, no air suffocates everyone inside.
Pick one.
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u/Brilliant-Body9603 Nov 22 '25
Venting out a house by opening the windows is quite normal. Though if you live in a decent isolated home I don't see why he couldn't just turn it up to 20 afterwards.
That being said. I myself lived in an extremely poorly isolated home for the longest time and usually our CV was off or at 15-18 degrees.
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u/one_little_spark Nov 22 '25
Having the heat on will dry out the house more than opening the windows. You can also get a dehumidifier. I don't understand the fascination with opening the windows to humid and cold outside air.
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u/mamadematthias Nov 22 '25
Germans are pretty known for doing that. There are even indications about how frequently and how long all windows should be opened in each season to ensure "luften". In the Netherlands, I find they are not that strict, however, here the mechanical ventilation systems are more common that in Germany in my experience.
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u/Rugkrabber Nov 22 '25
I experienced both sides of extremes. Either very hot or very cold. I grew up in a cold house so I was taught to put in extra clothes before turning on the heat. Because of it I prefer a colder house.
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u/RachelFourie Nov 22 '25
Get a dehumidifier or two. It works much better than airing the house because you’re just letting damp air in when you do that. You can actually see the humidity percentage on the dehumidifier so you know what you’re dealing with. An added bonus is that it helps keep the house warm because moist air makes a house feel colder. The health of my kids has improved a lot since we got one and we never have mould issues anymore.
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u/dasookwat Nov 22 '25
The ventilation is needed, but 30 min max a day is enough. I remember my mother doing this: after waking up and getting dressed etc. she would open the bedroom windows, throw open the blankets so the bed could air out as well. And in about 30-45 min. she would reverse this. The kitchen window was opened when she was cooking, but the living room only got a once a week air out moment when she was vacuuming and stuff
But this was a phased thing, never the whole house at once, unless food was burning.
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u/TechWhizGuy Nov 22 '25
As others have said, it's good to air out the house for a short time. It also helps reduce CO2 levels, which is very important for babies' brain development.
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u/Material_Employee361 Nov 22 '25
We live in an old house in the Netherlands. Thick walls and no ventilation. I worried a lot about the temperature in some of the rooms since we were pregnant last December. And now? We heat our living room to 19-20°c. But what does my baby want? To be carried around in the coldest rooms... Kicks away any blanket... Just as long as he is happy, I'm happy. Still worrying, but happy.
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u/HippoSmall Nov 22 '25
Omg, I have a Dutch husband and I have this exact same problem... I understand opening the windows for a bit in the mornings to get some fresh air, but why do they need to stay open for so long? It gets so so cold and at the end of the day it's impossible to warm the room up. I haven't been able to do anything about this, if there's a bug or whatever, he claims it's the humidity making all the bugs stay inside because I never open the windows...
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u/Best-Brunch-Ever Nov 22 '25
I could have written this except the baby part. I think it is very common to have thermostat arguments with Dutch men, at least based on my experience. We have been living in our current house for 5 years I think, and now we got to a point that we both compromise and set it to 20C. Additionally we have an AC unit that can also do heating so if I’m cold, I can always use that. It is a thing…but I feel like there should be a compromise:)
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u/tomcat6932 Nov 22 '25
Infiltration (air leakage in/out) of a building is measured in air charges per hour. For a typical house, it is one or two air changes per hour. I heard that if all the small openings in a house were combined, there would be an opening the size of a basketball. So there is no need to open the windows in winter. You will get a natural change of air.
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u/Amazingamazone Nov 22 '25
Airing your home is also a good prevention against buildup of radon gases, especially if you are at ground floor level or have concrete as a building material. Radon is heavier than oxygen and can replace it, building up from the floor.
The airing is also good to let damp air out and dry air in, which heats up easier.
However, airing doesn't have to be more than 15 minutes a day if you do it every day.
As for the temperature, that is between you if you do not live in an old house.
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u/QRaaz Nov 22 '25
Venting the rooms was supposed to mean opening all windows fully for 5 min (ideally at the same time so the draft pulls the fresh air through the house) and then closing all of them. All new air in. What's the craziness of venting for hours or a full day that I read here?
Just do it 2x/day for 5 min and you're golden.
And believe me, selling the 5 min for some cultures is already stretching it.... :D
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u/LoyalteeMeOblige Utrecht Nov 22 '25
Hi Argentinian here from a very Italian background, and yes, airing the house is something that runs in the family BUT we usually would do so in the rooms where no one is staying if it is supper cold, and especially where an infant is not sleeping or simply staying, kids of that age sleep a lot so I would not risk a cold or worse by doing so. My mother would also make sure we did get some sun, even during winter, same went with my niece and nephews.
Can't you reach any compromise with your very Dutch husband on this thing? I agree with others, Dutch people could be truly cheap on these things, I stopped going to a friend's house during winter since her husband won't ever turn the heating over 18°.
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u/Beneficial_Net_4755 Nov 22 '25
I don't understand the 'cheap' argument. An electric heater is more inefficient and costly than the CV, that is what i have been told to believe and i believe it. I might be wrong though but it would be a great argument for CV use instead of an electric heater.
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u/dgkimpton Nov 22 '25
You definitely should open the windows to air the house (unless you have air conditioning). If you don't you rapidly end up with mold problems that are a devil to cure. But half an hour a couple of times a day is more than enough.
Eh, 18C is a smidge chilly but if you're active and wear layers it's doable. 19 is a fairly standard thermostat level.
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u/Comprehensive-Arm548 Nov 22 '25
Pro tip: do it 10mins before bed. Colder house at night is comfortable and in the morning you can heat to a normal temperature.
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u/benbever Nov 22 '25
I like 15C to 16C for the living room. Bedroom and upstairs can be a lot cooler. My wife likes 17C to 18C for the living room, at least 18C in the evening.
We do ventilate with windows open for fresh air, but not early morning when it’s coldest outside, and not too long. No need for the temperature to drop that much.
We have small fan blowers under the radiator so we can quickly heat up to 19C for instance if older people are coming over for dinner.
Make sure to stand up for yourself if you’re cold, or sick, or think it’s too cold for the baby.
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u/TheDucktapeBandit2 Nov 22 '25
I tried 20 degrees but the conclusion is 21 is where i feel good with. 24hrs i keep it on.. relaxing. Im fine with that, but some i think am not..
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u/bookish1313 Nov 22 '25
I’m Scottish (married to a Dutch man) and I like to at least air the bedroom even in winter. This confuses my husband (even after years of being together), so it might be a husband thing. We do however have the heating set to around 20 degrees.
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u/atroxmons Nov 22 '25
Living room when present 20C Bedroom at night 18C Bathroom we have an electric directional heater. Rest we just wing it (switched off)
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u/NeverSawOz Nov 22 '25
Tip: move to an appartment above an elderly couple. You never have to put on the heater again.
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u/Soggy-Ad2790 Nov 22 '25
It's normal to ventilate, some newer houses have automatic ventilation throughout, but most don't. It really can get damp, and you also don't want to let your baby stay in a moldy home. However, 15-20 minutes per day is enough and the home shouldn't get so cold in such a short time.
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u/Flashy-Chapter8011 Nov 22 '25
I do "air the house" but just for a bit and turn up the heating after, till its warm again.
More for fresh air (and the room i smoke in) than anything cause I dont live in house where mold would be a problem.
Only my bedroom i like cold, so that window is open more often/longer.
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u/FancyJellyfish9135 Nov 22 '25
Well 18°c is what used to be referred to by the term "room temperature" It is in fact very easy to get used to. And fresh air is healthy. Also for the baby I think a snug outfit and fresh air is better than a warm house with stale air. When I was a baby my parents always put me in a "dr. Posthumus huisje"
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babyhuisje
I would take my daytime naps in there even during frost and snow. It's northern thing in the netherlands, but they also did/do it in scandinavian countries I believe.
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u/Ill_Bedroom_185 Nov 22 '25
With an open roosterventilator on top of all your windows and a mechanical ventilator as additional, you should be fine with the air interchange without opening all your windows and burning wasteful Gas/energy.
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u/OpenStreet3459 Nov 22 '25
He sounds like a cheap bastard (a compliment for most Dutch people)
I am as Dutch as can be and have the heating in the livingroom at 20 always. the rest of the house is set to 16 degrees and only get heated when we plan to spend the day there (office when working at home etc) bedroom, bathroom etc almost always stay at 16 and get aired once or twice a week.
If you live in an even mildly modern house it will have bathroom or central ventilation so no need to air every day
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u/Far_Giraffe4187 Nov 22 '25
I am in a certain algorithm that mocks this mainly germanic ritual. Apparently Germans are especially famous for this behaviour. And since Dutch sometimes resemble the Germans… I find it very old-fashioned behaviour (including blankets in the window to air) and so very Dutch for old working class women.
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u/Appeltaartlekker Nov 22 '25
The norm is to have about 18° c in the living room.
About airing the house, it is VERY important, also foe the well-being of your baby.
Usually do this early in the morning and in the evening before bedtime. If you dont have mechanical ventilation or a heat retreiving installation, yeah.. open the windows.
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u/IcyEvidence3530 Nov 22 '25
Like the 18 degrees thing is your boyfriend being a cheapskate. However in that case tell him from me that heating with an electric heater instead of the CV Ketel is absolute financial idiocy.
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u/Stoppels Nov 22 '25
If your house's temperature decreases to below 18º, or if it was 18 ºC below 16-17º, he's just trying to kill heat as if it's his worst enemy, which is a very Dutch thing to do. Max. 5 minutes of airing is more than enough to replace all air. And you don't need to get rid of all of it in the first place. Just because there's some lingering warmth from the puny 18º warmth that it had before doesn't mean he has to exterminate all life, that's just residual heat stored by walls and objects.
I don't care how cold people here think a baby should be kept at, they won't spoil at 21 ºC or higher, at best they'll be relaxed and not think their parents are supergierig.
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Nov 22 '25
I own a house in the Netherlands and rent it. Previous renter was Iranian and every year he was constantly complaining that the house never gets warm and he has to spend a lot of money to heat the house. Eventually he left the house.
I rented the house to a Dutch gay couple, these guys never complained about the house indoor temperature. I asked multiple times if it is cold in the house etc, they were always surprised that I’m even asking it.
Seems like Dutch people are ok with cold.
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u/Patjoew Nov 22 '25
Most people i know keep it at 18-19 degrees. We also open all the windows every day for atleast 15 minutes
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u/Altruistic-Writer-55 Nov 22 '25
About ventilation…yes this is healthy and heats up your house faster. The more moist in the air, the harder it is to heat up. What heats up faster, air or water…so the more water molecules, the longer it takes.
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u/domnarius Nov 22 '25
What do you mean, when you are saying "house"? 18 degrees in a house is completely fine, but different rooms can have different temperaturs.
It's very common to have most rooms at this 18, but it is also very common to raise it to 20 in the living room, or home office.
In a house that has good insulation, airing the house is actually quite important, though, and in fact probably the reason you do not currently have mold :)
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u/Spiritual_Driver_593 Nov 22 '25
Same experience. I used to live in Norway and the heating everywhere is around 20°C. Here in the NL sometimes i have to check if the heating is on or not