Comfort & Climate

Heating is the largest load in most European homes, which makes it the most rewarding thing to get right and the easiest to get subtly wrong. A thermostat that cannot modulate a modern boiler throws away most of the saving it was bought for.

These articles look at zoning a house properly, why shading beats cooling, how heat pumps prefer to be run, and the automations that stop you heating a room with the window open.

Articles in this category

1. Heating controls that actually save money

   The savings are real but come from four specific mechanisms. Judge any control by whether it delivers one of them in your house.

   6 min read · 1,382 words · Reviewed September 2026

2. Zoning your heating without spending a fortune

   Often the largest saving available in a family home, and usually presented as a plumbing project. It does not have to be.

   6 min read · 1,452 words · Reviewed August 2026

3. Underfloor heating and other slow systems: run them steadily

   Slow systems punish the habits that work on radiators and a gas boiler. Whatever you asked for hours ago is what you are getting now.

   6 min read · 1,397 words · Reviewed September 2026

4. Why your house has a cold room, and how to find out which cause

   Every house has one. The cause is usually identifiable in an afternoon with about twenty pounds of sensors — and it is rarely the boiler.

   6 min read · 1,438 words · Reviewed September 2026

5. Conservatories, extensions and rooms that never feel right

   Additions are built to different rules from the rest of the house, and they behave differently. Understanding why makes them fixable.

   7 min read · 1,463 words · Reviewed September 2026

6. Windows: comfort, condensation and what is worth replacing

   Most of a room’s comfort problems start at the window. Several cheap interventions outperform new glazing, and one common upgrade disappoints.

   6 min read · 1,449 words · Reviewed July 2026

7. Ventilation: fresh air without throwing away the heat

   Condensation problems often appear after energy efficiency work, not before. Once a house is sealed, ventilation has to be intentional.

   6 min read · 1,316 words · Reviewed September 2026

8. Humidifiers and dehumidifiers: which, when, and usually neither

   Both are bought reflexively, often for the wrong problem. Deciding correctly takes a cheap sensor and two weeks.

   6 min read · 1,300 words · Reviewed September 2026

9. Keeping a house cool without air conditioning

   Keep heat out during the day, purge it overnight. Most households do the exact opposite of both.

   6 min read · 1,425 words · Reviewed July 2026