How to Stay Warm Working From Home (Without Heating the Whole House)

Last updated: 15 October 2026.

Working from home in winter has a specific problem: you are one person, sitting still for eight hours, in a house built to be heated as a whole. Heating every room for one desk is the expensive way. Building one warm spot is the cheap way. Here is how.

1. Pick the right room and the right corner

• The smallest room you can work in warms fastest and holds heat best.
• Put the desk against an internal wall. External walls and windows are the cold surfaces that pull heat from you, even when the air is warm.
• Keep your back to the warm side, not to a window or an outside door.
• Close the door and put a draught excluder along the bottom.

2. Fix the floor

Cool air sinks, so your feet are in the coldest part of the room. A rug under the desk and a footrest change how warm you feel more than a degree on the thermostat. Wool socks, and slippers with a proper sole.

3. Wear the warmth

The heat you need is the heat your body already makes; the job is keeping it in. Long layers beat thick short ones. A hoodie stops at the hip; a throw falls off the chair the first time you lean forward. A wearable that reaches the ankle and stays on covers the legs, which is where desk workers lose most. Enfold is built for this: it pulls on over the head, the sides are open so your arms come out to type and go back in during calls, and the hood comes up when the room cools in the late afternoon.

4. Add a little targeted electric heat

At the UK cap rate for October to December 2026 (26.32p per kWh), a 2 kW fan heater on full costs about 53p an hour, which is over £4 across a working day. A heated throw at around 100 W costs about 2.6p an hour. In the US at roughly 18 cents per kWh, the figures are about 36 cents and 2 cents. Targeted beats ambient by a wide margin. The full table is in heat the person, not the house.

5. Keep the hands working

• Fingerless gloves in merino.
• A heated mouse pad or USB hand warmer.
• A hot drink in a lidded insulated mug.

6. Move

Sitting still is when the body makes least heat. A two-minute walk every hour, up and down the stairs, does more for cold hands than any gadget. Use calls as an excuse to stand.

A warning about turning the heating off entirely

If you live with someone over 65 or with a long-term health condition, UK health guidance is to keep the rooms they use at 18°C or more, and a baby's room between 16 and 20°C. Heating your desk instead of the house is for healthy adults at a desk, not for them.

Common questions

How do I keep warm working from home without heating?

Work in a small room with the door closed, put your desk against an internal wall, get your feet off the floor, wear a long layer that covers your legs, use fingerless gloves, and stand up every hour. Add a low-wattage heated throw if you need more.

Is it cheaper to use a space heater than central heating when working from home?

Often, if you only heat the one room you work in and keep the door closed. Running a 2 kW heater all day is still expensive, though, so wearing a warm layer and using low-wattage heat is cheaper again.

How do I keep my hands warm while typing?

Fingerless gloves, a heated mouse pad or USB hand warmer, keeping your core and legs warm so blood flow to the hands is not reduced, and moving for a couple of minutes every hour.