We asked how you deal with the cold in winter and the difficulty of keeping your homes warm. From using the oven as a heat source, to staying confined to a single room, these are the experiences that 546 Solomon readers shared with us.
What do you do when, for months at a time, you can’t be comfortable in your own home because you are unable to keep it warm — either due to high costs or because the building doesn’t have adequate heating?
A few weeks ago, we asked and you answered:
“I don’t invite friends over”
“I wear heavy clothing”
“I’m constantly thinking that I need to save money”
“It affects my concentration”
And a somewhat unexpected answer: “I’m having less sex.”
At the end of February, Solomon published — in collaboration with the European journalism network Correctiv.Europe — Heat or Eat, a report on the impact of energy poverty in Europe. Based on Eurostat data, our analysis showed that at the European level, one in ten people spend the winter being cold in their own homes.
In Greece, this rate is double: two in ten. Furthermore, the data revealed that Western Greece has the coldest homes in all of Europe — colder even than areas within the Arctic Circle. Very quickly, dozens of readers contacted us, sharing personal stories about the inability to heat their homes.
In an effort to learn more, we decided to reach out to you again. A total of 546 Solomon readers responded to the questionnaire we shared via Instagram and our newsletter, and provided feedback on how the inability to keep their homes warm affects their daily lives.
Solomon’s research does not claim to be scientifically complete. However, your responses clearly outline the scope of energy poverty in Greece today.
As one reader stated:
“Not being able to live comfortably in my own home affects me psychologically. I can’t invite friends over, I’m constantly thinking about how long I should keep on the water heater or the air conditioner. It’s very depressing and miserable. I feel like I’m losing my dignity.”
Another reader noted:
“I feel like I’m constantly cold. I don’t feel comfortable in my house.”
While a third summed up the situation as:
“I feel disgusted living in this house.”
According to the responses we received, 23.1% use central heating (with oil or natural gas) as their main source of heating, while 25.7% have autonomous heating.
In addition, 24.7% of participants stated that they use the air conditioner as their primary heat source and 40.8% as a secondary heat source.
In many cases, participants described how using air conditioners, stoves, electric heaters, or space heaters leads to a kind of “confinement” to one room in the house. Solomon readers mentioned trying to keep just one room warm, where they spend most of their day — especially those who work from home.
“I have a hard time working from home when it’s cold, even if I put on lots of blankets, my hands get cold when I’m typing on my laptop. Usually, my partner and I confine ourselves to one room and heat it with a fan heater.”
Another response stated that “it’s very tiring, we’re used to it, but still, these changes in temperature from room to room, and in general the cold − it doesn’t allow you to move freely within your own home.”
Some described moving around the house carrying the space heater with them, describing a constant “restriction of movement within our own home.”
“I shower at certain times so I don’t freeze when I get out. It’s generally very bad not to be able to feel comfortable in your own home,” said another.
Some reported difficulty fulfilling basic needs, such as washing dishes in the kitchen, because it would mean moving to a freezing room.
According to data provided by the property search platform Spitogatos, in the center of Athens, in February 2024, 39% of apartments for rent had central heating. In comparison to the same month in 2021, 43% of apartments for rent had central heating.
At the same time, in the center of Athens there’s an increase in the percentage of properties that have autonomous heating (from 24% in 2021 to 28% in 2024). But in 28% of properties, it is unknown whether and what type of heating is provided.
Finally, ads for rentals in the center of Athens which explicitly state that the property does not have heating have increased from 5% to 6% between 2021-2024.
Back to our own questionnaire, several readers (45.5%) reported that the cost of heating has increased significantly compared to previous years.
Due to the increased cost, many participants said they are limiting their use of heating. Some only turn it on for a few hours at night, while others said they avoid using it as much as possible, even if it means feeling cold in their homes.
In some cases, financial pressure forces people to make difficult choices. One participant from Crete reported that rising heating costs have reduced the amount of money he can spend on food. Another said he has limited his spending for both food and entertainment.
Participants use a combination of strategies to stay warm. Of the 546 readers, 72.2% said they dress warmly, with “double sweatshirts and sweatpants,” 41.5% use electric blankets and electric mattress pads, 6.6% take advantage of the heat from the oven, while 5.3% close off rooms.
One reader said that he places hot water bottles under the covers. Meanwhile, many seek warmth outside their homes, in places like public libraries and cafes, or at friends’ houses.
In the context of our report, Dr Ilias Kyriopoulos, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Policy at the London School of Economics (LSE), had referred to the effects of energy poverty on mental health, as “the uncertainty about meeting energy needs can cause anxiety, stress and in some cases even depression.”
In addition to the physical discomfort they experience, such as “frequent colds, weakness, fatigue, tight muscles, runny nose, chills, shivering”, as well as “disturbed or poor to no sleep”, the respondents to Solomon’s questionnaire highlighted the psychological stress caused by living in low temperatures.
They reported “dissatisfaction and irritation, anxiety, foul mood, weakness and fatigue,” as well as “lethargy, feeling sullen, avoidance of movement/activity,” in a “tedious and miserable” living condition. “We are literally suffering!!!” exclaimed one respondent from western Macedonia.
“I feel sad entering a cold house and having to keep my jacket on until it warms up.”
The vast majority of those who responded to Solomon’s questionnaire are employed: 40.81% are private employees, 21.69% are freelancers, 11.03% are civil servants, while 6.43% are unemployed, 5.88% are students and 5.70% are retired.
One of the extensive responses we received raised the issue of working and not being able to ensure adequate or quality heating in your home. “It makes me incredibly angry and frustrated that I work 10 hours a day and can’t relax when I get home for a few hours before I go to bed,” one noted.
“Also,” the answer continued, “I consider it ridiculous that at 34, with a good job, in winter I dread the monthly utility bills, or that I have to set a timer for how long I’ll keep the radiator on, or that I have to think about what I won’t pay for, in order to pay for the heating oil.”
“It makes me feel miserable: that I work and I don’t even have the ability to heat my house,” said another response.
Another response, along the same lines, noted: “It saddens me that at my age I have to spend a huge part of my income just to not suffer in my home. I feel like something is wrong with me and with the system.”
*Solomon readers responded to a Google Form that was prepared by our team. The data was analyzed using pandas, an open-source data analysis tool, built on top of the Python programming language.
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