How Do The UK’s Top Cities Compare For Coping With The Cold?

As this winter’s fuel bills are predicted to spike again, cast iron radiator experts Paladin Radiators have taken a dive into what are the UK’s coldest cities on average and how much energy is likely to cost you there.

Taking a combination of city size, gas and electric prices and average temperatures, Paladin has been able to create a metric to show the best places to live if you want to cope best with the coldest temperatures for the best possible energy price.

Here’s the top 20 in full:

paladin coldest cities uk ranked

  1. Leeds and Glasgow (tied)
  2. Manchester
  3. Middlesbrough
  4. Edinburgh
  5. Birmingham
  6. Stoke-On-Trent
  7. Belfast
  8. Bournemouth/Poole
  9. Reading
  10. Leicester
  11. Coventry
  12. Newcastle and Sunderland (tied)
  13. Sheffield
  14. Brighton
  15. Cardiff
  16. Liverpool
  17. London
  18. Southampton/Portsmouth

Paladin Radiator’s Jon Walker, said: “With the wild fluctuations in weather patterns in recent years, it is becoming clear that while we are enjoying long, hot summers, we also need to think about how much of an effect cold winters are having and how best to cope.

“Our research here shows that while areas like Leeds, Glasgow and Middlesbrough might well be very cold, the cost of energy remains lower when compared with other cities and regions. This is why we always advocate using environmentally friendly cast iron radiators to our customers.

paladin coldest cities uk ranked

“The benefits are many, but the fact that cast iron radiators retain their heat is a reason many people enjoy having them in their homes.”

Benefits of Cast Iron Radiators

Durability: Cast iron radiators are incredibly durable and long-lasting. They can operate in a wide range of temperatures and have an extremely long service life.

Heat Retention: Cast iron has excellent heat retention properties, which means it can continue to emit heat as the room reaches temperature and the TRV (when fitted) is reducing the heated flow of water. This helps maintain a more consistent and comfortable temperature in a room.

Efficiency: Cast iron radiators, provide the best possible output from their large heating surface areas and work well with lower temperature systems (heat pumps etc.)

Low Maintenance: Cast iron radiators are low maintenance. They only require periodic cleaning to preserve their unique appearance.

Energy Efficiency: Cast iron radiators help with energy-efficiency as they can comfortably operate with lower water temperatures while still providing effective heating. This can lead to energy savings and reduced heating bills.

Environmental Benefits: Cast iron is a recyclable material, and many cast iron radiators are made from recycled cast iron this along with their extended lifetime help these radiators contribute to a more sustainable and eco-friendly heating system.

Customization: Cast iron radiators come in various sizes and styles, allowing you to choose the right one for your space and design preferences. Some companies also offer customization options, so you can have a radiator that fits your exact specifications.

Methodology

First we took data that showed us what the largest cities in the UK were to give us an idea of where the most people in the UK live and to provide a good base for our research. (https://www.statista.com/statistics/294645/population-of-selected-cities-in-united-kingdom-uk/)Then, we looked for average temperatures in the UK. We wanted to find the lowest average temperature over a long period (1991-2020). Thankfully, the MET Office provides all its data and there has been a grouped data set compiled for weather stations across the UK. We picked the stations closest to the cities in question from this search facility: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages

We then looked into the average energy prices for both gas and electricity by region. This is correct to 2023: https://www.uswitch.com/gas-electricity/guides/regional-energy-prices/

We turned the data into ranked data as follows:

To rank the cities based on the two metrics provided (Minimum Temperature Average and Energy Cost), we assigned a rank to each city for each metric and then combined the ranks to determine an overall ranking. Lower values in each metric resulted in a higher rank.

Here are the rankings for each metric:

Minimum Temperature Average (Lower values are better):

  • Middlesbrough
  • Leeds
  • Glasgow
  • Manchester
  • Edinburgh
  • Stoke-On-Trent
  • Belfast
  • Bournemouth/Poole
  • Birmingham
  • Reading
  • Leicester
  • Coventry
  • Newcastle
  • Sunderland
  • Sheffield
  • Brighton
  • Cardiff
  • Liverpool
  • London
  • Southampton/Portsmouth

Energy Cost (Lower values are better, based on the average of Gas and Electricity costs for each region):

  • Yorkshire
  • East Midlands
  • Eastern
  • Southern Western
  • Midlands
  • North West
  • Northern
  • Southern
  • London
  • Northern Scotland
  • South East
  • North Wales & Mersey
  • South Wales
  • Southern Scotland

Then we calculated the overall rankings by combining the rankings for each metric. We added the rankings for Minimum Temperature Average and Energy Cost for each city and ranked them accordingly, with lower total ranks indicating a higher overall ranking:

Overall Rankings:

Leeds (Rank for Temperature: 2, Rank for Energy Cost: 11, Total Rank: 13)
Glasgow (Rank for Temperature: 3, Rank for Energy Cost: 10, Total Rank: 13)
Manchester (Rank for Temperature: 4, Rank for Energy Cost: 6, Total Rank: 10)
Middlesbrough (Rank for Temperature: 1, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 20)
Edinburgh (Rank for Temperature: 5, Rank for Energy Cost: 10, Total Rank: 15)
Birmingham (Rank for Temperature: 9, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 28)
Stoke-On-Trent (Rank for Temperature: 6, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 25)
Belfast (Rank for Temperature: 7, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 26)
Bournemouth/Poole (Rank for Temperature: 8, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 27)
Reading (Rank for Temperature: 10, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 29)
Leicester (Rank for Temperature: 11, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 30)
Coventry (Rank for Temperature: 12, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 31)
Newcastle (Rank for Temperature: 13, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 32)
Sunderland (Rank for Temperature: 13, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 32)
Sheffield (Rank for Temperature: 14, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 33)
Brighton (Rank for Temperature: 15, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 34)
Cardiff (Rank for Temperature: 16, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 35)
Liverpool (Rank for Temperature: 17, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 36)
London (Rank for Temperature: 18, Rank for Energy Cost: 9, Total Rank: 27)
Southampton/Portsmouth (Rank for Temperature: 19, Rank for Energy Cost: 19, Total Rank: 38)

 

Based on the given metrics, the cities are ranked as follows, with the lower total rank indicating a higher overall ranking:
  1. Leeds and Glasgow (tied)
  2. Manchester
  3. Middlesbrough
  4. Edinburgh
  5. Birmingham
  6. Stoke-On-Trent
  7. Belfast
  8. Bournemouth/Poole
  9. Reading
  10. Leicester
  11. Coventry
  12. Newcastle and Sunderland (tied)
  13. Sheffield
  14. Brighton
  15. Cardiff
  16. Liverpool
  17. London
  18. Southampton/Portsmouth

“I want to say thanks and how fantastic the radiators look along with the cast quality and the excellent painting and polishing finish. I now can’t wait to get them installed! Many thanks again for all your help and assistance.”

“Thank you for all your help, we will definitely recommend Paladin to anyone we know who is looking for cast iron radiators and will get in touch when we’re needing radiators for our ground floor.”