A fifth of householders crank up the heat to 27C all year round – while a quarter of men admit to arguing over the thermostat

As I stare out of the office window dreaming of life in the Caribbean, it seems some householders are already creating part of that fantasy at home by lounging about in year-round temperatures of 27C.

According to research by Eon, one in five households in Britain are basking in temperatures equivalent to those on the Copacabana – which seems particularly amazing when you consider the current cost of heating a home.

Eon polled 2,000 householders in February, a month when most people dream of being in sunny climes, and found that compared with their parents' generation, 25- to 34-year-olds are four times more likely to lounge in temperatures of 27C or above. Really? A quick straw poll of those around tells a different story, with the Guardian Consumer team keeping their homes heated at a typical 19 degrees. We obviously have a tighter grip on our collective purse strings (or are a bit older than 25-34).

The research did seem sadly slightly more accurate in another area. It claims the "thermo-spat, (a PR person's ingenious term for the battle for the thermostat) is cited as fuelling arguments in over half of all households. Just under a quarter of men admit to bickering with their other halves over demands to turn the heating up apparently. That struck a chord around the Consumer desk, with one colleague admitting that he and his wife spend a lot of time turning the thermostat up or down half a degree when the other was out of the room.

Does any of this ring true in your household? Do you sit around in your pants (2% of those surveyed) with the heating cranked up to Caribbean temperatures, or are you more concerned with the size of your bills and sit around in layers of clothing? Do you argue with your other half over the temperature at home – and if so, who wins?