The British have only been heating their living rooms in the winter for a long long time.
Most British homes did not have central heat until recently and Brits often had their meals in front of the coal or electric fire in their sitting room, often the sitting room and kitchen were combined. This is still true for outlying areas.
I did not know that. Thanks for the info!
Not really. Most homes, in all parts of the UK, are now centrally heated, and for decades now all new housing has been centrally heated. Where the British housing stock is still deficient, in comparison with the standards elsewhere in northern Europe, is in insulation. Although insulation standards in new build are now much higher than they were, in much older housing it's still woeful, and a high proportion of the energy used in heating is wasted.
Most British homes have had central heating since the 1950’s/60’s.
All new homes since the 60’s have been built with central heating. So we have had it in almost every home for over 40-50 yrs.