Duvet Tog Rating Explained
What is it?
The tog rating is measure of a thermal insulator (its resistance to heat loss) or in plain english how much warmth is retained and thus how warm you are going to feel.
Generally expressed in steps of 1.5, from a cool 1.5 (cool) to 16.5 (extra warn), i.e.
| warmth: | Cooler | Warmer | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tog: | 1.5 | 3 | 4.5 | 6 | 7.5 | 9 | 10.5 | 12 | 13.5 | 15 | 16.5 |
What TOG rating do I need?
Body temperature can influence the quality of sleep, so for a good nights sleep you should compensate for the season of the year aiming to stay in 'your' comfortable temperature zone.
The average rough guide for selecting a duvets tog rating is thus:
| Season | tog |
|---|---|
| Summer | 3 - 4.5 |
| Spring/Autumn | 7 - 10.5 |
| Winter | 12 - 13.5 |
Other considerations
- A duvet cover will increase the effective tog rating.
- Do you wear pyjamas or not.
- Do you have central heating on in bedroom over night during cold periods.
- Or do you like leave a window open, maybe all year round.
- Do you feel the cold or are you always warm regardless.
Top Tip
Cover all the season with just two duvets, a low and medium tog duvet and use them like so:
- Summer - use the low tog
- Spring/Autum - use the medium tog
- Winter - use both together to achieve a combined high tog
Useful infomation
- A given duvet tog value is a minimum, the actual value can be up to 3 tog higher.
- Synthetic materials tend to trap moisture which acts to cool you. Where as natural materials, like wool tend to 'wick' away moisture keeping you warmer.
- Do not confuse tog with weight - weight does not correlate with a high tog, good insulators work by trapping air and thus tend to be light and/or fluffy.
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