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What do you set your heating at?

215 replies

amibeingaknob · 13/10/2025 15:16

Please settle an argument with me and my mother.

What do you set your heating at? Is it different in the day and the night?

Just trying to gauge what the 'norm' is here. We are South East (not that that makes any difference - temp is temp).

For me - 20 in the day, 17 at night. My boyfriend (who lives with me) is 22 day, 19 night so its gone up - I wouldn't want him feeling the cold.

My mother thinks a house that is 14 is perfectly reasonable, and not on at all at night. She rarely puts in on. This worries me desperately as father has had pneumonia and they are in their mid 70s. She is convinced I, and 'my generation' are wussies, and heating is bad for you, and they are normal and I 'feel the cold more than most'.

I guess I want to prove to her that that last line is inaccurate, and she puts her bloody heating on this winter, as I am super anxious about their health (particularly my dad). On a selfish note, I loathe going round there as I sit shivering, whilst being given a blanket and told 'oh dear, you do feel the cold don't you'. Like Im some sort of alien. The offer of heating is never there, and when it is put on, it is with much complaint, and mum performance huffing and fanning of brow. Ugh. Drives me nuts.

OP posts:
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EveryDayisFriday · 05/01/2026 20:45

6am 19°c
9am 18°c
4pm 19
7pm 17°c

Min temps all year round.

RedRiverShore5 · 05/01/2026 20:44

clarrylove · 05/01/2026 20:32

Makes no difference what your thermostat is set at. If the heating is on, it hasn't reached that temperature. What temperature does your house actually reach?

Exactly, my thermostat could be set at 30, it would still only be 16-18 in some parts of the house. It's set at 20 in the hall and hasn't clicked off all day.

RestartingForNY · 05/01/2026 20:38

Oh wow - I keep at 21 day and night - no wonder my toddler always wants to run around in his nappy… 😔

BigOldBlobsy · 05/01/2026 20:34

20 all day, sometimes up to 22 at our house day or night
my parents do 22-23, sometimes 24/25, it’s roasting at theirs !!

if heating isn’t on, and you don’t have a drier, how else are people drying clothes without rads on.?!

clarrylove · 05/01/2026 20:32

Makes no difference what your thermostat is set at. If the heating is on, it hasn't reached that temperature. What temperature does your house actually reach?

rebeccachoc · 05/01/2026 20:30

I'm not going to read all pages but I think I'll win at 26 (apart from between 10pm and 2am, we aren't mad lol). My mum is older and feels the cold so she deserves all the comfort she can get in her old age.

JWhipple · 05/01/2026 20:23

Neveranynamesleft · 13/10/2025 15:18

Why would you have the heating on at night when you are in bed ??

Because it's cold?? Different houses are at different temperatures??

PrincessSakura · 05/01/2026 20:20

21.5 during the day, off at night.

Overthemhills · 21/10/2025 19:30

I prefer a “fresh” air throughout the entire day, windows only closed at night. I’d probably never put the heating on until December/Jan and then no higher than 18.5 but my DD is seriously disabled and cannot walk - her little legs have been absolutely freezing in the last couple of weeks so DH agreed (he was reluctant) to put it on to 19 (the temp says 17 or 18 but it feels colder sometimes).
We have a bungalow which easily gets warm (too much for menopausal me) but also can get very draughty if I open the back door and a window anywhere in the house.
As DD is prone to chest infections, or was when she was younger, I’m paranoid about her not being warm enough.
Plus.. given that the most she sleeps is 7 hours- being warm makes her more tired!

user1476613140 · 21/10/2025 19:21

22C day and night. Draughty house. Need heating on to dry clothes.

CasperGutman · 21/10/2025 19:20

Didntask · 21/10/2025 18:17

Yes, they are. Celsius is just a modern version of the word Centigrade.

It was known as the centigrade (=100 steps or graduations or degrees) scale before 1948, when the the International Committee for Weights and Measures renamed it in honour of Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius. Now obviously 1948 is very recent, so some of us haven't entirely caught up yet! 🤭

Didntask · 21/10/2025 18:17

carpedaim · 21/10/2025 17:45

They're the same aren't they?

Yes, they are. Celsius is just a modern version of the word Centigrade.

carpedaim · 21/10/2025 17:45

Nannyfannybanny · 21/10/2025 17:01

It's Celsius, not centigrade

They're the same aren't they?

Nannyfannybanny · 21/10/2025 17:01

It's Celsius, not centigrade

camleylife · 16/10/2025 20:28

It would be good to know, the controls you use on the RADS for specific room temps?

notthatoldchestnut · 16/10/2025 20:14

Around 17-19 during the day here. Always off at night. It never gets below 14 even when it’s at its coldest in our house but we are well insulated. I think 14 is far too low for daytime.
your mum is right that too much central heating isn’t good for you. It dries the air and makes me feel unwell

MidnightMeltdown · 16/10/2025 19:07

19 or 20 during the day, depending on how much I’m moving. Off at night. I can’t stand sleeping in a heated house. I like the room to be cool at night.

coxesorangepippin · 16/10/2025 18:44

Ours is at 21

Glittertwins · 16/10/2025 14:18

Each room has its own setting during the day, depending on who is in the house. We tend to have it around 18c when everyone is around, usually only at the weekend.
The bedrooms are set to 16.5 at night. One bedroom gets quite bad condensation so having it a bit warmer helps. Downstairs and unoccupied bedrooms are cooler.

TotallyAddictedToCoffee · 16/10/2025 13:16

Off

😂

millymollymoomoo · 16/10/2025 13:06

19-21 day, 15 at night

Agrumpyknitter · 16/10/2025 13:06

We’re down south so we have it on for 45 mins in the morning and then for an hour to an hour and a half in the evening. I turn it off after 8pm as it’s too hot to sleep. When it gets much colder I will
have it on for longer but not too much at night. We fall and stay asleep better when the bedroom is cooler.

MrsSkylerWhite · 16/10/2025 13:03

Allseeingallknowing · 13/10/2025 15:20

Below 16 centigrade you’re at risk of respiratory disease, according to official figures. Our is set at 18 downstairs, 16 upstairs.

There was research last year that sleeping at around 14 helps prevent certain forms of dementia.

mummymissessunshine · 16/10/2025 13:01

From the internet….
How warm should a home be? Health experts recommend that during cold weather spells, and for people aged 65 years or more, a healthy home – day and night – should be at least 18 degrees centigradealthough, in living areas, a higher temperature of 21 degrees centigrade might be more comfortable.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keep-warm-keep-well-leaflet-gives-advice-on-staying-healthy-in-cold-weather/top-tips-for-keeping-warm-and-well-this-winter#:~:text=especially%20from%20asthma.-,Keep%20your%20home%20warm,warmer%20than%20one%20thicker%20layer

Didntask · 16/10/2025 13:00

16 minimum. Heating is on all day (we're home most days), but i often crank it up manually to 22/24 in the evenings. I like being cosy.

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