Visiting friends’ freezing cold houses

I came on to say, I hate going into people’s boiling hot houses!

But to be fair their house sounds a lot colder than mine. I like to think mine is a happy medium but then I would think that! I like a cool room to sleep in though.

OP, what were your hosts wearing?

Were they in similar clothes to you? Or bundled up in layers?

No one in my family feels the cold. I like my house at 18 or 18.5 . My sister’s house is colder.

But I wear a thermal long sleeved vest under a good wool sweater.

I put the heat up to an uncomfortable 21 if I have guests.

I think you have to invite them to yours in the winter, and go to theirs in the summer.

Our neighbours invite us and other neighbours around now and again. We've learnt to layer up keep a coat on and not stay too long. DH said no to going the other week. Invite everyone here at least we'll all be warm he said.

We don’t have our house any warmer than 18 as we’d much rather wear layers than feel too hot; I hate the feeling of my head being hot! We also have the heating totally off in the evening/ at night as the bedrooms hold the heat and are uncomfortable to sleep in otherwise (and we have DC in bed from 7pm). It’s nothing to do with money for us.

I've noticed this at a couple of my friends' houses this winter! The weather has been so bloody cold over the last month or so,my central heating has been on practically constantly when I'm at home. I turn it down to 18 at night but in the day it's on 20/21. In my defence,I have various health issues which are exacerbated by getting too cold. Both of these friends I visited admitted they hardly ever had the heating on because of the cost. I spent the entire visits with my coat on!

I run cold and if visiting other peoples houses in winter I always wear strategic layers in case they’re the kind of people who prefer their home in the chilly side. I take slippers sometimes!

We never heat our house higher than 19 degrees. I get a headache if I'm stuck in a stuffy house.

That doesn’t work when the air around you isn’t warm. I used to rent a room in a big house and they would only have the heating on for an hour in the morning and evening. It was miserable and I was always freezing.

I worked shifts too so if I missed those particular hours I’d have to sit freezing the rest of the day/night. Family bought me blankets/fleeces/onesies but, while they took the edge off a bit, it was still cold and horrible.

I have friends who keep their house cold. First time I stayed there I was unaware. The next time I stayed there I brought a heated hoodie, thermal joggers and furry boot slippers. I was just honest and said "I really feel the cold and you run hot so this is my solution." We all had a nice time then. I don't think they were offended. I hope not 😂

I keep my house thermostat at 16 degrees except for the bathroom where I keep it warmer with an electric towel rail. I am in and out all day long rushing about and any warmer it can feel too hot. However, if I have visitors I will always offer to turn the heating up for them.

I was feeling sympathetidc. And usually put the heating on before any guests come round.

But have just seen that all you tend to wear (even though it is January) is a t-shirt & jumper, and a pair of trousers. No wonder you're cold!

Most people I know routinely wear leggings or tights in the winter. And more than 2 layers on their top half. Why not add a vest, and another long-sleeved top, before you go out anywhere?

I'm assuming you drive everywhere. Those of us who spend more time/ work outdoors ( & walk/ cycle/ use public transport rather than going everywhere in a cosy car) probably dress up more warmly as a matter of course.

As a result of doing this, I usually find everyone's houses (even the ones with no heating turned on) fairly warm.

We keep our house around 15/16c. It’s not because we don’t have money (we have money, live in a very big house), it’s because this is a comfortable temperature for us. I can’t stand going to places where I feel like I’m going to pass out from the heat. I would put the heating on more for guests, but it’s never going to go above 18c (it’s an old farmhouse). I’m not offended if people don’t want to visit though. Happy to meet somewhere for a coffee instead. 🤷🏻‍♀️

You can condition yourself to colder temperatures if you are a healthy adult. When I go into a house that is at 20C it feels quite warm and I can easily live at 17C or lower.

However if I have guests I always turn the temperature up to a more standard temperature (18C-20C) because I want them to feel comfortable.

No one sensible really likes setting fire to £5 notes which is what excessive heating is.

I was at a party recently, and my feet were FREEZING on the wooden floor.

I looked around and realised people were all strategically standing on corners of rugs, or toys.

Everyone suffering but of course you can’t say anything!

Maybe they needed the cue of a coat?

If there's one thing I've learned on here it's that a lot of people genuinely don't realise they're at an extreme end of the temperature spectrum. People do have really significant preference variations, both ways. I could not bear my central heating to be 22 degrees for example, but I've learned from here that it's not an uncommon preference.

I pay £60 per month for heating (gas). Electricity is another £60. This is averaged over the year, I obviously pay more in the winter, less in the summer. Three bed terrace, 2 people.
I do have a 3 years old combi boiler, so perhaps that makes a difference

When the house is that cold and you are having drinks, think like a Slav and hit the vodka to keep warm.

Is that a joke? You're not seriously suggesting someone should need to wear six layers inside?

Reminds me of one Christmas Day at my ex IL's house with our very young children and exH saying to his mum 'I know you don't like to have the heating on but please, it's Christmas Day and it's actually warmer outside!'

Maybe they wanted you to go home 😂.

Did you say you were cold? I'd have asked to borrow a cardigan or thow.

I have a friend who I don't actually visit in the winter because her house is so cold that you can see your breath- I invite her to mine instead. She has plenty of money- her Dad passed away 4 years ago, leaving a sizeable inheritance. She doesn't work but claims PIP. Her outgoings are tiny.
The house is damp and smells musty all year round. The guttering is broken and water pours down the side of the house, and her garage roof has fallen in. But she won't pay out to get it fixed.

Oh there’s nothing worse than sitting in a friends house cold, it’s miserable. We have friends that set their thermostat to 15! If I say I’m cold they tell me it isn’t because the heating would come on if it was less than 15degrees! I refuse to take the kids now as it’s not pleasant at all. They have a dog and I always feel so sorry for it as it must be freezing. My friends are very overweight do I guess they just don’t feel the cold.

If it’s freezing stop going round, meet at a nice warm pub instead.

We have relatives like this. They’re both working adults with good careers, lovely 4 bedroom new build house that should be relatively efficient for heating and yet it’s freezing cold. No only that they have stark white LED lights so it’s literally like sitting in a fridge. How anyone can live in such a cold environment is beyond me.

Sounds like you could do with a thermal vest and socks.

OP do you have a Victorian house? We have a big draughty victorian house and it costs a fortune to heat. Seriously. Our gas and electricity is £4-600 a month as a minimum. One month last winter was £770 for gas. And our kitchen is still 15c a lot of the time. Don't assume they are not putting the heating on or not spending, they easily might be.

Also agree with PP that people wildly overheat their houses. My PIL have their house constantly heated to 23c or more and complain all the time about how cold it is while everyone else has stripped down to their vests and is sweating. It's bizarre.