What’s the optimum way to have the heating on

[UatuTheWatcher]

On the back of another thread I've realised just how expensive our heating is. £200 a month at the moment. We are clearing some debt and will switch when cleared. But it will always be fairly high as I live in an old cottage that is spread sideways up a hill and although is only on two floors is actually on four floors with the way the stairs are configured to reach all rooms. The front half is 1800s, the middle is 1600s and there is a 1950s single storey extension as well. All the rooms have sash windows.

There are five of us, 3 teens and 2 adults. One teen has SN and wets the bed still and has multiple changes of clothes so our washing machine is always on.

Last year we had the heating on a timer to go on and off for a few hours morning and evening. This year we have put the heating on constant with the thermostat set at around 18. In November it was set at 15 and I turned it up in December when it got a bit colder. I have been nudging it up a bit more in the evening the last couple of days but it’s been a lot colder and I’ve put it back to 18 when we go to bed.

I’m hoping that this will reduce our bills a little as the house should be kept at a constant temperature and not use as much as the heating having to heat up a cold house twice a day.

My friend says I’m doing it wrong and should have it on timer to reduce bills. She’s in a modern house that was built five years ago.

Should add I’m disabled and am home all day and hate being cold.

Sorry for the long post but who is right and what is the best way to have the heating on. We so need to reduce our gas and electric this year.

If you’re at home all day you can ignore the constant vs timed hearing as you need it on. Unless you’re only in one room then turn it to times and use a fan heater. 18 at night is way to high.
Portable electric throws are your friend. They get super hot super quick

Have you asked your energy supplier whether you qualify for a warm home payment? It's applied as a credit to your account and is discretionary so even if you don't meet the advertised criteria they may still award it if they think your circumstances warrant it, with you saying you have some health issues I think you should ask them about it.

We spend £80 a month on gas/electricity combined, three bed 1950s semi with two adults and four DC.

www.argos.co.uk/product/7074572
This is awesome.

I have my heating on constant and control it with the thermostat. At the moment I turn it down to 10 overnight because it's quite cold now but up until a few weeks ago it was off completely overnight. During the day I have it dialled down to 0 if I'm out and 20 if I'm home then if it's chilly in the evening I put it up to 25. I have EDS and sometimes struggle to regulate my body temperature so when I'm feeling cold, which doesn't always correspond to the actual room temperature, I blast it up to 30 until I stop shivering!

@JassyRadlett, I'll turn the radiators down in the teens rooms as they are always saying it is too warm. Also the bathroom and the kitchen ones as well.

@CanSurvive, I generally live in the bedroom, lounge and kitchen when on my own. I'll add electric throws to my list for after Christmas. That Argos one looks lush.

@EwItsAHooman, we are on the lowest tariff and I have applied for the Warm House thingy as I am on high level PIP. I've been told that I should hear sometime this month if we qualify for it and we will be paid it in March time. Is there anyway to appeal if we are refused?

I'm so sorry to hear about the EDS it's bloody horrible being cold and I sympathise.

I’ve been leaving mine set at 15C at night/when out so it only comes on when house temp drops lower than that. Means you don’t have that long chilly wait for house to warm up from nothing. When we’re home
I’ve been putting it to 18-20C and dropping it back to 15 once all rooms are warm.

Personally I leave my radiator low so my bedroom is cooler but my dd likes it warmer.

@UatuTheWatcher it’s honestly worth it. Sometimes with illness o feel cold to my core and no amount of putting the thermostat up or extra blankets helps. I need active heating at that point. This is big enough to squeeze two people under or use as a single over you in bed. It’s also machine washable! Honestly it’s been life changing for me and getting a second one so don’t have to carry it up and down stairs. No more hot water bottles, it’s also hot enough to use as a heat pack for necks etc or has a timer and 5 different tempt settings and a boost.

I got my DD a single electric blanket for just under £18, if your DH is too warm just get a single for your side of the bed. I'd also get separate duvets, you can get a warmer one.
If you are sitting about a lot during the day you can sit on the electric blanket too, I had to do it when ill and my heating was broken.

Well I put the thermostat down to 15 last night and when I woke this morning it was so cold I couldn’t function. DH put the thermostat up to 18 and it’s taken two hours for the house to reach a temperature I’m comfortable with and I still feel cold and pain in my back and extremities but can sort of function. So I’ve just walked the thermostat up to 25 in the hopes that the temperature in the house can even out and I can put it down again. Sorry I’m such a wimp folks.

So I’ve just walked the thermostat up to 25 in the hopes that the temperature in the house can even out and I can put it down again
Turning the thermostat up doesn't make it heat up faster.

I just need the house to be back at an ambient temperature so that I can function each day.

Turning the thermostat up doesn't make it heat up faster.

But it's amazing how many people think it does.

Sorry am I being stupid. The house is now toasty and I’ve taken the thermostat back down to 18 and I am feeling comfortable.

OP, would you be better off having the radiator on a timer to come on an hour before you wake, rather than turning it down overnight? If you get a decent winter duvet it might avoid that cold few hours first thing.

So you are saying that it is better to have the heating system on timer to come on and go off at certain times?

I am warm enough under the summer duvet, woollen blanket and winter duvet, its the getting out of bed into a cold room I have problems with. Putting the thermostat down over night meant that the house got really cold and took hours to heat up again to a temperature which I was comfortable with.

So I guess I've answered my own question about what to do about my heating even if it doesn't save me money.

So you are saying that it is better to have the heating system on timer to come on and go off at certain times?

If you have a timer, then yes, it's better to leave the thermostat at a temperature you find comfortable, then set the timer to make the heating go on and off when you need it (taking into account the amount of time you need to heat up the house from cold in the morning).

If you have a timer you could have set it to come on an hour before you get out of bed and then it wouldn't have been so cold. Ours goes on at 6am after being off overnight

Rather than having it on day and night, why not set it to come on an hour or so before you get up and then go off when you go to bed. Ours is on 6-10am and 5-10pm. I'll boost it in the day if required and then it's of overnight

Off*

If you want to run your heating 24x7, fine. But don't then complain that your bills are high.

Putting the thermostat down over night meant that the house got really cold and took hours to heat up again to a temperature which I was comfortable with.

It feels like your house is a cold one/poor insulation if it’s taking that long to warm up from 16 to 18 degrees? Do you keep your doors open or closed in rooms with radiators? If it’s taking that long for the house to heat up a couple of degrees then turning it off overnight may not be practical for you with your health issues. I would look further at how to keep more heat in your house though - that’s quite unusual.

Our heating comes on at 5.30am, by 6.30am it has warmed the house up to the thermostat level (19 degrees). The hallways are colder but the main rooms just right. 1920s brick semi with no cavity walls but with double glazing and good roof insulation. Our previous place was Victorian with huge single-plate windows, we had to invest in really heavy curtains to keep the heat in at night.

I am surprised so many people keep their heating on overnight. I have never done this in my life. I keep it at about 20 degrees when I am in the house during the day and it's cold, but the heating in this house keeps switching itself off even when it's cold in the living room . Its very annoying. I keep having to turn it up, then turn it down and fiddle with the radiator thermostats. I don't know what the issue is.

Me too owl, Ive never kept it on overnight unless, by accident.

I've never kept the heating on overnight, unless it's -10 in the middle of a cold snap, to prevent the pipes from freezing.

What I do to keep warm - wrap up indoors. Either vest top, long sleeve T shirt, then either thick woolie jumper or thin jumper + gilet. I often wear a woolie hat, snood and fingerless gloves at home. I then put the heating on, to the mid - high teens. Insulate the house, get draught excluders, glazing film/bubble wrap over windows if single glazed. Get a dual control electric underblanket (much better than heated duvets). If you & partner have differing duvet needs, do the scandinavian system of having two single duvets on a double bed.