I'm so bored of being cold!

[Allmyfavouritepeople]

Usually a lurker on the hot chocolate cosy threads but I'm so so so bored of being cold.

I don't know what has happened to our house but it feels like there is constantly a window open. Anyone have any ideas of what to look for? (I have checked all the windows are shut 😂)

The olive oil has actually gone cloudy in the kitchen due to how cold it is so need to do something.

What sort of heating do you have and where do you live? I'm in London (so not the coldest part of the UK) and we've had our central heating on all day for the past several weeks. I can't bear being cold indoors. But I know we're lucky to be able to afford that. We do have a lot of draughty areas in the house.

Check your rads?
Check your boiler had good pressure?

Maybe turn up your boiler heat out put

Do you have fireplaces in your house?

I feel the cold every year but this yr is worse bec I feel especially trapped in house; leaving home means being freezing (no excuses to go to shops).

-Currently warm enough wearing... leggings, jeans, 3 prs socks, 2 shirts, hoody, very thick wooly jumper, ski-neck buff, arm warmers, fingerless gloves -- while in bed with hot water bottle on my feet. room Temp is about 18 I guess, but I still get cold if I don't move around much, and the only thing to do at home to keep moving is fucking cleaning.

You need to buy a heated throw - game changer

Gas central heating in the North West.

We have the heating on at set times as there's no thermostat control but we've always done this. I prefer a colder house and don't want to have it on all the time but this is getting ridiculous.

Our elderly next door neighbour moved out 18 months ago and we did notice it was cooler last year so I wonder if we are really missing the heat from next door but I wouldn't have thought it would have made such a difference. We have new neighbours who presumably still have heating on some of the time.

@Tangledtresses

Do you have fireplaces in your house?

Yes one that isnt used. It's blocked up with pillows and an electric standalone heater is in front of it. There could definitely be a draught coming from there but that's actually one of the warmer rooms.

Radiators are hot. Bled them in the summer. Think we are losing the heat we have from more than place.

Yes one that isnt used. It's blocked up with pillows and an electric standalone heater is in front of it

Could you not use the actual fire you have blocked with pillows?

Put a scarf on. Makes so much difference!

I’d switch and do continuous heat throughout the day at a lower temperature. This saves energy and also keeps the house feeling more comfortable.

The neighbours' heat makes a huge difference. I used to live in a mid terrace between 2 retired couples. I had my gas off because of a leak, no worries I was warm enough. The leak had been stopped in the wrong place and they both had their gas off when mine was back on, I had to turn my thermostat up, I was freezing with all the heat leaching next door! Your heat will be disappearing to their house!

@ZeroFuchsGiven

Yes one that isnt used. It's blocked up with pillows and an electric standalone heater is in front of it

Could you not use the actual fire you have blocked with pillows?

It was a gas fire that's been removed and left a hole rather than a nice fireplace. Theoretically we could get the chimney flue cleaned etc but not in budget really.

@Ninkanink

I’d switch and do continuous heat throughout the day at a lower temperature. This saves energy and also keeps the house feeling more comfortable.

Dumb question but is that possible without a thermostat control? Outing myself as being clueless but our heating is just off or on. I wouldn't know how to put it on low.

@Love51 Just another reason to miss my old neighbour then!

I guess it depends on the boiler/heating system, but if there isn’t a way to determine heat levels on the boiler itself I would use the radiators, so if you normally run them at top number for 2 lots of 2 hours a day, for example, try turning them down to mid number and leaving them on all day until early evening. It’s difficult to say exactly but there should be a sweet spot where it’s comfortable enough but not too hot and doesn’t cost too much to run.

(You’d need to try it for a month or so and see how much it costs, of course. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful but I’m trying to remember what I did years ago in a house where I was having the same issue. However my boiler definitely had a ‘low’ and ‘high’ setting.)

You might be able to get a thermostat fitted undef the Green Homes Grant (look up 'heating controls'). Common places for cold sit to het in/eamr air lost are around skirtings snd yhrough floorboards, behind kitchen cupboards (holes made for pipes, drains etc) under stairs, and through loft hatches. Assume you have decent loft insulation (about 8" not just a thin layer) and double glazing? All those make a difference too.

Found a big gap under the kitchen door so that's one thing I can fix.

Many thanks for all your help everyone. Some things to look into here that I hadn't considered.

Great stuff, hope you manage to make it a bit warmer

Make sure your bed is warm enough and has enough blankets on it. Sometimes you don't feel cold in bed, but actually are cold when you're asleep. That can make you feel residually chilly the next day!!

Make sure your bed is toasty-warm, warmer than you think you need (you can always stick bits of you out of it if you overheat.)

Alternatively, you've become old overnight which is why you're feeling every last draught

@JovialNickname

Alternatively, you've become old overnight which is why you're feeling every last draught

Haha quite possibly! Good tip about being residual chilly. That makes a lot of sense as I can't seem to get warm some days.