How are people warm enough with their houses at 18 degrees?

[MrsBennetsPoorNerves]

My heating is set at 21, and I'm still cold!! But I keep reading on here that people have their heating set at 18.

I'm already wearing a jumper and fluffy socks. Sitting on the sofa with a blanket. I am OK with it at this temperature but feel that I should be trying to reduce it further.

Am I just a wuss?

18 degrees outside isn’t considered even near cold so… why would it inside?

I wouldn't just sit about at 18c outside. I'd get pretty cold quickly if I wasn't moving around.

To sit comfortably outside I like the temperature to by 23/24c ideally.

Inside I have it around 21/22c.

I've managed to be menopausal and still feel the cold. I wasn't moaning about the heat in the summer. But I'm slim and have low blood pressure which is probably the problem.

If your used to heating your house to a certain level then you do become accustomed to that temperature. Some people do feel cold easier then others but many can adjust up to a certain point.
I do wonder about how people who complain about the cold at this time of year get through the actual winter.
Have you tested the temperature in various rooms to see what temperatures your house is actually getting too.
In the past I have lived in poorly insulated homes and would feel the cold no matter what the temperature was set as.

The frost point on most combi boilers is 6-8° to stop pipes freezing. Never ever heard anyone suggest it should be 16°

It's not just about pipes freezing.
It's also to ensure your homes don't get damp, which leads to mould, etc.
And to keep the boiler and its systems running efficiently, which ensures the boiler's 'life' isn't reduced.

Modern boilers often have an auto setting too for water where it turns on itself if not been on at all for a couple of days or,so. Needs to be running for x amount of time in a set period to ensure it's all working properly and efficiently.

These aren't combi boilers though as we've never had a combi.

We have a boiler and a water tank system.

I do believe in natural climate change, but I am suspicious of the climate change narrative that we are being fed, that silences all of the scientists who disagree with that narrative. It reminds me of the covid narrative, and so I have no ‘climate guilt’ in whacking up my heating to whatever I feel comfortable at. Similarly to how I have no guilt driving a diesel car or eating meat.

The one thing that does put me off is cost, but fortunately I’ve built up over £600 credit with BG through the summer and that’s not taking into consideration the £400 from the Gov, so I’m hoping that I can live as I would normally throughout the winter.

I have realised that whilst this thread is interesting seeing what others do, it really bares no influence on how I choose to live.

@willowstar have you considered an oil filled radiator? I used to have one before I put the central heating in. It kept a reasonable sized living room toasty & didn't seem to cost a lot to run. More now obviously, but you can check out the useage before you buy one.

or a pair of heated boots? You could alternate with your heated throw.

I find a pair of socks and soft ankle boots (check out the boots on Wowcher £12.99 (blu/black/red with faux fur, my feet are toasty. Good for indoor and outdoor).

Yep. Child of the 50s. Coal fire downstairs, no heating upstairs other than one bar electric fires, used sparingly. My mother used to air our vests in front of the coal fire in the mornings and before we got dressed and you could see the damp steaming off them. Emersion heater only on as needed. No tumble dryers so on wet days, washing dried on wooden airers around the coal fire so the rest of the room would be cold. Damp pantries with mould on walls.

Cold part of the country, and no car, so a lot of trudging through wet and snow and waiting at bus stops for late buses in freezing temperatures until your toes had gone numb and chilblains would develop. School had ancient radiators but were so cold in winter we were permitted to keep our coats on in class.

In winter, milk bottles had several inches of ice on the top.

It was bloody miserable and I love my central heating and hot water. But now we are trying to acclimatise to lower room temperatures and wearing extra layers.

Why is it a problem to sit still? Maybe she doesn’t want to constantly keep moving and relax?

Im allergic to all animal fibres and polyester. I can only wear gloves/hats/wrist warmers for very short periods of time.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

no idea why you've picked on my post to make your point? I suggest knitting, hardly an Olympic sport or suggesting she's not busy enough & should be doing housework as many many others have - virtue signalling nonsense.

As my post wasn't aimed at you, I fail to see why your 'allergies' are at all relevant.

besides wearing 'animal fibre' over the top of man made fibres is very unlike to provoke any type of reaction. Not to mention those items in acrylic can be very warm too.

I’m a knitter too! But l can only use cotton or silk. Even that causes problem.

it’s just that everybody says wear wool this or that. And some of us can hardly wear anything.

I am anaemic, yes - have seen my GP about this. Is that likely to be what's making me feel the cold so much?

Yes, this is your answer. You're cold because you're anaemic

Do your radiators need bleeding maybe?

There’s no virtue in being ‘on the go’ all the time 😂. People are allowed to sit down and relax in their own homes. I have three young kids, one disabled and a full time job. I still like to sit on the sofa and relax in the evenings.

I don't think you are a wuss, OP. People feel cold and indeed heat differently.

I've in a modern flat, so minimal draughts, and windows only on one side. So I can manager at 18C whereas in an older property with higher ceilings, I doubt if I could.

@willowstar @TooMuchToDoTooLittleInclination

the cold legs when WFH really get to me too!

A few things that are helping: feet off the floor (I have a foot rest, but even a thick book would lift feet off floor)
Wearing joggers vs the thick leggings I wore previously (better at trapping air)
Leg warmers!! (Seriously work well - I gave it a try by sticking my legs through the arms of an old cardi to see if that actually helped before I bought some legwarmers 😂 They are for January!)
Blanket on lap is a given about 9 months of the year, a hot water bottle sometimes

Am going to experiment with a fleecy blanket on my chair and then electric blanket on top to….

I need to have a warm bottom half as I’m on calls a lot so can’t wear eg a fleece jacket!

I do have one of those oil filled radiators which I use to heat my small office room.

• I looked in the manual, it is 1500 w output, so that’s 1.5kw@28p each ie 41p an hour to run

I have a new (installed last year) boiler - wondering if it would be cheaper to run my CH but turn all the other radiators off?

Does anyone know?

Our house is currently 15.4 degrees. I'm always pottering about though so feel OK. I'm also wearing jeans, thick socks, hiking boots and a large thick polo neck jumper as I've been out walking the dog and will stay in these clothes.

I wont put the heating on tonight. We have throws for the sofa to settle in when we relax this evening. The teenagers complain but I ignore them 😁

I think it also had to do with the time of year. Only 6 weeks ago it was really hot and now it’s cooled down. If this was a March day and we’d all just been through a cold winter I suspect that 18 degrees would feel much warmer.

I’ve just discovered that dust mites ( which I’m very allergic to) die at 50% humidity.

We have a hydrograph. Last night our bedroom was 74% humidity. Party time for dust mites. 😭

When the heating is on, the humidity levels drop. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place

You can get plug-in dust mite killers. Not sure how you'd prove how effectively they work but for £20 on Amazon, might be worth a whirl?

That does sound cold! I can imagine your teens wanting it warmer

It’s also luck and location re temperature as it’s 19.4 here so I can easily talk about no heating, but it’s not so cold

Those plug in dust mites thing were crap!!! I bought one for every room and it made no difference😟

I didn’t know people who were keeping it so low. I put mine on at 27 for about 3-5 hours. Would usually be longer and i consciously haven’t put the fire on (yet)

27 degrees?!

Bloody hell.

I’m not sure humidity is uniform enough for that to hold up in practice. The humidity in the crevices that that they live in will not drop in the same way as your general room, I think.

@BeanStew22 Couldn't you wear a fine knit merino jumper or similar on your top half, wool blend suit jacket?