Coping without heating

[Frio]

I’m seriously impressed by the people on the central heating thread who are surviving indoor temperatures of 14-16 Celsius. I really struggle physically and mentally with the cold.

My boiler has fritzed its circuit board and is utterly dead, any tips for managing until I can get it repaired? I have a couple of plug in oil filled radiators, plenty of sweaters and blankets but it’s the psychological impact that is the worst. How do I toughen up?

When you say fried the circuit board has it blown the fuse? Can you reset it and see if it blows again? Check for water getting onto the electrics? Check any error messages that might be displayed. Check the pressure is in the right range, there are quite a few things you can check and potentially fix yourself, just with the available controls, not suggesting boiler surgery.

Wear a hat, a balaclava in extremis.
Hot water bottle with padded cover, fake fur onesie, " dressing gown.

I think you just get used to it. Humans are very adaptable and just get used to stuff. You can get used to a colder house or a warmer one.

I don’t wear shorts outside in the height of summer, so I can assure you I’m not doing that…

SE and had the heating on last night. I don't tolerate being cold. Lots of blankets and hot water bottles if you can't get it on.

Depends where you live, surely you can understand that!

Do you have a hot water bottle OP? or quickly get a dog to keep you warm 😂.

@Frio

theres your silver lining!!

I think a large part of the issue is knowing you can't put on the heating. It feels much colder then.

when I bought this place it didn't have CH, I had an oil filled radiator which heated up one room, but I dreaded going to any of the other rooms!

How would you be placed to get an interest free deal or credit card & see to it now before they get manically busy repairing/replacing boilers, there's probably a few deals to be had before October starts.

i recommend Worcester Bosch and their annual plan. It's about £18 & includes an annual service & a really good repairs service.

It was 12 degrees in my house today. The heating went on.

I’m not suffering in my own home, maybe others are made of stronger stuff than me.

I don’t know, it’s completely dead. I checked the main fuse board thing and no switches have tripped. Power is going in, there’s a green light where the cable goes into a box but the LCD panel on the boiler itself is blank. Resetting hasn’t helped.

We used to have the thermostat set to 21/22°c before the energy prices shot up. Last year we set it to 19 and gradually reduced to 17 °C , at first we felt cold, but we learned to adapt. We all have an official Oodie and they are worth the money, they keep you warm, paired with a thick pair of fluffy socks.

Not ideally placed, but might be able to cobble something together. An insurance policy moving forward would be an excellent idea, thanks.

Personal theormostat and location has a lot do with it. I am in London and am currrently happily cooking in a t shirt and jeans with bare feet with the back door open. We've not had the heating on at all yet and it is 20 degrees inside.

I also grew up without any central heating so am pretty hardy. That said, the central goes on as soon as I feel cold and I would not be without it - I am no heating martyr.

It's not that cold at the moment, and we have a cold house with a north facing living room.
We've used the small oil heater once or twice in the living room, but usually just a blanket is fine.

I am also one of those awful fidgety people - I don't do a whole lot of sitting down!

I don’t even wear shorts and t shirts in Spain in the height of summer, far less in the UK!

Perhaps your house is well insulated. It went down to 17 in our lounge overnight, and several degrees cooler than that in our bedroom. The double glazing is shot and we need to get it replaced. Meanwhile...

I wear my dressing gown over my clothes, like an old time house coat. Fluffy or thick socks over ordinary socks. When our heating stopped working a couple of years ago I used a wool hat.

@Frio

its not an insurance policy, it's their 'cover'. It has a really good repairs allocation & includes an annual service which new boilers need you have done to keep the warranty going.

They're good boilers too!

Depends where you live. DS is South East England, never has heating on. I am Scotland. Brrrrrrrr. I do like it warm and anything below 18 in my house feels cold for sitting.

If i am busy, it can go down to 14 or so.

@Frio that's your answer then! If you don't even wear shorts and t shirts ehen it is over 30 degrees, you clearly feel the cold more than the average bear!

I've found my Oodie is the best money I've ever spent. I love it.

We're on an old property on the East coast, Scotland and it's feeling cold inside tonight, we'll have heating on.

It’s currently 8 degrees here and 16 in the house except the living room where the wood stove is. I wear men’s fleecy pyjamas and bed socks and take a hot water bottle,but waking up to go to the loo in the night is getting to be uncomfortable.

I'm sitting here in shorts and t-shirt. It's only September.