Heating on or off when WFH

[Teachymummy]

I'm WFH (studying) today and looking for what most people do with regards to heating when WFH. It's just me rattling round in the house until 3pm.

Heating has been on 2 hours already and I've just turned it off and it's 14 degrees inside (-1 outside).

I want to leave it on all day tbh but it's so expensive (large house). No working thermostat so we manually turn it on and then off again.

Currently wearing a vest, dress, thermal tights, normal socks, slipper socks, slippers, a cardigan and oodie. And hot water bottle and flask of herbal tea. But I'm cold!

Got internal doors closed and curtains open to let the sun in.

Is it just one of those things that Is part of WFH having to put heating on?

I could drive to college and work there but it gets noisy in the library and then there's the cost of fuel and parking. Plus roads are like an ice rink here

I have the hive and played around with different settings last year. I actually used more the days I switched it off when it was just me than leaving on all the time it on the thermostat. It took more energy to reheat the house than just maintaining.

I just have a small electric heater in my office which is a small 2x3m room which I put on for a burst occasionally. New build so the house holds the heat well so it's not horrifically cold, then I turn the heating on about 4pm when everyone else will soon be home. We can afford it but it feels so wasteful heating a whole house just for me.

I just have the heating on all the time (set at 20). My office is in a garage conversion and lately I’ve been needing an oil filled radiator in there as well. There’s lots of schools of thought that it’s cheaper/no more expensive to heat a house to a set temperature all the time (though we do have it off overnight). No idea if this is true but I also had it on all last winter and managed to build up a huge credit on my account (they’ve just refunded me £500!). So I’m not concerned, but spending all day in a freezing tomb of a house is totally grim and heating it definitely costs less than commuting, so it’s a no brainer.

We turn off rads in rooms that are not in use anyway. Eg after we're up in the morning at weekends we turn off rads in bedrooms all day and turn back in at dinner time ready for bed. We've got one large drafty reception room that doesn't get a lot of use, but swallows heat - only turn them on in there if we're going to use it that day. (this by itself seems to have put a significant dent in gas bill). So I just extend the principle if I'm working at home, I have the boiler running but with rads on only in the kitchen and study.

People always say this but what would you do if you lived alone? Never have it on?

Well 2 things; firstly, I suspect most people who live alone live in smaller more proportional homes, my mum lives in a small 2 bed, of course she puts it on (yes I know some will live in big houses and probably don't think about it). Ours is a large family sized home so why would I heat all our bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms, multiple reception rooms etc when I am just in my office all day?

Secondly; the difference is working from home. My mum WFH but she rations her heating, she may well have had it on all the time she was home when she worked out the house, but she chooses to only heat the room she's in for working as similarly to me why heat the whole house when in one room all day.

I know it is a bit of a pain but really wouldn't take long to turn the radiators down or off in rooms you are not using, and close the doors, but have them on where you are working and the kitchen, toilet, etc. It also wouldn't take long to turn them on again. I turn mine on and off, up and down, all the time but wouldn't be without it and 14 deg is not warm enough.

Heated blanket I cannot reccomend it enough it's been such a life saver for me and cheaper to run than anything else. Top up with a small heater if you want to be super toasty.

My office is the tiniest bedroom. I can't work if I am cold, so I have a small electric heater on whenever I need it.

I just got these from Sainsbury’s, they are amazing. I think if I wore leggings underneath I would be really toasty.

tuclothing.sainsburys.co.uk/product/tuc144212344

@Blackhorse32 Agree. Similar cost to maintain temp so why not have it on?