What's the big deal about heating???

[2boyzNosleep]

So, NOT including financial issues, why is putting on the heating a huge issue?

After reading some recent threads regarding heating, it's got me thinking.

If you can afford it, why do people refuse to put heating on as long as possible? Why purposefully suffer in a freezing cold house? We all know that living in the cold is detrimental to our health, so personally I'd rather stick the heating on and be comfortable and healthy and an higher energy bill, than save money, freezing & be more susceptible to illness.

I'm on a fixed tariff so I pay the same amount each month for energy based on an estimate. Usually the estimate is well over what we use and we end up getting money back, so we're not shocked by a massive quarter bill to try and pay. Not sure if that's part of it?

Again, just to be clear, I'm not talking about people who are really suffering with paying bills, cost of living etc.

Lucky you.

NOT including financial issues its no problem at all to have the heating on all day, full blast.
Those pesky financial issues though.....

Perhaps people have

• environmental concerns
• fed up with the huge profits of energy companies
• dislike the type of dry heat pushed out by central heating.

Who knows. I don't put it on a lot tbh, I prefer fresh air.

I don't think those people really exist OP.

People who are cold and can afford to put the heating...put the heating on.

The only exception is maybe elderly people who are worried financially where they don't really need to be/have a wartime mentality.

The issue is usually the cost. Possibly also environmental considerations. Most houses in the UK are heated with gas and the more you use, the greater your contribution to climate change.

Posters on MN like to brag they still have all the windows open and no heating on even if it's -10 outside.Usually posted with a sneer at anyone who could possibly be cold in mid winter.

There are frequent threads on here in the colder months about people, often parents, who can afford heating but don't use it. There's one now with the father refusing while the mother is shivering, and the OP has said it's not financial. So it's an interesting question, especially in the context of a group who have higher heating needs than the average.

I say this as someone who likes quite a cold house.

Exactly, there are people who, because of their own history, always have a fear of running up bills even if they can afford to. Their frugality is ingrained.

I don't think many of those people exist. The reason you're seeing so many posts is that a large proportion - I'd now say more than 50 per cent - of the country find energy bills a huge strain on their personal finance and unlike council tax or (mostly) the cost of food, it's one they can directly reduce by just consuming less.

And also what @ForPearlViper said. Even for those who can afford it, in this economy they may feel like they can't

Definitely ingrained frugality, which has possibly led to people getting used to the cold and not feeling it as much as people who are used to keeping their homes at a warmer temperature.

It's not something that directly affects me because I come from a long line of mining families so I grew up on coal fired central heating powered by the free/cheap coal allowance that the mine workers received. We were lucky enough to have room to store it and it lasted for years after DF stopped working in the mines. And even when we converted to gas heating, DM and other relatives have always heated their homes adequately.

If people are happy with a cooler home that's fine. But if they feel they should turn it up a bit and they can afford it, they should, it's not wasteful as long as they've not turned it up to 25C so they can sit around in shorts and t shirt comfortably.

Plus if they want to heat their homes but genuinely can't afford it, they should seek help on this if they are older or otherwise vulnerable as they're a lot of support available to people who qualify - pension credit which is also required now to qualify for the winter fuel allowance is massively underclaimed and can be worth thousands of pounds a year. Plus other grants from energy suppliers and charities.

A starting point for older relatives would be trying to ensure they keep their home in the healthy range (above 19 C in the daytime?) and if they start complaining about the cost - mention possible support available if relevant. Or to just fucking pay it out of their massive final salary pensions if more appropriate

I'm on a fixed tariff so I pay the same amount each month for energy based on an estimate.

That’s not what a fixed tariff. I would be very surprised if you have an unlimited energy tariff as they are rare in the uk.
It’s a fixed unit price, not a fixed total cost. If you use lots units it will cost more.

It's all about mentality. We're constantly told we have to save money and made to feel guilty if we're not cutting back on this, that and the other.

My grandparents sit in the cold and dark until they can't bare it anymore, because that's how they were brought up during the war. They are very very very comfortable financially now, they both get pensions and spend only a fraction of them each month, yet they won't make their house comfortable. It's absolutely infuriating. Even more so because they regularly give me and my brother money when we visit, to help us keep the heating on! I'd rather they put THEIR heating on!

I do think a lot of people have little understanding of tariffs and their bills, so when they see scaremongering headlines they panic thinking if they have the heating on for a few hours it will be the financial ruin of them.

A recent thread had a poster claiming she was worrying about hosting a friend for a few days as she declared this would cost her an extra 90 quid to heat her house for 3 days! Half the time these figures are plucked out of thin air!

Or people feel different cold.

We don't feel the cold, I find everyone else's houses uncomfortably hot.

A cold house and a damp house are not the same thing. A damp house feels colder than a dry cold hours.

Money isn't an issue

I really dislike how dry and stuffy my home gets when the heating is on. I much prefer to wear more layers and only then put the heating on when I'm cold despite wearing extra layers. Even then, when I go to bed the heating is off and windows open in the bedroom to let the fresh air back in.
But yes, as with everyone else, the cost is also a factor.

People are deeply weird about heating.

It's almost a competition - how long can you manage without putting the heating on. Some people consider it a moral failing to be cold - my dad was a bit like this, saying "how can you possibly be cold", it's only December! The non-cold people are superior, and hardy, and healthy and just BETTER than those of us who heat our houses to 19c or 20c.

Other heat by the calendar and not by the temperature - no heating to December although we've just had a week where the temperature outside has not risen above 3c all week.

I think others have just grown up in a very cold house without heating and can't get their heads around it, or see it as an utter extravagance. We managed fine without heating, waking up with ice on the window, never did us any harm.

Until I was 12 we did not have central heating. Instead there was a bar heater mounted in the bathroom and a bar heater in the living room (no gas) - we were not cold all the time and we were not ill more (as someone suggested) we did however wear real wool jumpers or cardigans over whatever other clothing we were wearing, plus socks and slippers all the time (I'm sat with bare feet now).

My heating is on for 3 hours a day currently, this is fine to maintain a comfortable temperature, though my house is under 20 years old which makes a difference.

Not everyone wants a really hot environment, I grab a jumper, put on thick socks and use a throw before I boost my heating

It's largely about financial issues - not actually being able to afford it, fear of not being able to afford it, not having an economical/efficient heating system. It's also about environmental concerns and habits.
Some houses are better insulated than others. Some people feel the cold less than others. Some peoole are more active than others.

I don't like a hot house, it irritates my skin a lot when the heating is on high. And I just find it stuffy and uncomfortable.

We are outside a lot too so maybe it's the difference between being outside then inside.

We do have it on but even if we won the lottery I couldn't see me cranking it above 20 max. It's currently on at 18 for a couple of hours morning and evening. Certainly not at nighttime, our house sits between 12 and 15c currently overnight. Exception I would heat the bathroom separately overnight if possible as a freezing loo seat is awful.

Energy costs have shot up.

That's the obsession.

For a long time energy bills were ok, manageable. Now they are a huge monthly outgoing.

I know two families who don't put the heating on a lot.

One parent grew up in a very cold house herself, just fireplace in the living room and the kitchen stove. She honestly doesn't feel the cold, she wears short sleeve and no tights until you have daytime frost.

We had more than one conversation around the topic and she does change her habits when her daughter and her grandchildren come for a visit as she rationally understands that children need warmer homes but she feels stiffled when it's warmer than 15 degrees.

Another family - I really like them but I find them frugal for the sake of being frugal. Both earn quite a lot of money but they don't spend anything unless it needs to be spend. Heating is not one of those reasons. I babysat for them one evening because of an emergency and really felt uncomfortable. I think she wondered why I made myself so many cups of tea in a matter of 3 hours.

@RabbitsEatPancakes

I hear you, wish I could have the towel rail stay on when the rest of the system turns off!

My thermostat is at 18, this is plenty for my liking, my bedroom was 15 degrees at 6am when I woke

It is something that people can be weirdly emotional about, like it's a sign of weakness. I don't agree that cold is unhealthy though, too much heating gives me a stuffy nose and dry skin.

that figure certainly was!