Advice on how to handle- dds housemates at uni want to out heating on overnight

[Thethingswedoforlove]

How can we convince them that it really isn’t cheaper to keep the house at a constant temperature?! They want to have it on at a ‘low’ temp of 17 degrees! It’s a huge house with 6 people and most students don’t even have it on during the day let alone at night. I’m at my wits end. How can we afford that bill? I told her that she should say that those that want it on overnight need to pay and she won’t pay a share of that but clearly that is a bit confrontational and doesn’t lend itself to harmonious living. How can we convince them?! It is utterly nuts. Some are saying things like my dad knows about heating bills and it is def cheaper etc.’

Yes they'll all have every virus going living in a constantly heated petri dish.

Does she have a part time job op?

Our boiler plays up in the freezing weather if we don't leave it on overnight. So it has been on for the last week. Probably will be till the weekend too.

Most nights, it won't even click on because it's not that cold. This is the second week of the season that my heating (16 overnight) has come on for a little bit.

The billing situation is complicated by the fact it is all included in their rent up to a cap. They do (as of last week) have a smart meter so they can monitor costs for the usage but the bills don’t get seen until they are potentially hit with a big one at the end for the amount they have gone over their cap by.
and I don’t think it is uncommon for uni students to look for help and support from their parents as they move towards independence. I only ever advise when she comes to me with a question.

Are you an expert on how everyone you know programmes their thermostat then @Gloriia ? I don't "turn it on and off". I have it set to a lowish basic temp with higher temps kicking in occasionally in particular rooms.

That only works if you have a thermostat. In teh first house we lived in in the Uk we had a timer but no thermostat.

I keep mine at 18 overnight. It's freezing OP.

Dd is studying medicine so unable to have a part time job in term time.

That only works if you have a thermostat. In teh first house we lived in in the Uk we had a timer but no thermostat.

Yes, this is relevant. But I doubt everyone confidently stating they "don't know anyone who has the heating on overnight" knows the intricate details of their neighbours' and friends' heating systems.

We keep ours at 17c overnight. It rarely kicks in but means that the central heating isn't running flat-stick and it still being uncomfortable cold on those mornings after the nights when temperatures really do tank.

Maybe it does use a bit more fuel but we have ours on overnight too, most people I know with young kids do (and tbh ours are not that young anymore but we still want to be warm and not waking up to a 10 degree house!).

I think that the point really isn't whether and who has their heating on overnight and if that is right or wrong.

The point is that the OPs DD is in a situation where they majority of the house want the heating on overnight, and to refuse to go along with this because her parents won't let her and think it's ridiculous, isn't really in DDs best interests from a social perspective.

It could be a disagreement over toilet roll, using the tumble drier, sharing milk, locking the windows when you leave the house... the fact that it's the heating isn't the point. (and setting an alarm and sneaking downstairs and turning it off at 10am and feigning ignorance isn't going to help either).

Uni is in large part a social experiment where you need to work out how to coexist with people who have very different upbringings and ideas of reasonable than you do. Help her do this, it's not always easy.

Heating is always an issue in student accommodation. I lived with half a house of people who's parents paid their bills so wanted the heating on all the time, and half who had to foot the bill themselves so were very conscious of how often the heating was on.

We were not a harmonious house once winter was over.

If your DD likes these people and values them as friends, I would advise her to go with the majority on this. It doesn't sound like they are wanting to waste money (by suggesting this as a way to save money), and 17 isn't exactly high.

i couldn’t sleep if the heating was on at night. The house gets too dry as it is with the heating on during the day. It goes off at 8.30 here. On at 6

I am intrigued by the number of people on the thread with solid knowledge of their friends and families heating situation. I can confidently say I have no idea what anyone I know apart from my parents (perma-sauna) does with their heating...

Speak for yourself. I couldn't sleep in a cold room. Mines currently constantly set at 20 and has been non stop.

It’s tricky - if everyone else wants it on she’ll have difficulty trying to get out of paying for it. But it is more energy efficient to keep it at 17 constantly than having it come off and on. I keep mine at 16 and then boost it in the day as required.

I had the opposite issue at uni with my housemates refusing to turn on the heating. I was ill constantly. In the end bought a fan heater and electric blanket - didn’t take much to heat my box room.

Tell her to check her smart meter and share the data with her flatmates. Hopefully they arent all English Literature students and can work it our for themselves.

This is very sound advice. Thank you.
and I have no idea what anyone I know does in terms of heating I just haven’t ever had it on overnight and genuinely hadn’t realised that it is something people do. I am never cold at night and can’t sleep if I’m too hot. But I get that this is not the approach taken universally.

People have their heating on overnight? Mine comes on at 6am and whilst it's a chill nip out of bed into the shower it's warm before 8. Thick duvet, blanket over the top and job's a good'un!

I totally agree with you OP that heating on all night at 17 degrees is totally unnecessary. I'd actually find it too warm. I have our heating thermostat set at 12 overnight which means it only comes on during the coldest of nights.

At uni I remember us agreeing 18 during the day and 12 at night.

I do kind of think these situations have to be left to the students to navigate though so there's little you can do. I'd also hope that even if they run up a large bill, once divided by 6 it shouldn't be too horrendous. My parents have to heat a big old house to 21 degrees as my DF is ill and gets very cold. Their bill at most comes to £400pcm when the weather's like this and it'll only be for another few weeks that it'll be cold. If some is already included in the rent then by the time you divide what's left by 6 it shouldn't be a catastrophic figure.

Not that her parents don’t let her - that she/they cannot afford it. And no, if someone can’t afford something the others want to do, they can’t require that person to take part. If they want to crank up the heating at night then they need to pay for it. And I would absolutely turn it off when they were asleep if they refused to take account of my financial needs - why the fuck should I/my parents scrimp and save so that some entitled brats can sleep in 21 degree temperatures?

Well it IS better to have a constant temperature, ours is set at 18 (although DD turns it up if she can get away with it)
Also, if there are 6 of them and 1 of them disagrees with the others your DD will just have to suck it up - its part of a house share

Ooft, the bills from a fan heater though. I used one for a few hours a night and within a week or so my bill shot up forty quid.

I think they are being sensible in keeping the heating on constantly at 17 degrees. You don't want mould or damp to settle in the property because you will be landed with a bill if the tenants are not looking after the property. My daughter's shared house had the same policy from the landlord keep on at 17 degrees and no higher at all times.