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.’

As people have said, if they heat their rooms using fan heaters it will cost more.

It's going down to -11 where we are. The risk of burst pipes just isn't worth it.

None of the parents should be getting involved.

All they can do is advise their own child.

It should be up to the adult students how they run their rented property. If they can’t agree or need mediation then the landlord or letting agents need to support them to come to an agreement. Although they’ve probably got better things to be doing with their time.

Student loans are based on the parents income. High earning parents are expected to make up the shortfall.

When it's this cold, heating is a necessity. It's not a luxury (despite the govt and energy companies attitudes). It will balance out in a few months when they'll be able to cope with minimal heating. That's what we all do, after all. I spend the summer paying a larger amount than we use so we have money in the kitty for winter. I appreciate students with a year long lease can't do that, so they're paying as they go, but by late March or April, they probably won't have the heating on much at all. It all balances out over the year.

None of the parents should be getting involved.

All they can do is advise their own child.

💯

I keep mine at 16C overnight. It rarely kicks in, at least it is really icy or snowy out there. That is because I move the thermostat to the bedrooms.

Wait... you pay your daughter's bills? If you can't afford to, should she not be doing that herself? It was the norm when I was at uni, although that was a decade ago. Is this a thing parents do now?

You seem over involved OP. Your daughter needs to learn to negotiate this kind of thing by herself.

An advisor at a utility company compared it to leaving a car engine running, which of course uses fuel, and isn’t economical.

I have never had my heating on at night, I increase the duvet togs in the winter, have thick throws on the bed, and if I’m really, really cold I put the electric throw on, and to be honest I haven’t done that yet. My dad was in the building trade on new builds and didn’t feel the cold like a normal human being 🤪,so I was brought up hardy and learned ways of keeping warm. We didn’t have central heating until I was a teenager (I’m 57 now) 😲

When my daughter left home she had the heating on all the time, until she received a whacking big bill, she learned the hard way 🤦‍♀️

No they dont. Plenty of students dont.
Its baffling to me that some people dont understand that parents pay bills while in college. People are different you know.
Its entirely possible to raise sensible money wise adults while also paying for college and bills while there.

I have learnt to leave my student daughter to it
Make their own mistakes and learn.

I honestly can’t imagine my mother getting involved in my uni housemate arguments 😂

NRTFT, but I checked with my plumber:

Its cheaper to leave the heating on all night, when its freezing, than have a burst pipe - which typically costs £7,500 in water damage etc and then you have to try to recover the money from your insurance company?”

”Correct!” was his response.

I also think students are different from the working population, who might get away with the heating on twice a day, because they are at work all day. Arts students in particular may only have a few hours of lectures a week, and may spend most of their time studying in the house. Students can also be up all night - I used to, when I had an essay to do!

It totally depends on the house, the temperature in mine falls quickly so costs a fortune if left on. If it holds the temp well, it might be worth leaving it on.

I have mine set to come on if it drops below 15 which is fine when I am in bed, can they compromise and have it on but at a lover temperature at night?

Assuming all the students are 18+ then they are adults and their parents have no authority or rights over how they live, even if they are paying bills or acting as guarantors.

Why are the parents paying their bills ... They need to get jobs

Spot the person who has no clue on how little loans some kids get compared to how high their rent is.

Currently the minimum loan doesn't even cover rent, let alone utilities, food, transport, etc. Even with a job these days, most students will require at least some financial support from their parents.

It's fine and it's better to do it this way

I keep my heat on all the time - 17 at night. I once turned it off because I was going to be away. The weather took a turn and my house was freezing. It took ages to heat it up and I never did that again.

To be clear I am leaving her to it. She has asked for advice.

My heating comes on overnight otherwise it would be freezing when we are waking up. My thermostat is set so it just comes on automatically when it drops below the set temp.

Could people at least read the OP's posts? Her dd is studying Medicine so doesn't have time to get a term time job jfc.

We have the heating off from 10.30pm to 5.30am every night and it doesn't go down below about 17C in the hall even in these temperatures. Depends on the insultation etc.

Yes it's a thing now. If you have kids going to uni get saving. My child's loan is £3000 less than her yearly rent. Never mind actual living/food/transport costs.