My friends seemed like they were freezing …

[MyballsareSandy2015]

…. came round for a takeaway, heating on 20 when they arrived. They had layers on … removed some but soon put them back on. They stayed on even when I turned it up to 23 … I was boiling, sitting there in a shirt.

I think this thread has shown me why in summer I am a melting blob, and yet everyone around me is blissfully happy. My house is usually around 17 or 18, and I feel uncomfortably hot at 20. Guests of mine do tend to moan about it, but my house is very old and doesn't hold heat well. Luckily for me it stays nice and cold in summer too.

Our heating is around 17/18. I only turn it up when my very elderly dad comes round. Is your house older than theirs? They might have better insulation. Or might just not care about how much they waste on heating. In a different house our neighbours - exactly the same type of house would be wearing t-shirts inside while we'd be in jumpers.

I agree with all of this.
I set my thermostat to 20 constantly AND dress like an Eskimo in the house, cuddling a hot water bottle.
Otherwise my fingers go numb and I'm rigid all over shivering.

Always been this way. Thyroid has always been fine on checks.

The thing is, we physically adjust to our environment. The blood chemistry changes. When you go to hot places, the initial days are hell. After a couple of weeks it gets much easier. When we moved somewhere hot, we were encouraged to avoid using the air con at home, as we wouldn’t adjust to the climate and would struggle with being out and about.

If you turn your thermostat down half a degree, after a couple of days/weeks you won’t notice. Eventually you get cheaper heating bills and save a bit of planet!
But you do need to persist against the discomfort initially, until you adjust.

Ours us usually set around 18-18.5c, which is perfect for us. I'll bump it up to 19c if we have guests, but the main ones are like us in terms of how warm their house is.

For us, 23c is far too warm. My Auntie has hers set to 23c (used ti be 25c but she can't afford that), we find it sniffling hot and leave earlier than intended because of that.

Odd you wouldn't just ask your friends if they were uncomfortable or cold.

Did you have slippers on and they just had socks or bare feet?

I completely agree with this. We keep our house during the day at a constant 19 and it feels the right temperature. I’m also fine at 18 but at that temp the kids who are out at school all day where it was warmer struggled.

21 is really warm though, I’ve never ever put ours higher than that. It amazes me people routinely have it warmer, unless they are elderly or have a disability.

I've just slept in my room and it's 23° in here overnight, heating is on. Thick pyjamas and a winter duvet. I'm not hot, just cosy. Certainly not sweating.

Anything under 22° isn't warm enough for me to stay still. My temperature just keeps dropping if I'm not moving and generating heat.

The highest we have our heating is 18 degrees. I grew up in a very hot house and used to have it at 20. DH grew up with no heating. 18 is a compromise. I used to have to wear lots but now just have a jumper, trousers and warm socks.
People's bills must be huge. I like to think with all the money we save, it pays for an extra holiday so I can warm up for two weeks and slow release over the winter 😁

As PP said it’s what you’re used to - as this thread shows many people have their heating on ridiculously high (their energy bills must be insane!), they certainly don’t need their houses that hot but if it’s what they’re used to they will struggle to cope with cooler houses. You can certainly adjust to a lower temperature but they’ll argue you can’t 🤷‍♀️.

Im still in bed with a thick duvet but half out as too warm. I've just checked hive and its 15 degrees!
I genuinely would be melting at 23. I will turn it on though as about to go to play sport for.a couple of hours and have a shower on my return.

hop but you are breathing in cold air. I would freeze at that temperature 😂.

I'll be ok when I'm outside as I'll be dashing along and wrapped up warm.

I would struggle at 20 degrees to be honest.

I run cold. I need mine at 22 minimum. MrS can be in t shirt and I’m in 3 layers on top and long johns under my trousers.

I can’t be cold due to arthritis - it really affects me when I’m cold.

I’ve had my thyroid checked x a million and it’s always fine. But I’ve been cold all my life.

I remember as a teen having a hot water bottle and fingerless gloves and sitting against the radiator trying to study. It was miserable. One of the things I love about being an adult is being in control of the thermostat.

Didnt you ask if they were cold?

Do you turn it off for people that find it too hot? I find it a bit annoying.my friend wants us to turn ip the heating at ours (whichnof course I do) but won't turn it down when we visit her!

That’s just not true.

i grew up with single glazing and ice on the inside of windows. Chillblains.

I don’t think 22 is “insanely high”? I have tried putting it lower but even 1 degree is too low for me. And yes, I notice the 1 degree difference.

yes my energy bills are perhaps higher than normal but I don’t drink (Christmas bottle of baileys isn’t even finished yet), and I don’t holiday abroad and I don’t smoke and I get PIP for my medical issues. Isn’t that what it’s supposed to be for?

FWIW my heating goes off at 10pm and stays off until 5.30am - and I have a 15 tog duvet (down and feather), a 4.5 tog duvet (cover less) and a heated throw on my side of the bed.

Our combined gas and electric averaged over the year is £80 a month. Our heating is set to 20/21 during the day and evening when we're in (I work from home)

My house tends to run cold but we have a log burner so always have that on if there are guests in winter, and show them how to put logs on. When my mum comes to stay, she gets through about a trees worth in a week - the front room is the temperature of hell.

I’d have a migraine at 23 degrees indoors - ours is set at 18.5 😂

Ours is 19 - 23 would be horrific! Way too warm. Also it’s the winter so I would always expect to be wearing at least 2/3 layers in the winter indoors - I can’t bear stuffy houses where everyone is in a T-shirt in January. It feels really unhealthy and claustrophobic!

I’d be boiling at 23 too OP, we never have ours above 19. I have a family member who keeps their house very warm but isn’t very proactive at offering drinks so DH and I have to strategise to surreptitiously get ourselves loads of extra glasses of water so that we don’t leave feeling ill!

It depends on what type of house you have OP? We used to live in a new build where anything above 19 degree was roasting, whereas we now have it sitting at 22 degrees in our new (but older-style) house, and it's comfortable, ie, the family are fine in thin sweatshirts. (Don't like bulky layers, especially when I'm doing housework which is most of the time!).

Some people just don’t dress for winter because it doesn’t suit them. I wear a long sleeve vest, a polo neck and a jumper. If I am still cold i put on a sleeveless gilet. However I do put the heating up before guests arrive but I also tell them to wear warm clothes.

What annoyed me was one family, during the summer, brought with them a portable air conditioner and used 24 hours while they stayed here a few days because they were too hot.

I suspect that thermostats vary and it definitely depends where it is also. DH went through some daft phase of putting it on a sunny windowsill and the house was freezing.