Is it ok to put the heating on now it's mid September?

[NameChangeGalore]

I had it on in May. Once in August, and felt guilty.

Is it ok to put it on now? Winter is finally upon us.

I am waiting for someone to say that it's 10 degrees in their house and they are walking around in a vest!

But seriously though, studies have shown that anything at about 16 degrees and below will put a strain on your heart, so if you can just about afford it, put the heating on!!

I have mine on hour or so in morning and couple hours of a eveningbut ds3 has mobility issued and I'm in a wheelchair and do feel the cold this year worse than last due in part to weight loss,but am enjoying having moved so gas instead of oil heating

"put a strain on your heart"

says who?

we have a tortoise and I have been known to say on a chilly day that I HAVE to put the heating on for the tortoise. Of course the heat/UV lamp she has is probably enough but we wouldn't want the poor mite to suffer. And it assauges my guilt because my mum is of the dont put the heating on uless you ahve too or we'll all run out of oil. But they live in the draftiest house ever and her idea of when the heating needs to go on sometimes feels like when the temperature has droped to minus inside the house.
Moral of the story, if you feel guilty about putting the heating on when its chilly get yourself a tortoise lol

My target is usually to not put the heating on november 1st.
This year dc3 has been in hospital and I have relented and had the heating on for a couple of days since getting home. There is no turning back now though, it will be on for the duration.
We have a wood burner too, so hope to switch to that for a little while instead of ch once the missing part of the burner arrives...

I live in a passivhaus, this is our first year here so I don't know how it will be when it gets colder, but the mechanical heat recovery system is keeping the place at a toasty 23.5 degrees (just checked the box) and i'm in a t shirt.

No heating required so far, and the solar panels are keeping up with our water heating. Have used 10 units of gas since April.

Me likey this house

Lizzie, I thought tortoises could go in the fridge

PigletJohn - if you google it, you will see there are lots of medical studies. In fact the WHO recommends that rooms like living rooms, where people just sit around and relax, should have a temp of 21 and other rooms, like bedrooms, 18. 16 borderline, and anything less then that is just bad for you - particularly if you are a child, old, disabled or just unwell.

Notcontent

Nope, can't find what you mean. Nearest was this which isn't the same.

Can you show me?

Some info about healthy temperatures here:

www.retro-expo.co.uk/charity

did you mean this bit?

Temperatures lower than 12C (54F) cause blood pressure to rise in the elderly, increasing the risk of heart attack.

I'm not elderly and my house is not below 12C

(there are sources for some of their claims, but not for tht one)

BBC says don't go below 16 degr C ideally.

A lot of that guidance has to do with concern about mould & damp contributing to respiratory problems (WHO). I'm sure it's not as simple as cold temps causing mould problems, but still current best understanding of possible health implications that we have.

Thank you for looking Fredgeorge :) I can hunt on the basis of that link.

I've put it on a few times recently in the evenings, but DH has usually turned it off when he's noticed. I let that go - not worth an argument, and I've usually taken the chill off by then anyway ! Last night had it on for most of the evening and DH didn't say anything when he turned it off - so p'haps even he's starting to feel a bit of autumn chill creeping in ...

Ohyoubadkitten Pretty sure it's in this paper:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21261804
But I don't have access to the full text.

Mine's on. It's about 16 degrees in the house without it and I'm sitting at a computer all day long. I was a bit embarrassed when I went to answer the door the other day to a man wearing a t-shirt and I was dressed in a jumper, a hoodie and a down gilet

According to the HSE the minimum temperature at work for non physical work is 16 degrees centigrade.

"'The temperature in workrooms should normally be at least 16 degrees Celsius unless much of the work involves severe physical effort in which case the temperature should be at least 13 degrees Celsius. These temperatures may not, however, ensure reasonable comfort, depending on other factors such as air movement and relative humidity.'"

If I was sat in an office at temperatures lower than 16 degrees I would need to wear a coat.

I found this as well - "the World Health Organization's standard for warmth says 18C (64F) is suitable for healthy people who are appropriately dressed. For those with respiratory problems or allergies, they recommend a minimum of 16C (60.8C); and for the sick, disabled, very old or very young, a minimum of 20C (68F)"

We only ever have the heating on at night if the temperature plummets a long way below zero, and then I turn the thermostat down to 10 degrees. This is to prevent the pipes from freezing.

I just found this as well:

18-21C - comfortable temperature
9-12 or 24+C: Risk of stroke and heart attack
21-24C or 16-18C - some discomfort
12-16C - risk of respiratory disease
Less than 9C - risk of hypothermia

I developed several forms of RSI & overuse injury 16 years ago, still affect me now & basically destroyed the career I used to have. I blame a lot of it on the cold indoor temps I was keeping my flat at back then. Maybe 10-12 deg C? I never used to feel the cold! I wouldn't want anyone else to risk what I've been thru.

In my last job (I work in labs) the biochemical products we were making stopped working. We tried everything to fix the problem and it was hell. The CEO of the company had a bright idea that it might be the temperature of the room affecting everything. We used to have the thermostat at 21C when everything was working. Anyway he wanted us to work at 15C. 15 fijucking degrees! We'd turn the temp back up, but every morning he'd sneak in and set the lab temp to 15C. Every chance our line manager got, hed come in and change the temp to 15C so he wouldnt get a bollocking. The fucking arsehole. It turned out the temp wasn't the problem at all and I suffered from constant body ache from the cold temperature. Shit job that was.

I usually put mine on when it drops to 14c in the house. Bedroom was 13c when I woke up this morning so I put it on for 30 mins

Mines at 25C, I don't feel the heat. And yes, I have a thermal vest on!

Any less and I'm ratty and my IBS plays up.

so that must mean people who work outside, like farmworkers, roofers, traffic wardens, gardeners, instead of in a heated office, must be getting extra heart attacks and strokes.

Do they?

Real fire is on here since Thursday - lovely.
The central heating we had on for one day last year. We find the children dont get out of bed in the winter and roam about so its a win win plus none of us had any colds. Central heating always makes me tired and snotty.

"confused so that must mean people who work outside, like farmworkers, roofers, traffic wardens, gardeners, instead of in a heated office, must be getting extra heart attacks and strokes."

They have physical jobs though, so their work will keep them warm.