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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Or is DH? Help us with this argument!

31 replies

BatCave · 13/12/2012 09:44

I have been leaving the heating running using the thermostat turned down low. I figure it might be more efficient and cost effective to do this rather than have to warm up a freezing cold house twice a day.

He thinks we should turn it off completely and just have it on but warmer for a couple hours morning and evening.

I don't like it cold and we have a young baby. We also have damp/mould and as well as a dehumidifier running 24/7 have been advised to keep the house warm. its only a small 2 bed old cottage.

But if my way is costing us a fortune I'm willing to concede. Who IBU?

OP posts:

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 13/12/2012 09:46

He IBU - I think personally it costs more to keep switching the boiler on and off as the rads then have to worked harder to get it warm. You are far better to just keep it on low and crank it up a bit when it needs to be warmer.

If you have damp/mould then it is silly to turn it off and let the house get cold, even more so when you have a baby!

Tell his he IBU and to stop being a tightwad :)

ChippingInAWinterWonderland · 13/12/2012 09:47

Are you at home with the baby?

If you are then I'd keep it on low, if you are out all day I'd put it on in the morning, then again just before you are due to get home.

You could always check the meter - do it your way one week, check the meter again. Then do it his way the next week, checking the meter.

It's probably a bit cheaper his way, but more comfortable your way. I don't think there will be a lot of difference in how much it costs.

5dcsandallthelittlesantahats · 13/12/2012 09:48

I keep it on, I would rather shave money off other things than keeping warm :).

wewereherefirst · 13/12/2012 09:48

He is IBU unless you have a really inefficient boiler.

ChippingInAWinterWonderland · 13/12/2012 09:48

Ah - MN at it's finest :) Ask a question - get two totally different answers and be none the wiser!

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 13/12/2012 09:49

Chipping - we are right :)

kittykarate · 13/12/2012 09:49

There was an article on this in the guardian recently, and it basically said that it totally depends on the insulation in your house, what temperature you deem to be comfortable, the external temperature, how long you are in the house etc.

So, there is no way to know for sure without doing an experiment.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 13/12/2012 09:50

Actually, no, I am right...just saw you said turn it off it out, lol.

k2togm1 · 13/12/2012 09:50

I've read that the most cost effective way is to have a constant 16 degrees. Not what we do though as I hate the heating on at night and it feels too cold during the day. It might work with a properly insulated house.

Iggly · 13/12/2012 09:51

I live in a badly insulated house. It's better to have it on constantly. Takes forever to warm up otherwise.

hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman · 13/12/2012 09:52

I always understood that it was better to keep it on a lower heat but have it on constantly as the boiler doesn't have to work as hard to get it up to temperature. It's a bit like driving a car, it's more economical to cruise a long at a steady speed than it is to accelerate up to a high speed, decelerate then accelerate again, that was my understanding anyway. I could well be completely wide of the mark though.

Original poster

BatCave · 13/12/2012 09:58

That's my thinking hell & betty

Hmm

We go out a couple hours in the morning a couple days a week. usually that's it at the moment. I don't think our boiler is too bad, I've no idea if the house is well insulated. We have really thick walls but I'm guessing probably not if the is a damp issue.

I'm off to make draught excluders.

OP posts:

Iggly · 13/12/2012 10:01

The thing is OP, your lifestyle has changed now. You have a baby, you are home more. So you need more heating. It's taken a while to get DH around to that idea - especially as he's out at work.

You should open your windows daily for 15 mins even in the cold to help with the damp.

WhereYouLeftIt · 13/12/2012 10:01

I put this to the test many years ago. Changed the heating to be on low one winter, compared bills to the year before. Winters were of comparable severity, bills were of comparable amounts.

So, in cost terms, you are not costing yourself a fortune to have it on all the time, and if you are at home during the day you will find it considerably more comfortable. And given you have been advised to keep the house warm to combat the damp/mould, I would definitely go that way.

NiceOneCenturion · 13/12/2012 10:02

We have a poorly insulated house with a tendency to mould, last winter when we moved in we had the heating on twice a day. The result was we had trouble keeping the mould from spreading and my baby was ill with recurring bronchiolitis for several months until we stumbled into spring.

This year we put the heating on constantly low, whacking it up a notch if necessary. Windows left cracked in the morning for condensation. Mould has been kept to a minimum and we haven't had so much as a sniffle each so far.

I think your way may be slightly more expensive, but the difference in bills hasn't been that noticeable if it is, and we decided to take the hit anyway for the sake of the baby. I feel it's been the right thing.

bradywasmyfavouritewiseman · 13/12/2012 10:05

Its not more efficient to have it on low all day. I used to work for one of the big six energy companies and that is not true.

Iggly · 13/12/2012 10:15

It is in my house.
The other day the heating went off at around midnight and didnt come back on until 7am (boiler fault).
It took the whole day for the house to warm back up to a extravagantly warm 17C after plummeting to 13C. Usually we keep it on and it stays around 17/18C without having to stay on constantly.

Our house is poorly insulated so if you switch the heat off for too long it drops very quickly. If you leave it low it's not on as much yet maintains a warm temperature.

FlaminNoraImPregnantPanda · 13/12/2012 10:21

If you turn your heating off completely you run the risk of freezing pipes. My dad was a plumber, he would never allow it to be off completely in the winter (even when we went away for a week).

SquishyCinnamonSwirls · 13/12/2012 10:29

In this weather I think you're better to have it ticking over on a low setting all the time. Ours is set to 17C and is quite comfy.
I don't think either way has any real cost benefit, but you'd notice the cost if your pipes froze and then burst.

Original poster

BatCave · 13/12/2012 10:38

Well we rent, squishy but I get where you're coming from.

I think the general consensus is to leave it on, great, I'll show this to DH. Even if he shows a blatant disregard to my nipples freezing off during feeds, I think keeping the kids healthy will swing it for him. I hope your baby is better now, NiceOne I've been worried about our baby getting poorly from the damp, and my 2.5 year old too as the mould is in her room.

And by the sounds of it it should cost too much more then. WhereYouLeftIt your experiment has swung it for me.

OP posts:

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 13/12/2012 10:39

Bat - if you rent you need to get LL to sort out your damp/mould. Are they doing that??

Original poster

BatCave · 13/12/2012 10:42

He bought us a dehumidifier betty he refuses to believe its anything other than lifestyle - even though we really are careful. My wedding dress is covered in mould after only being here 8 weeks :(

OP posts:

Viviennemary · 13/12/2012 10:49

My DH has this theory as well. That it's better to have the heating boosted a few hours a day than run it all day. I agree with you. But if I have it on constant it is always high in this weather. But as others say it depends on what temperature you have it set at, and the insulation in your house and how much heat your house loses. But the point is that you must keep the house heated to a reasonable standard to avoid people becoming ill. This mould business sounds very worrying.

AngelDelightIsIndeedDelightful · 13/12/2012 10:59

A british gas engineer once told me that it was much more efficient for the boiler if the heating was left on all the time, on low during the night obviously.

I tend not to, but on the grounds that I always forget to turn the thermostat down before going to bed and then wake up sweltering with a dry throat in the middle of the night

Smellslikecatspee · 13/12/2012 11:02

I'm sure there was a thread like this a few years ago, just after I joined, where loads of MNers did experiment, and came up with the conclusion that constant low heat is better. Wonder if anyone has the thread save?

OH and I have the same discussion every year, even with the boiler man agreeing with me.

How is mould a lifestyle issue?
I don't get that?

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