Re the heating?

[MrsPear]

So husband can't work the heating - he is being a lazy arse. Has just complained it is cold in here - set to 18 on constantly. I said well put some clothes on - he is wearing shorts and a t shirt. He said you don't wear jumpers in the house; after all what do you wear when your out? A coat was my answer. Am I unreasonable to set the thermostat in account of jumpers?! Btw I left work to become a sahm after ds1 due to him having health problems and he is suppose to be working to support is but he he currently is not just gambling so I am not feeling charitable

But I don't go round in a balaclava and overcoat! Just layers of comfortable clothes and a pair of socks! You don't go outside in a T shirt and shorts so it stands to reason you wear a bit more inside in the winter surely... I just hate a house where you can hardly breathe for heat hitting you and it spreads germs to have it like that for weeks/months on end.

I am sure none of us have perfect green credentials, but it is obviously wasteful to live in a climate where the temperature drops to -7 while heating your house to 23 degrees so that you don't have to wear clothes indoors.

Not everyone can afford to live like you

Our heating comes on for three hours a day during the week, and maybe an extra hour or so at the weekends. It's set to 20. One hour in the morning, one hour when I get home from work at lunch so I can have a shower, one hour in the evening for when DP gets home. That's it.

I get a headache if it's on overnight luckily, because even if I wanted it on overnight I couldn't afford it. I would love to be able to have it on all day so I didn't have to cover myself in a duvet during the day, but I can't afford to do that and pay my bills and feed us, so there we go.

Well I'm glad I don't live with you lot! I like to be comfortable in my house, if I have to wear a million layers that's not right IMO

There is a difference between wearing winter clothes and wearing a million layers.

If even the likes of Chanel and Versace can recognise that there is an Autumn/winter and a spring/summer season it shouldn't be beyond everyone else.

I think wearing shorts and a t shirt all year round is just weird. He wouldn't go outside in it so why heat the house to that degree indoors?

You don't go outside in a T shirt and shorts so it stands to reason you wear a bit more inside in the winter surel

I see it as inside should be comfortable, outside can be whatever it wants. Why would you want to wrap up inside?

Hermione if you have no choice that's different I guess. I'd still find it unpleasant though. I don't have it on at night but it comes on about 6am and stays on till 10:30

merry but you shouldn't have to wear "winter clothes" inside!

Wearing a jumper is hardly wrapping up, it's wearing normal winter clothes. You can't expect to live in a climate like the UK and wander around in shorts and t-shirts when it's -5 outside.

Hermione if you have no choice that's different I guess. I'd still find it unpleasant though. I don't have it on at night but it comes on about 6am and stays on till 10:30

Telling people that how they live is unpleasant when they have no choice is a bit harsh. I'm glad my friends/visitors appreciate how damn expensive heating a house is and still come over to see me regardless of how "unpleasant" my living conditions happen to be .

Well I wonder round in a dress and light cardigan at home, sometimes without tights and it's not a problem inside.

Hermione I didn't mean any offence just that I'd find a cold house unpleasant, people have said they find a warm house unpleasant so it's personal preference

Why would you want to wrap up inside?

The big reason would be that current levels of fuel consumption are not sustainable.

Putting on another layer has served us well in Britain for quite a few thousand years and is sustainable.

merry there are other power options that don't rely solely on fossil fuels. I have loads of solar panels and electricity in the day mainly comes from that.

merry but you shouldn't have to wear "winter clothes" inside!

Why on earth not? What else would they wear - a sundress and bikini?

Winter clothes means things like trousers, tights, jumpers, warm layers, not a coat.

I wear what I'm comfortable in in my home. If I go outside, I dress appropriately for the outside. There were a couple of days last week that it was 4 F here, which I think is -15 C. Keeping the house in the low to mid 70s is the norm here.

Heating my house is not all that expensive; it's only 2000 sq ft, so it's only about $200 per month to heat.

I'm intrigued about heating bills now, for those that have the heating on high, pretty much constantly. My decision to live in what some would call a "cold" house isn't financially motivated, it's choice - just calculated that I paid £81.75 per month last year for gas plus electricity with EdF. Two bed large flat but built in 1700s so sash windows which (apparently) can't be double glazed.

Sorry if this is derailing .....

Merry because inside should be comfortable. If you can't walk around in a vest top I can feel a chill in the air even with a jumper. That's not comfortable

cat are you aware how much power your solar panels generate?

merry not sure but we get paid for the excess so I'm assuming it's enough for our usage

In our household the rule goes: jumper and socks on, then heating on. If you're warm enough moving about and just get chilly when you're sitting still watching tv, then we have blankets on the sofa for that eventuality.

We all run quite hot though. I recently turned my thermostat up to 16, and we're all basking in how warm the house is!

A house doesn't have to have a chill in the air, its just that its cold outside so I adapt what I wear inside. Just the same as I adapt what I wear outside! The big test for me is socks - if I put socks on, it's winter! I'm a warm weather person, and the socks come out only in the dead of winter.

I would wear socks, and layers of warm - by that I dont mean I look like a yeti, I'm talking cashmere and thin, but layered and warm. (and the old old old cable knit cardi that my Mum knitted for me before she died ) I think it's a bit daft to wear a summer dress all year round, I honestly do, but each to their own I suppose, it ain't my heating bill!

it is comfortable inside - wearing appropriate clothing.

I don't really wear winter clothes in general when going outside I just stick scarves and gloves and a coat on. So when I come home I want to take it all off

I don't own socks other than bed socks

I'm on the fence here. It is miserable to be cold, but at the same time, when I was struggling to pay heating costs, I wore tights, leggings, socks, three layers on top plus a big cardigan, and had a hot water bottle and several thick wool blankets for working from home during the day. I think that, if you can't afford to pay higher heating bills, you can't expect to wear a t-shirt and shorts round the house in winter.

On the other hand, we're much better off now, and I really enjoy NOT needing a hot water bottle all the time, and being able to wear normal clothes instead of wrapping up like the Michelin man.

I'm not going to touch the lack of a job and gambling issue. You might prefer to raise that in Relationships, I think.