How cold is too cold?

[DuploTower]

For a house?

Am I being unreasonable thinking 13 degrees is too cold?

I'm freezing.

What's normal?

There's no way @TAKESNOSHITSHIRLEY
Is heating their house to 40C degrees - that's above ambient body temperature for a human and would be unbearable to live in. Plus considering environmental temperature and insulation houses wouldn't ever reach that temperature, even with the heating on full blast (unless she lives in a Bikram yoga studio )

The suggestion that it's remotely normal or that anything below that is 'freezing' is ludicrous.

I'm hot blooded and that's too cold for even me. 17-19 is a good spot

17/18 during the day and 9 at night. We have an old house so we need that min temp overnight to keep the house dry. I find 20 upwards much too hot but then we tend to wear more clothes in the winter.

I can't actually get my house above 18.5. I tried, because I was interested. With all the heating on its highest settings, and the boiler cranked up, I can just get it to that. It takes many hours though... never above, even if it's on high constantly. I have an open plan, Victorian terrace with an old, bad, extension.

As such I don't bother, house is about 14 or 15 degrees in winter and 17 or 18 in summer. At least it's nice half the year!

@Herja do you have radiators? If so are all the radiators equally warm? If not, sounds like the system needs balancing.

Have you looked at some eco heating, pellet, ground source etc you can get 0% government loans and the quarterly RHI payments for having them, might work out to a free system. What heating are you looking at LPG comes out as a cheap option in my area with no mains gas?

@PhilCornwall1, radiators equally warm, recently bled. The boiler is a new (ish) one, that I had installed 3 years ago. Everything is fine with the system, the house is just old and cold! Should never have been made open plan. I tried keeping it set constantly to 18, on advice it would be cheaper - cost £10 per day... luckily I grew up with no heating at all, so I'm well used to cold and wearing many layers.

Our house is currently at 18.1 degrees and outside is 9.9 in the garden (we have one of those indoor/outdoor thermometer things). It's a bit cool but I am in my nightshirt and dressing gown, but will be fine once I'm dressed.
When DS was born 13 years ago the recommended temperature for a babies room was 16-18 degrees. 16 is a bit parky.
DM (81 years young) finds my house too warm. She lives in a 1960's open plan house and was born in a house with coal fires and no central heating. I remember staying at grandparents and waking up to see ice on the inside of the windows.

18 is ideal imo.

The minimum acceptable temperature for people working in an office is 16 degrees and that fee?s quite chilly. I would say that a ho e should be equally as warm, so 13 degrees is definitely unacceptably cold.

You can get battery powered (probably rechargeable now) waistcoats and boot liners and gloves/hats op. I got a waistcoat from maplins I think.

My bedroom often drops to 13ish overnight. I'm happy with that, although I would feel cold getting out of bed in the morning to that. I think my house is usually about 18 or so in the mornings when I'm getting up. In the evening, if I'm just sitting and doing nothing, then 18-20 is about right, and then when the heating goes off and it drops down a bit, I go to bed. I would feel very uncomfortably hot if my house stayed at 20 at the time, and I often feel really stifled and over hot in other people's houses. I am conscious that I'm not usual though, and I put the thermostat up when other people visit.

My house is 16.5 and I wear vest and PJ bottoms round the house. I'd be cold in 13 I think.

I've recently moved into a smaller house with DD2, our situation in the previous house was so desperate that I'd have thought 13 was tropical. Our house was usually in single figures, and regularly below zero.

Now in this new house, our situation has improved and we're able to keep it lovely and warm.

Thirteen is too cold OP.

I could dress for down to 15degees. Below that was hard to keep hands warm.

I have issues with always being cold so many many layers.

OP get a convector heater (about £20 ) and keep one warm room,keep the doors shut.

I’d be freezing in that. I work outside and like coming home to a toasty house! We live in a new build that is warm and seems to hold the heat. Ours is usually around 20-22 but I’ll turn it up higher if it’s been particularly cold that day. I once lodged with people who only put the heating on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. As I worked shifts, I’d often get up/come in to a house that was absolutely freezing.

I need the air around me to be warm as pp said; if it’s cold it doesn’t matter how many layers I wear, I will never feel warm. I remember being on the phone to my DM crying as the hot water had all gone (my LLs didn’t have a combi boiler and only put the water on once a day) and the House was so cold and I needed to wash my hair for work. She ended up transferring me some money so I could get a blow dry done at the hairdresser. I did a strip wash at the sink using my kettle. I got out as soon as I could. 13 degrees is miserable and unhealthy.

That is far too cold. Can't you buy an oil filled heater and keep at least one room warm?

2 more years like that? Sod that

My heating is set to come on if it goes below 12 in the day, it sometimes does. It's cold but most days we're all out at work so it doesn't matter. Evening its set for 18 which I find pleasant enough with a jumper on. Overnight it's off and usually drops to 12 but we're asleep under duvets so that's fine.

we are roughly between 30-40 degrees at all times

Your thermostat is broken

I need at least 20. Ideally 25.

What's normal?

Who cares what normal is. If you are cold and have the means, turn the heating up.

I thank god my husband and I are on the same page with this stuff.

23 minimum.

To be fair, my house is extremely well insulated and holds the heat so heating isn’t required to work really hard.

I’d sooner go hungry than cold.

That honestly sounds abusive of your partner to "make" his family live in that temp and cruel and miserable for your children.