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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To put the heating on?

104 replies

maybelou · 24/10/2021 13:09

I usually wait until November at least to try and save a little money but it's so cold, I want to give in! 🥶

OP posts:
RampantIvy · 25/10/2021 20:11

I honestly didn’t realise it was a thing to need heating on for so long

I do when I am sat at my desk WFH all day. It's too cold not to.

Lazydaisydaydream · 25/10/2021 20:18

I’m at home all day (me the baby and a toddler) but having the heating on for an hour in the morning is enough to keep the temperature at 19/20 until the evening. I live in a tiny tiny house which presumably makes a difference Grin.

MrsSkylerWhite · 25/10/2021 20:20

Always a bit perplexed to see reports on tv of increasing fuel costs and people saying their heating costs are too high: they’re often wearing a t-shirt. It’s October.
We layer up and don’t usually need the heating on until close to Christmas (accept when young grandchild visits).

RampantIvy · 25/10/2021 20:28

I layer up, but it is still too cold to not have the heating on now where I live - detached house on the edge of the Pennines.

Maireas · 25/10/2021 20:31

@MrsSkylerWhite

Always a bit perplexed to see reports on tv of increasing fuel costs and people saying their heating costs are too high: they’re often wearing a t-shirt. It’s October. We layer up and don’t usually need the heating on until close to Christmas (accept when young grandchild visits).
What if it snows in November? Still no heat?
MrsDThomas · 25/10/2021 20:33

Mine is on, but only because DDs friend is staying for the week.

Don’t want to appear tight!

MrsSkylerWhite · 25/10/2021 20:34

Generally, no. We’ve really good glazing and insulation. Rarely snows where we are (once in 11 years, NW coast) lowest it usually drops in the house in daytime is around 16 by November. It’s 17 atm.

Maireas · 25/10/2021 20:35

You're fortunate to live somewhere so balmy. In Yorkshire we get sharp winds, hail and snow.

RoseMartha · 25/10/2021 20:44

@ChorizoJacketPotato
Similar here it is set to 20 on thermostat but boiler will fire up morning and evening if it drops below this for an hour in the morning and three in late afternoon. My rads stay hot for a long time after heating goes off

They have not come on yet this autumn. As it seems a particularly warm flat. Last winter I found they either came on in morning or afternoon very rarely both.

If I was in your position OP I would put it on for an hour to take the chill off or fill a hot water bottle and stick another layer on.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 25/10/2021 20:44

@MrsSkylerWhite

Always a bit perplexed to see reports on tv of increasing fuel costs and people saying their heating costs are too high: they’re often wearing a t-shirt. It’s October. We layer up and don’t usually need the heating on until close to Christmas (accept when young grandchild visits).
Doesn't the air feel cold though? That's my biggest problem. That and sitting next to a solid brick outside wall when I'm WFH!
Helenahandkart · 25/10/2021 21:00

I always used to wait to put the heating on til December (money is tight) so October and November were dependent on multiple socks and jumpers and watching tv under a quilt. Now I sometimes relent in November. We only have it on for an hour in the morning and two hours in the evening, except Christmas Day, unless someone’s ill.
Christmas Day the heating’s on ALL DAY. It’s amazing.
It’s not too bad waiting til November, especially if you’re fairly active.

Maireas · 25/10/2021 21:20

Those of you that don't put the heat on - how do you dry clothes? Does everything go in the tumble dryer? What do you do with damp towels?
What if people come round, do you give them thick socks and a blanket?

StoneofDestiny · 25/10/2021 21:21

House not cold yet - south facing super insulated house.
If I was cold I'd put a warm top on and the heating if necessary. No two homes are the same.
I've lived in older houses and without heating on in autumn it was Baltic! 🥶

userxx · 25/10/2021 21:23

@RampantIvy

I layer up, but it is still too cold to not have the heating on now where I live - detached house on the edge of the Pennines.

I bet there's a fresh wind there !

RampantIvy · 25/10/2021 21:43

I bet there's a fresh wind there !

Indeed Grin

sbhydrogen · 25/10/2021 21:47

We took our radiators off the walls due to renovations, and we are so close to putting them back on, I just need to paint the backs of them first 😩 I'm so bored of being cold.

Helenahandkart · 25/10/2021 21:49

@Maireas

Those of you that don't put the heat on - how do you dry clothes? Does everything go in the tumble dryer? What do you do with damp towels? What if people come round, do you give them thick socks and a blanket?
No tumble driver. Everything gets hung outside. If it’s raining it gets hung on a ceiling airier, it dries within 24 hours. All my friends live in cold houses too - visiting me is a home from home. They all wear warm socks anyway. And yes, sometimes they get a blanket. Heating is an expensive luxury for some people.
MrsDThomas · 25/10/2021 22:03

We had the first snow last week on Snowdon

Maireas · 25/10/2021 22:03

Heating is an expensive luxury for some people
That's a terrible shame, in a wealthy nation in 2021.

DrCoconut · 25/10/2021 22:05

My house is an older terrace. It's not easy to heat. In winter the heating needs to be on pretty much all the time when we're in and up. Maybe a few hours off in the middle of the day but that's it. DS2 has asthma and struggles with cold air and it gets damp with inadequate heat. I'm worried by the increased costs this year, my direct debit has almost doubled from this month on.

Ionsion · 25/10/2021 22:08

I’m so tight when it comes to heating. I’m always turning down the thermostat when my family aren’t looking. This year our windows seem to have failed as we woke up this morning and every single one had condensation on the space between the two panels of glass. We can’t afford to replace the windows this year.

Titsywoo · 25/10/2021 22:09

I've actually managed to not need the heating yet. House is still at 19.5 degrees and hasn't dropped below 19. We have done a lot of refurbishment and the building regs for insulation are crazy (about 30cm thick in our flat roof extension!). That along with losing our dog last month (she was constantly in and out) means the warmth has stayed in (plus it has stayed fairly mild here in the SE). Long may it continue as our bills will be shooting up from last year!

Titsywoo · 25/10/2021 22:18

Having your thermostat at 23 seems mad to me though. At 19.5 I am in a tshirt and am warm. I'd be roasting at 23! Maybe I'm perimenopausal? Grin

Alittlenonsensenowandthen · 25/10/2021 22:18

Annoyingly I don't want the heat but my house does. It has a tendency for mould/mildew unless it's heated and aired. Does feel like I'm throwing money out of the window! Wfh has also changed things - feel cold more when sitting and also breathing all day has raised moisture levels in house!

drpaddington · 25/10/2021 22:21

SIL stayed here overnight a couple of weeks ago and put the heating on... and left it on for almost 24hrs! We hadn't switched it on yet and I now feel like I have to wait even longer to balance out the heating she used 😆