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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want to restrict how much we have the heating on

901 replies

reallyagain · 01/11/2021 22:26

After a winter working from home last year we were hit with a horrendous heating bill (several thousand on top of already paying quite a high amount per month). So this year with gas prices being so high I’m really conscious of being careful. DH wants it on much more than I do and it’s causing endless rows. He’s turned it on 4 separate times today and is sulking when I comment. We share heating bills - I suggested he pays more to have it on more but he refuses.

How much do you have the heating on if you work from home?

OP posts:
RavingAnnie · 01/11/2021 22:59

@reallyagain

Vivienne do you mind me asking how much you spend on gas/electric per month? Last winter we were averaging £660pm. Can't really cut back elsewhere to pay for that! It's a 3 bed house albeit Victorian
That can't be right. I live in a very drafty 4 bed Edwardian house with no insulation and our bills were about £105 pcm last year. We worked from home over winter and still built up a large credit. Expecting this to nearly double this year due to price rises but £600pcm is crazy!
Original poster
reallyagain · 01/11/2021 22:59

Wauden he won't layer up / he has tonnes of icebreaker etc thermals he could wear but won't

OP posts:
BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 01/11/2021 23:00

Have you got a copy of last years winter bill? Does it break down units, cost oer unit, daily charge etc?

wallowmall · 01/11/2021 23:00

@reallyagain so what was your annual bill?

ImFree2doasiwant · 01/11/2021 23:00

I try not to have the heating on atm when wfh, I wear socks, slippers and a jumper. I put a fleece blanket over me , and have been known to have a hot water bottle. I will have it on a lower level if it gets cold, because my house is also victorian, and once it's cold it's a bugger to get warm again. But I'd have it on at 17 in the day when the DC aren't here. I have it on when they are though.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 01/11/2021 23:00

Do you have underfloor heating? I've heard it can cost an absolute fortune.

PlanDeRaccordement · 01/11/2021 23:00

I think you need to question your bill because that is unusually high compared to other posters with bigger homes and probably not caused by your DH wanting heat on at 19C.

Have you done any winterising at all? If you have single glazed Victorian Windows, you can buy temporary secondary glazing very cheaply in kits from Homebase or on Amazon. It basically shrink plastic you put up inside your window and it stop droughts and heat loss. There are also weather strips you can buy for doors to stop heat loss.

DH wants it on much more than I do and it’s causing endless rows. He’s turned it on 4 separate times today and is sulking when I comment.

If he’s turned it on 4 times, then you’ve turned it off 4 times.....this is childish behaviour. We have family members that prefer colder or warmer rooms. It is an easy thing to turn on the heat but, turn off the radiator in the rooms you don’t want/need heat in. I see no reason why you cannot turn on the heat in the rooms he is using. Being cold all the time is miserable. Just because you don’t feel cold like he does, it doesn’t make him unreasonable. And I would never suggest my partner “pay more” for heating bills for this reason...what’s next calculating shower length and number of baths to determine “share” of water bill?

Bobsyer · 01/11/2021 23:01

Even when I had the heating on all day and all night the monthly cost didn't exceed about £80, something is not right with your supply you really should check that. Even going on a comparison site would show you that. And to have to top up that bill...

Original poster
reallyagain · 01/11/2021 23:01

Bernadette unfortunately I don't, but I've switched supplier and now can see exactly what we're paying for and will keep on top of it.

OP posts:
FictionalCharacter · 01/11/2021 23:02

I was WFH all last winter. I really feel the cold and I agree you can’t stay warm in a cold house by wearing more clothes. Not when you’re sitting still at a desk all day. But no way would I have heated the whole house all day just because I was working in one room. I just had the fire on in the room where I was working.

£660 a month seems impossible even if you had the heating on 24/7 with the thermostats turned up high. Billing error? We have heating on a couple of hours am and pm, gas fire on in the evening if it’s really cold. 25 to 50 £ a month last year for all gas - heating, cooker, hot water. 3 bed semi.

RavingAnnie · 01/11/2021 23:03

@reallyagain

Bogey the bills are so high because he wanted it on so much
That still can't be right. I feel the cold and have the hearing on as much a I need/want. Plus I set my thermostat to between 21-23. And as stated about live in a cold drafty house. And was wfh all winter so heating was on all day everyday and our bills were way way less than yours.
ThePoisonousMushroom · 01/11/2021 23:04

Our heating is on 24/7 in the winter, 20 degrees during the day and 16 at night. We have an old boiler. Our bills are around £280 a month.

WTF475878237NC · 01/11/2021 23:04

We've had this discussion today as we're both concerned. We averaged £600 pm last winter because it's electric heating.

We've decided to buy a little portable radiator and share it. We've also claimed back the heating as a WFH expense and layer up more. Personally if I had the money I'd have the thermostat set to 20 all day but it cost us a fortune having it on at 19 three times a day last winter. We are going to turn it on this weekend and have it on at 18 morning and evening whilst WFH and see how that goes.

wallowmall · 01/11/2021 23:05

Bills can be wrong, I queried a 1k bill once & it was completely wrong

Newnews · 01/11/2021 23:06

I have only heard of a bill nearly that high once (£500 a month average) when a relative accidentally left the immersion heater on for several months. Could something like this have happened?

yetmorewaiting · 01/11/2021 23:07

are you on a prepayment meter that's been calibrated at some point to recoup debt and never reset? You need to have a chat with your energy company to get your meter checked as £660 can't be right.

wallowmall · 01/11/2021 23:07

So was it £660 just for the 3 winter months?

CeramicMary · 01/11/2021 23:09

Four bed, 3 reception detached and I pay £90 pcm for gas and electric with British Gas. Someone is at home all the time so heating goes on a fair bit during the day. Set to 20 degrees. I can’t believe some of the bills are so high.

TheDogsMother · 01/11/2021 23:10

Our house is cold and hard to heat. It is heated with LPG as mains gas is not available. We both work from home but try hard not to have the heating on during the day. We have ski base tops, jumper layers and heated blankets for very cold days. For the very coldest of days we light the wood burner during the day and work from that room. Love the house, hate how cold it can be.

pigsDOfly · 01/11/2021 23:10

Agree with pps, there is something going seriously wrong with your gas and electricity bills if you're paying £660 a month.

I am an incredibly cold person and as soon as the weather gets the least bit chilly my heating will be on all day from about 7.30 in the morning until around midnight. I keep it 21 degrees and then will often up it in the evening to 23.

I've been paying £103 per month for a few years now for a rather chilly three bedroomed house and have just found out that I have over £300 owing to me in credit.

You really need to find out why you're paying so much OP. At the very least I'd be looking on comparison websites and changing my supplier if I were you.

whynotwhatknot · 01/11/2021 23:11

i would have queried that amount it doesnt sound right at all

and if it is you need to look at getting new rads

meanwhile just dont give him half of the bill-he'll have to pay then wont he

LesLavandes · 01/11/2021 23:13

My bills are really high. Air source heat pump with underfloor heating. New build.

reesewithoutaspoon · 01/11/2021 23:14

definitely something wrong with your bill. I would query that.

LesLavandes · 01/11/2021 23:14

Perhaps your meter is faulty

NerdyBird · 01/11/2021 23:15

If you're with a new supplier check that you gave readings when you switched and make sure you submit them every month. You should be able to see if you're being billed correctly. Otherwise, perhaps your meter is faulty and is registering twice the amount of units?
Also, do get the thermostatic valves if you can. Were they not suggested when you had the new boiler?