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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:
GreenFingersWouldBeHandy · 02/11/2021 02:57

Agree that your bill is ridiculously high. Get it checked.

MintJulia · 02/11/2021 03:06

At the moment, the heating is on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening.

I wfh and wear socks and boots, and layer up with vest top, tshirt and sweater. I've have chunky wool sweaters for exactly that reason. We have throws on the sofas for snuggling.

My ex moans about being cold when he comes to see ds, but he expects to wear just a tshirt in February. I enjoy ignoring him Grin

MintJulia · 02/11/2021 03:18

My quarterly gas bill for a 4 bed old house was £120 last winter.

I'm struggling to get my head around £660 a month! That can't be right.
You could fit a whole house with insulation for that sort of money.

Mummyoflittledragon · 02/11/2021 04:58

I live in a post ww2 large 4/5 bed. Apart from underfloor heating in one part of the house, I only heat the rooms we are using when we use them. I’ve just started putting it on for an hour morning and evening upstairs. Our bills are almost 3k a year.

It may be little point getting your dp a heater when electricity is 4 times the cost per unit. Thermostatically controlled radiators would help a great deal. You could overhaul your heating system for the amount you’re paying annually, which is an investment in cutting back in the future. Then you could have individual room stats etc and turn the heating on in the living room exactly when required etc.

Melstarrynight · 02/11/2021 05:11

Maybe you could mention the increased carbon footprint to him? That's also a concern I would think as well as cost.

Simonjt · 02/11/2021 05:15

@reallyagain

Do people feel 19 degrees is ok, or what sort of range?
Ours is set to 21 from 6am to 8pm and we pay around £48 per month for heating (and hot water), we have original single glazed windows and non-insulated brick walls as well.
Merryoldgoat · 02/11/2021 05:17

Those bills are ludicrous. I have a large 3 bed with a very large open plan downstairs.

I don’t restrict the heating at all and can’t deal with the cold.

We both WFH a lot over the last two years and the heating was nearly always on in winter.

Our bills never went above £120 a month and even now with the madness it’s gone up to £170.

My aunt has a 6 bedroom house with three living rooms and her heating isn’t £600 a month and her house is like a sauna.

You need to work out why your house is cold.

Is your loft insulated?
Are your windows double glazed?
Do you have carpet or gappy floorboards?
Do you have open fireplaces which let in the cold?

I cannot imagine how your bill is so high without some significant issues that you could change.

Mummyoflittledragon · 02/11/2021 05:20

The bills are including electricity Merry (as was the annual 3k i citied). But yes, I also agree with what you’re saying.

porites · 02/11/2021 05:22

Last winter we were electric only in a 4 bed draughty Victorian with people home 24/7 because of Covid. Thermostat set to 20oC. January's bill was £400, there was a lot of snow and cold easterly winds which suck the heat out of old buildings.

In summer without heating its only £40/month.

TheUndeadLovelinessOfDemons · 02/11/2021 05:26

I have to have the heating on to dry clothes, so it's on for an hour every morning, then DH puts it on in the evening because it's so cold.

Merryoldgoat · 02/11/2021 05:28

@Mummyoflittledragon

So are mine!

Merryoldgoat · 02/11/2021 05:29

As in my figs for me and my aunt include electricity too.

ItWasTheBestOfTimes · 02/11/2021 05:31

I live in a newish 3 bed and heating is left on all day set to 20 and all night set to 16. I'm not sure how often it kicks in to maintain that temperature but I only pay £100 a month DD for gas and electricity. I would definitely get your meter checked and contact your old provider for a breakdown of how they calculated last years bill.

SpeakingFranglais · 02/11/2021 05:50

@reallyagain

Do people feel 19 degrees is ok, or what sort of range?
I do!

19 is perfect.

We have this exact argument at home regularly. DH likes to wander around in shorts and tshirt in winter with the heating on 22! whilst I’m happy in leggings and fleeces. I’m menopausal, I don’t need to feel the sweat dripping down my back.

The heating also causes my rhinitis to flare up, so I can’t smell and have a blocked nose all winter indoors.

I tell him to get some clothes on, he tells me to take some off.

Fortunately, he works away, so I’m laid in bed currently under a thin summer duvet, with no heating on, the window open and a fleece over my pjs!

EatYourVegetables · 02/11/2021 05:54

£660 is insane and not caused by an extra couple of hours of heating a day! You need to get to the bottom of it and fix the cause. Do you have an issue with your windows, doors, insulation, radiators, meter, boiler? For “a few thousand” you can do an awful lot of insulting! And then NOT feel cold and NOT spend thousands!!

PheonixGlitterRepublic · 02/11/2021 05:56

Another old 4 bed with constant hearing and ours is 250 a month, please query the old bills if you have switched suppliers and certainly keep an eye on the new one.

I would suggest investing in a tado or best system, you can set the hearing to constant temperatures that are different in every room so no need to heat the whole house, just rooms in use. Turning your heating on and off all the time uses way more power than keeping it on a low and steady temperature, increasing in certain rooms when necessary.

I have the hearing on more than DH, I wouldn’t be sitting around in thermals but I do put a jumper on. It’s not up to him to decide if I get cold or not… but then our bill isn’t 600 a month!

PheonixGlitterRepublic · 02/11/2021 05:56
  • nest
Sprostongreen21 · 02/11/2021 06:07

I’m with your husband 19 isn’t excessive. Our house is as 21-24 in summer with no heating on. In autumn/winter I wear jumpers and warm clothes, have a blanket too. But like others have said sometimes you can’t get warm if the air is cold. I get really cold hands and draw the line at wearing gloves inside.

We are in a 3 bed semi that we heat between 18-20 when really cold. Currently it’s on for a couple of hours a day, this does increase by December to maybe 6/7 hours a day on/off.

Heating isn’t on overnight and we have Nest and it’s controlled mostly on the app. Our winter monthly duel is wage for the coldest months was £100-£110. We pay a monthly DD of £70-80. We have credit as everything is minimal May- October.

You need to listen to people when they say you paid too much at £660 a month!!

Mummyoflittledragon · 02/11/2021 06:10

@Merryoldgoat

As in my figs for me and my aunt include electricity too.
Ah ok. I was wondering about your aunt. I am thinking op’s house is a constant 25C and there’s an issue with insulation. Or as others say, there’s a gas leak.
Original poster
reallyagain · 02/11/2021 06:10

Green why would it not be real fgs

OP posts:
GoingForAWalk · 02/11/2021 06:14

Do you have huge open expansive rooms? As that bill is incredibly high. Do your radiators get very hot? If not You might need to bleed them and then if necessary reset pressure in the boiler after.

I always have my heating Pre set on a thermostat.

We all have Oodies for when it gets colder so I always keep the heating set to 19 in the winter. I'll turn it up to 20 on freezing days and it's set to 20 in the morning for a couple of hours. I did turn it up to 20 recently but it was too hot so it's back to 18/19 and 8 at night.

I got a new boiler and thermostat a couple of years ago and had the radiators bled and the difference was quite amazing. DS room has an extra external wall so he has a fan heater if required.

JoyceTempleSavage · 02/11/2021 06:18

@reallyagain

Green why would it not be real fgs
19 posts and not one acknowledging all the posters saying your meter is probably at fault

Your work here is done

Bingbong21 · 02/11/2021 06:21

I think you are being unreasonable for not querying £660. That is not caused by heating set to 19.

user564398 · 02/11/2021 06:23

We are retired and have the heating on all day at 19-20 and it is only £110 a month with BG, 3 bed 30s detached, your meter must be wrong OP unless you are running an electric cooker and heaters all day

Frankzappa22 · 02/11/2021 06:24

Just having a shirt on indoors with the heating on takes the piss. I put the heating on in the morning for an hour only. Then nothing all day. I wear a merino wool top plus warm wool/cashmere jumper, plus wool fleece gilet on top as another jumper would be too bulky. For bedtime I take up a hot water bottle. I never hear the bedrooms as I hate to sleep in centrally heated rooms. I just sleep under 2 duvets and it’s lovely and cosy. I think the house is around 17/18deg most of the day. It’s starting to get colder now so I’ll probably gmturn the heating on fit another hour in the afternoon so temperature doesn't drop too much