Is it nearly time to not bother with heating?

[LGY1]

Like everyone I’ve started to worry about heating costs, we are currently on a fixed tariff until Aug & pay a DD of £140 a month. I looked at our rates & yes they will double when the fixed term ends.

Looking at cutting back on our heating use, however I’ve attached a photo of our Hive schedule and I can’t see where we can cut back much more!

If we go with the easy “turn your thermostat down 1 degree” we would be on 17 degrees!

We both WFH full time now & have a 1 & 4 year old so I don’t want it too cold overnight.

Anyone else thinking the same?

Babies don't need heating on overnight. They just need the right clothes and bed clothes /grobag etc
But not hats as they use their heads to regulate temperature apparently

Don't overdo it either, they don't need to be sweaty.

I remember seeing articles about babies in Scandinavia being left in freezing weather for a nap daily. It's a thing there. They believe it's good for them

We only put ours on when we actually feel cold and only then if its under 16c. No heating on at night ever. This means that for most of the year we have no heating at all. So usually in winter we have it on once a day for an hour at tea time (even if we are at home all day) Sometimes on for an hour at lunch time as well.
Beyond that we wrap up - vests, long sleeve tops, chunky cardigans, fluffy slippers, thick socks etc.
We also sit in my bedroom a lot as thats by far the warmest room (usually 3c warmer than any other room)

@anon12345678901

Sorry, I worded that clumsily. I meant that not having heating on overnight is absolutely fine (as if you set it to a low degree it doesn't come on anyway), but what I meant was that if the OP didn't bother with heating at all (which is what was suggested in the question) her house would become damp and mouldy.

I haven't lived in every house in the UK, but the ones I have lived in have all needed heating to be on for at least parts of the day during the wetter, colder months, otherwise mould has been starting to build up.

I put mine on.as needed. Currently the house is 14.5 which is a little on the cold side. But I have fluffy socks on and a blanket. . I work from home and try not to put the heating on in the day unless it falls to around 12.5 then I put it on for a hour.

@Rickrollme I am on diuretics but I don’t go to the loo in the night. I did when I first started taking them but now I manage my fluid intake so I don’t drink much in the evening (which I don’t need to as I’m not being dried out by a hot house!) and obviously make sure I go before I go to bed. Our bathroom is downstairs as well so it’s extra disruptive to sleep to have to go.

@Snoken ohh 100% the heating I would make sure went on in the morning and evening, for warmth but also in case of damp. I wouldn't do without heating completely either. Sorry I thought you meant just at night.

@Undecicive

I would be freezing in those temperatures. My house is at 21C during the day, 18 at night. Anything under and I can't function.

Im fascinated when people say things like this. So you keep the heating on at 18 all night long - what are you wearing in bed? how many covers?

I agree with the PP that lack of heating will eventually lead to a damp and mouldy house.

No heating? It was cold in Surrey today. I refuse to be cold.

There are a lot of comments about the heating being “on at night”
I’ve had a look at the graph and last night it came on at 3am for 15 mins and it was zero degrees last night, think the settings might be a bit of a red herring about how much we are actually using at night

Homemadearmy Same here! I reckon you and I would get on
Obviously its not much fun with the temperature that low but I cant afford to keep it warmer, plus it hurts my brain to be heating the whole house just for me (ie I feel guilty about the environment).

I accept that its winter and in winter its going to be cold. I wear extra clothes, I go for walks/exercise to warm up (even cleaning, cooking is a great way to warm up)

If I really cant bear it I retreat to my room which is warmer (bed desk!) We also have a delonghi dragon which is fantastic for warming up just one room.

We’re very tight with heating. Wasn’t on at all yesterday. However it was 14 degrees in my lounge today and despite a blanket and hwb, I was cold. I stuck it on at lunchtime for 90 minutes. It’s currently about 19.5, won’t go on again tonight.

We don’t have ours on during the day or at night.

We both work from home and the littlest is here Monday / Friday during the day (nursery 3 days a week). It’s only on very rare occasions I’ve said I’ve been cold this year.

We also don’t have it on during the night as we’re warm enough in bed.

We live in a single skin 1930’s end terrace that tends towards chilly!

Nobody is saying don’t have the heating on ever. Just not all day and night.

@Oblomov22

No heating? It was cold in Surrey today. I refuse to be cold.

Whenever these threads come up, you get someone who says "I refuse to be cold". They don't seem to understand that sometimes it takes a bit more than simply refusing. That's why people share energy saving and staying warm tips

@Snoken I know what you mean. I work in social housing maintenance & we see a lot of issues through consistent under heating & lack of ventilation as people don’t want to let the warm heat out

Ours is at 20degC for 3 hours in the morning & a few hours in the evening. We are mostly wfh so itsxset at 15 during the day but never comes on. If it feels chilly we boost it for an hour. It is set to 5 over night but has never come on. I've never had the heating on over night, you just need a cosy duvet (we only have a 10 tog & have never been cold). And I do like to be warm so it's not like I enjoy it bring chilly!

Our thermostat is set to 15 and we don’t have heating on overnight. It comes on from 7am until 8pm but will only actually click on if temp falls below 15. We wear extra layers, warm blanket on newborn baby and in night I breastfeed in my pjs and heavy dressing gown. It isn’t ideal but as main wage earner on mat leave and the way cost of living is rising we don’t feel we have much other choice.

We never had the heating on at night when ours were tiny unless it was going to be bitter. Not after they were newborn.

@Oblomov22

No heating? It was cold in Surrey today. I refuse to be cold.

Really? Here in Berkshire today it was very mild. 9 degrees currently and I think today’s high was around 12.

We don't have heating at night and in fact sleep with bedroom window open unless it's very windy ( and then it's bathroom window instead) We have it on around 18c when wfh as it gets uncomfortable sitting at desk in cold room.
Quite often snuggle under a blanket together with a cat and/or hot water bottle if just watching tv.
If I had tinies at home I'd keep it on around 17/18 during the day I think. If I could afford to .

@Rickrollme

Do none of you ever need a wee in the night? I’m at a point in my life where I’m up 2-4 times per night or more if my DH is in a snory mood if my sleep is otherwise disturbed as I can’t go back to sleep unless I empty my bladder. I sleep in cozy PJs and socks with a fleece dressing gown and slippers next to me but when the temp is below about 16 I really struggle to get out of bed. I end up wasting 30+ minutes lying awake or dozing in and out until I’m absolutely bursting, then I literally run to and from the toilet but by then I am wide awake and it takes a while to warm up and fall back to sleep. Multiply that a few times and it really impacts on the quality and amount of sleep I get. In the warmth light of day I know it’s stupid to put it off but my half-asleep self doesn’t get the message. We could let the heat go down a bit more it would save a good amount of money but I can’t function well on broken sleep. Am I the only one with this issue? We are far north and have old windows so without heat overnight it would easily get down to 12 or below.

Get an electric blanket. Put it on once you are back in bed after going to the toilet. It will heat your bed in a few minutes. It costs pennies to run and will be much cheaper than heating your whole house up at night.

I am down south, but I keep the thermostat at 10 degrees overnight so it rarely comes on.

@LGY1

Like everyone I’ve started to worry about heating costs, we are currently on a fixed tariff until Aug & pay a DD of £140 a month. I looked at our rates & yes they will double when the fixed term ends.

Looking at cutting back on our heating use, however I’ve attached a photo of our Hive schedule and I can’t see where we can cut back much more!

If we go with the easy “turn your thermostat down 1 degree” we would be on 17 degrees!

We both WFH full time now & have a 1 & 4 year old so I don’t want it too cold overnight.

Anyone else thinking the same?

Turn radiators off at times you don't use rooms. We have rads in bedrooms off permanently (we actually prefer cold room, warm duvet) but you could at least turn them off during the day. We have rads in the living room off except in evening - we never use it during the day. During the day when we're both working from home we heat only the kitchen and the study. We have rads in hall and staircase permanently off, who needs warm corridors?

Overall we're never heating more then half the house at any given time. We've cut our gas usage in half, and we still have the rooms we're actually using heated to the same (very cosy) temperature that we had before.

My house is roughly 14° right now. You need to layer up. We don't heat the bedroom or hallways and definitely don't need the heating on when you're asleep!!

Buy your children fleecy pyjamas.

We bought a small oil radiator for our youngest’s room (which is colder than the rest of the house). It’s got a thermostat and we set it to come on if the temp in his room drops below 16 at night. It’s really useful for WFH too, much cheaper than heating the whole house if there’s only one person at home sitting in one room.