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?

@CatDogMonkeyPOW

I think what's depressing about all these threads is that we're all focused on what we can do to make sacrifices instead of what direct action we can take to force the government to act.

The government has written off £4 billion of fraudulent Covid debt and yet here we are talking about how cold we can let our houses get. Everyone is too tired and too disillusioned to go out and protest and it's really very sad.

People are out protesting about it. It's just not being shown in the media so everyone else doesn't catch on and do it too.

We have never had the heat on at night except when the DC were babies. I like sleeping in a cold well ventilated room with enough clothes and blankets to keep warm. I can't sleep in a room with no fresh air.

Heating on low for some of the day but we are out a lot and expert in dressing sensibly, both having been brought up to wear warm layers. DH had never had central heating until we married.

We recently bought a heavy duty dehumidifier. Can’t believe how much water it collects on a daily basis! I wonder how that will impact our heating, if at all. The upstairs bedrooms always felt damp before.

This isn’t just about the cost of heating though. Climate change is going to come into it as well, and the reality is that many of these resources either aren’t going to be available in future years or are going to be prohibitively expensive to come by.

Personally I find it sad that people seem to see a duvet or a jumper as a second rate alternative, when actually you sleep under the duvet all night and really don’t need the rest of the house to be warm. And heating dries out the atmosphere, if you have it on permanently it certainly isn’t good for you. That’s not to say that people shouldn’t have it on at all, but believing they need their houses heating, which is just as bad for the environment as it is for their pocket, is ridiculous.

1hr in the morning 5.45-6.45
2hrs in the evening 7-9
Off the rest of the time.
Hot water bottle if you want some heat in bed (I have reynauds so take it for my feet & kick it out when they're warm otherwise the pain keeps me awake.)
Currently when its on the heating goes to 20C but I expect we'll be turning that down soon.

Hour in the morning and evening. Never on in the day, I just wear a thick cardi and socks. I'm in the South and fortunately it's quite mild currently.

Those of you who don't have heating on at night.. do you get condensation all over your bedroom windows? I've been recommended to leave the windows on the latch for ventilation and rooms at a constant temp (18) all the time, as the fluctuations make condensation worse (I'm talking water running down the windows, blinds starting to mould and patches of mould around the window frames and corners of rooms). But I'm going to be spending a fortune using that advice!!

@MazzleDazzle

It completely depends on the house. Ours is fetched, tall and slim, so most rooms have 3 exterior walls with no insulation. 17 degrees is chilly.

17 degrees in our old flat felt toasty.

We found that keeping our heating on low round the clock was cheaper than having it come off and on throughout the day.

I think that just means one (or both) of your thermostats wasn't working properly - 17° is 17° regardless of how your home is constructed! The difference is that in a badly insulated house the boiler will have to work harder (and cost more) to get to 17°.

@Hamster1111

Those of you who don't have heating on at night.. do you get condensation all over your bedroom windows? I've been recommended to leave the windows on the latch for ventilation and rooms at a constant temp (18) all the time, as the fluctuations make condensation worse (I'm talking water running down the windows, blinds starting to mould and patches of mould around the window frames and corners of rooms). But I'm going to be spending a fortune using that advice!!

Are you drying laundry indoors or boiling pans with no extractor? Those two things put a lot of water vapour into the air which then condenses out onto cold surfaces.

My boiler kicks in at 19c any lower and my youngest wets the bed. I’m sure any gas savings is make would be eaten up in washing and water and electric with the lights on to change bedding.

Ours is off at night about an hour before we go to bed. I turn it on when i get up in the morning.
Turn the rads off in rooms we are not in during the day.

@Hamster1111

Those of you who don't have heating on at night.. do you get condensation all over your bedroom windows? I've been recommended to leave the windows on the latch for ventilation and rooms at a constant temp (18) all the time, as the fluctuations make condensation worse (I'm talking water running down the windows, blinds starting to mould and patches of mould around the window frames and corners of rooms). But I'm going to be spending a fortune using that advice!!

No, we occasionally get a little bit on a cold night but never to that extent. We do have one of those moisture trap things on the windowsill though.

@LGY1

Looking at the graph it clicked on a bit last night to keep around 14 at 2am.

Irrational worry about littles one’s getting too cold (baby in a sleeping bag) but he is 18 months now & sleeps in fleece pj’s and sleeping bag.

Will turn off overnight & see how we go

How does that work - I can't see anything on Hive to say when it's been on and would love to know !

@Hamster1111 have never had heating on at night and never had condensation on windows, our house gets to about 13-14 overnight.

I’m shocked that people have their heating on at night. That can’t be normal. I’ve never heard of anyone ever having heating on at night, unless they left it on by mistake. Obviously, if you’re a shift worker or something, it’d be different.

Surely it’s also quite house dependent? Our heating hardly ever gets switched on. Probably a handful of times this winter. But Im not being virtuous about it, it’s a small Victorian terrace that really catches the sun (even in winter). But my parents house gets cold, they always have their heating on!

Oh and we sleep with the window cracked, even in the winter. But we share our bed with a giant fluffy dog that’s basically a hot water bottle

After reading this thread I'm 😳

Always had the heating on at night, winters are far too cold for me 😂 (yes I have duvets and blankets)

It definitely does depend on your house, unfortunately the windows need replacing here, a slight breeze and it feels like they're all wide open (either need replacing or need new sealant 🤷‍♀️)

Waffles, i wear warm phs and a winter duvet. If I'm really cold I put a blanket on top/under duvet. Even like this I feel the cold coming from the floor sometimes, then I have to out another blanket under the sheet.
If I sit at home in 21C, 2 socks, tracksuits with leggings and top layers... still cold. I'm probably part amphibian, can't generate any body heat. My bath water is usually 39-40C hot to hear myself up.

I had no idea there were graphs on Hive, but now I've found them I'm fascinated. Over the last week the lowest ours has gone (no heating from 9pm - 6 am) is 17. Usually it seems to dip to about 17.5 between 5&6am. That really is plenty warm enough. I often have to stick my leg out of bed to cool down.

@Paranoidandroidmarvin

I have a movable heating thing. So I keep it by my bed. I put it on ten mins before I get up. Leave it on for half an hour then turn it off.

If I’m in I don’t tend to have it on during the day. If I’m not sitting down I’m doing housework so I get hot. If I am sitting down I sit under my heated throw ( which is 2p and hour to run).
I may put it back on again around six. But mostly not.

Never at nighttime. I have a 10.5 tog. So cosy under there. And a hot water bottle.

What are the heated things that you have???

We are trying some days with no heating.

Other days we will do between 2 - 3.5 hours a day.

Normally would have it on way more than that and never no heating at all but I am not going to be paying those stupid prices!!

Pisses me off though as i LOVE a warm house and hate having the air cold so your face is always chilly lol

@CloudPop little graph symbol top right, pic hopefully attached. You can only see current day unless you pay the subscription.

We don't pay a subscription & I can see a week.

@LGY1 amazing thanks !