We are too used to Central heating..

[Dampclout]

Until the 1980s very few houses had central heating. Most people heated one room, had hot water bottles at bedtime and wore warm clothes. I can recall quickly going out of the warm front room and shutting the door behind me, if I wasn't quick enough there would be be the shout of ‘shut that door’
Nowadays I wear a tee shirt in winter and keep my house at 20c… I think I will be going back to my childhood ways this winter..

There's an in-between though. Not everyone is as wasteful as this:
Nowadays I wear a tee shirt in winter and keep my house at 20c…

This. Plus we did have coal fires.

Yes you're right but there were gas fires or open fires and as you said we all got toasty in one room then went up to bed with hot water bottles. Lots of houses these days don't have a separate heat source. If you shut off all the radiators and heat one room it's still going to cost a bloody fortune so it's not the same as 'back in the day.'

Nowadays I wear a tee shirt in winter and keep my house at 20c… I think I will be going

Well maybe don't be such an energy hoover then?

Yes, I'm used to central heating. And not suffering from chest infections or mould induced asthma.

I'm also used to antibiotics, flushing toilets and refrigeration.

I agree and can remember having the house colder and wearing thicker clothes etc. also we tended to all be in one room but with kids on game stations or tvs in separate rooms it will be difficult for families to adapt now. As a student we used to have a house vote in order to put the heating on and go to bed in long johns!

I grew up in a house with no central heating and no double glazing. Ice inside the windows every winter. Could see your breath!
I don't ever want to go back to that. I have double glazing, central heating and every energy saving device I can find - but I don't wear T-shirts indoors in the winter. Why would anybody?

Well yes but if you look at things from a public health perspective, as housing improved so did health and heating and the reduction in damp and associated problems is rather a large part of that.

How comfortable is too comfortable?

What we need is housing stock that is far, far more energy efficient. Houses that don't require a lot of energy to heat and generate their own power through solar panels. The tech is there, there are a few small companies building these houses already, it's just not caught on because the construction industry is resistant to change.

I didn't live in a house with central heating until 2001 when I was at university. Similar for my DH in the military. Our house is still never heated above 18c. We wear heavy clothes when it's cold and the heating is off April - October usually. This is our normal as we have never liked to waste heat - it's pointless swanning about in tshirt if you can't breathe in the heat of the house.

Not sure it'll affect us as much as some others although we'll still be watching it closely.

So many houses now are open plan which makes heating a small part difficult.

Our house is always on the chilly side to keep the bills down. I do heat it, but don't hear it high. Winter evenings = blankets, tracksuit bottoms, thick socks and fleeces.

People also used to be fine shitting in buckets and chucking it into the street. Maybe you could do that and save on your water bill too OP? People are too used to indoor plumbing these days.

We always had central heating from the 60s, I remember dgps having.a coal fire in the living room

Hmm I grew up in the 80s. In a rented house. I remember the metal single glazed window. We had a bit one as you went up the stairs. My mum would seal it off with plastic sheeting in the winter because of the condensation.
It’s ok to want to be warm. There are no good reasons to go back. Lots of people are getting very rich. It’s seems perfectly ok to the that many people will be poorer and more uncomfortable.
Martin Lewis was saying today that OAP on state pension will be paying half of their pension in energy costs. That is completely unacceptable

Why are you keeping your house so warm you can wear a t-shirt that is stupid. We usually have ours at 18 degrees, I would be in a jumper but thermo-husband would be in a t-shirt. Below 15 it gets too cold to work if sitting still for a while. My parents however are nearly 80 and though very active get cold at leas than 23 degrees. I hatt going to there's and visa versa.

We didn't have central heating. We had a gas heater in the hall. Mum used to light it as soon as we got up. There was a gas fire in the living room and one in the dining room. In winter I had an electric/oil? radiator in my room and a fleecy under blanket on the bed. I don't remember being cold but that house was before I was 7.

I remember practically crying with cold when needing to go to the toilet in the night or getting out of bed in the morning. Putting in clothes so cold they felt damp. It wasn’t some kind of frugal utopia it was freakin miserable.
Central heating is awesome! (Though I’d never heat the house to tshirt temp in winter!)

Central heating also prevents chilblains, asthma, hypothermia, houses having dry rot, people with poor circulation (especially the elderly with poor mobility).

🙄

This. ^ Such a daft thread!

I can afford to keep my house at my chosen temperature, if you are happy at 18 degrees then well done you.

Agreed - most people out a jumper on for warmth to avoid wasting money.

And I guess you just don't give a shit about the environment?

It's not something to boast about.

Well good for you.
Not all of us grew up in the dark ages and don’t want to go back there.