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..

If people really are going to do this then they are very silly. Their poor dc who will be impacted too

What people say they will do on social media and what they will actually do, when faced with the reality of the stress and worry of potentially having the prospect of balliffs or repossession, are two different things.

Yes it is good but why do the bills have to be ridiculously high

If all we had to do was keep our homes at 18 degrees and wear jumpers, it wouldn't be a crisis.

We are in indeed to used to living in hot boxes, where in some houses there is no distinct difference between the seasons.

I'm a cleaner, and get to see the usage of others. There are houses where the occupants are in t shirts and shorts all year round. If they get cold on the heating goes, they must never think of long trousers or a jacket. Then there are those whose house is permanently 26 degrees and above all the time. The houses where if the temperature drops below 23 the heating comes on even if they are out. So heating no one. And don't get me started on those idiots who change their childrens outfits 3 times a day just because and wash every outfit after or adults clothes on for an hour or two then washed.

Something had to change, sadly it will affect the wrong people who are being sensible and the idiots will carry on.

By that reasoning, keeping our home at 16 degrees would mean a lesser crisis. We are going backwards. Member that bollox about levelling up and building back better?

Why have you said that you’re going back to your childhood ways and then had a massive strop at someone telling you to just turn down your thermostat?!!

Tbf if EVERYONE was doing that and only using their heating first thing in the morning and for an hour or two in the evening, it wouldnt be as much of a crisis. The crisis is being of excessive demand. The prices are so high because we are having to match excessive demand. If the demand was less the prices would not be as high as they are. They'd still be high but the crisis wouldnt be as bad.

Go for 18°C then. The point is to use less and still be comfortable. People can piss off with these straw men arguments about going back to the Middle Ages because we dared call out excessive energy consumption.

No one is dying or feeling terrible at 18°C. Get out of here with this nonsense. It validates the snowflake impression the right wing media often yammers on about.

there is an increasing elderly population
try telling them not to have heating
although that might not be so hard as so many are old school and refuse to have heating on very much
but if they are immobile they will feel the cold and risk hypothermia

Also the standing charges make it expensive before you even start

I don't know anyone who had chest infections - certainly not from a lack of central heating anyway. Nobody had "mould induced asthma". In fact unlike today asthma was quite uncommon where I was.

And yet six times more children died of asthma sixty years ago than now.

Probably due to a combination of worse pollution and poor standards of medication. More people smoked too, some homes were like smog inside along side open fires of course

But again, no one is talking about 'no heating', the OP (I think) was talking about turning it down, using it less often

I know people who have the heating on at night, completely unnecessary bar specific medical needsd.

We didn’t have central heating until around 1989, until that time we had one electric fire in the livingroom, a little heat ring attached to the bathroom light) and that was it! Immersion heater for hot water.

I don’t want to go back to those days, I had chilblains, I was cold, it was grim in the winter.

and even though I now live in a house with central heating, combi boiler, I only ever set the thermostat to 18 degrees, one hour in the morning and an hour when I get home from work, during the winter.

I have a washer/dryer that I only use the dry cycle for towels, during the winter, no dish washer, a small 2 bed semi that thankfully is well insulated (apart from the front door, need to sort that out) other clothes go on a rack in our bedroom, not ideal due to condensation, need to look into a dehumidifier!

Whilst I said earlier that I would hate to be back in the coldness of 1950”s/60’s homes , I realise reading this thread that I must actually still be a bit stuck in “ old days”!
I can’t see why the temp needs to be so high and on all day, illness etc excepted of course. I have an hour in the morning and 2 hours in the evening from oct to about March. On a thermostat so usually on about 20/21 degrees. My 1980’s built mid terrace must be very well insulated. Also Im on south coast so that must make a difference I realise.
I would definitely putting another layer on rather than turn it up high or longer.
yes standing charges are going to impact households even if their usage is their bare minimum.
I lived through the scary Financial Times of ridiculous 80’s mortgage rates, am a WASPI woman so messed up finances for a few more years, but this is the most I’ve been worried about , especially for families , for many many years.

i think there is going to be a lot of crowing from those who use less energy, from ALL age groups - it is always the case.

@OurLipsAreSealed I can still remember the pain of chilblains and how much I cried, 60 years on

so many people working from home will suffer.
they might wish to return to the office

Correlation ≠ causation.

Totally couldn’t be down to the amount of coal and other dirty particulates being spewed out.

@MrsLargeEmbodied absolutely no crowing from this old nanny, I might be able to keep warm but will be helping out my family with their bills as they are all in that group just above getting benefits level but on low incomes and with young children.

Whilst thats true for many people, the simple maths are that for millions of people, regardless of the scale of the help so far offered, is that they simply will not have the money to pay £1000s of pounds, even with cut backs, folk will face bills of £4k or £5k per year.

Previously they were perhaps paying £1200 or so, Govt help of a 1000 or so.

They'll be faced with finding an extra 2 or 3k and bear in mind too, general inflation exc energy costs is around 10%, limiting further room for savings.

They will have stress and worry regardless.

Well said @Zampa !!

I grew up in the 1970's in a damp cold victorian house with an open fire,
(an outside loo & a tin bath too!) It was miserable & promoted chest infections.

My kids, nearly 50 years later, are going to be cold (ER) this winter in a damp cold victorian house. Difference is, I grew up in Kent, they are in Scotland where its always at least 5 & often 10 degrees colder. I can't move. I can't 'just earn more' (I'm a Carer).
We are all disabled so 'lucky' the power won't be cut off, but I still can't pay it...
50 years, & no bloody progress :(

I don't know anyone who had chest infections - certainly not from a lack of central heating anyway. Nobody had "mould induced asthma". In fact unlike today asthma was quite uncommon where I was

l was born in the 60’s and we didn’t get central heating until about 1976.

l had constant sore throats, coughs etc. Theg all stopped with the advent of central heating.

My living room is open plan through to kitchen and dining area with stairs in it leading upstairs. So for me that's not even an option. Plus I hate being cold. I will try to cut down during the day on the heating but I will not be heating one room or be feeling Baltic all the time.