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..

And they came back when l was a student living in freezing accommodation in the 80’s

Anyone worried about coughs and asthma or damp need only get a dehumidifier with air purifier function.

You can have the heating at 18°C and this will not only get rid of damp, it will pump out heat and filter the air.

I grew up in a well ventilated house in the north of England in the ‘80s and ‘90s. No central heating. Never had any chronic health problems in winter.

Y’all bitch too much.

loll

Some of us did though . I wouldn't want to go back either .

Exactly this. Earth overshoot day, the date at which the earth can no longer sustainable replenish the resources humans consume, was the 28th of July this year.

For the UK that date was the 19th of May, that means the average person in the UK needs to cut their consumption by more than half just to reach a sustainable level.

There is no easy solution to this and resources are only going to become more expensive and scarce as the living standards of those in the developing world increase.

The choices we have are either:

We reduce our consumption to a sustainable level and find a global equilibrium that allows all people to live a similar standard of life.
We reduce the population to a level that can sustain our current consumption levels.
We force billions of people to remain in poverty so that we can continue to overconsume.
We do nothing and watch the world fall apart.

Which option would you chose?

But many will manage of they change their habits too.

Everyone is you.

Hmm, it isn't either/or though.

The fact that there are people who've thought it was fine wandering round in t-shirts in winter and whacking up the heating, some of whom will have the money to continue doing it, doesn't mean there aren't people who need the heat at a level they won't be able to afford in order to keep well or alive. Both cohorts exist, and a big increase in energy prices isn't necessarily the most efficient way to tackle high usage.

The solution to high usage is high prices. If the market is signalling there is insufficient gas, then price will go up until people cut back on usage.

Which is exactly what we are seeing since prices for futures are only going up more and faster. The people who can still afford it now may not be able to do so six months from now when coupled with other cost increases, since energy is the primary resource for all else we do.

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.

Why do we feel the cold more as we get older? I've always been a bit of a chilly mortal (underactive thyroid), but I'm definitely getting worse. I used to be ok with 20C indoors, now I feel cold if it's less than 22.

I'm not really any less active than I was, and I don't think I've got any circulatory problems, but I've definitely felt the cold more since I hit 60.

It is far more efficient to heat yourself rather than your environment. As such, I would definitely focus on thermal base layers and hot water bottles or electric blankets etc. to keep costs down for home heating.

It is because your circulation gets less good as you get older. So you feel the cold more and your skin feels physically colder easily.
My mum was a windows open no need for heating type of person. In the last few years before her death the house was a sauna as she felt cold so easily.

I disagree as high prices for all disproportionately impact the poorest and most vulnerable in society while leaving the rich unaffected. Those who can afford to do so will continue to overconsume without a second thought, while those that can't will struggle even with cutting back.

We are very soon going to be seeing situations where people with genuine needs for high usage, such as those who require lifesaving equipment to be run, die because they can't keep it going, while others, like the OP, continue to heat their houses to t-shirt levels because they can.

The solution in my opinion is to have a tiered pricing system where the first XXXX kWh used is set at a manageable price with subsequent use being charged at ever more punitive rates. Those who can demonstrate a genuine need for high use could continue to pay the lower prices while those who just can't be arsed making changes can pay extortionatly for the privilege.

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 childhood home was similar, @54isanopendoor , but in the 60s.

The water in our outside lav froze solid in the winter of 62/63. If you needed a shit, my mum or dad used to have to boil a kettle first to thaw the ice in the cistern and pan, so it would flush.

I found this very amusing at the time, but don't think I'd find it so funny now.

The phrase "Put the kettle on, I'll be needing a crap in a minute" became a family saying for very cold days for the rest of my parents' lives though.

{mention:Thebestwaytoscareatory},@Thebestwaytoscareatory, great idea. I see so many well off households who simply keep heating on all the time because they can, without a thought for how it affects others. Why does anyone need to sit for hours on end in 25 degrees is beyond me.

I think that's the way my thinking has been going on this.

I'm not quite sure why people who are low rate users should subsidise anyone who are high rate users unless there is a medical reason for them to be high users.

This should be based on number of people in a household / size of household. So if you are in a small house with many people you might consume more energy but per person your usage is low. Equally why should someone living in a large house be getting better rates than 5 people living in a tiny house?

We have to start getting people to start considering how they use their energy and almost incentivising low usage as being worthwhile - even for those who perhaps can afford more.

This is very true . It's the gulf between rich and poor that is the problem here.

I think that people who have their heating on at 20-odd degrees and sit around in tee-shirts are irresponsible from an environmental point of view . But everyone should be able to live in a reasonable state of comfort . I do remember central hearing free houses from early childhood / student rentals and would always turn to extra layers of clothing in the first place - but when it becomes uncomfortably cold when you are already sitting in a fleece then people should be able to put their heating on without getting into debt .

i work with peole who never wear a cardigan,
thse are not youngsters
these are strange women in their sixties

youre deluded if you think you don't smell sleeping in bedding that's been on 6 weeks & washing your body & clothes so infrequently.

Just speaking "hypothetically", but if I were one of these people with such unapproved habits, how would I know? Presumably I can't smell myself. But since other people can smell me & they think it's bad, how would they treat me?

No attention from men? Too much attention from only smelly men?
People wrinkling noses?
People moving away in public spaces?
No social invites?

Are they strange because they don't wear cardigans?

I don't wear a cardigan, they do not suit me at all! am I strange?

@JimJamJollyWolly
they complain of the cold in the office but nothing to warm themselves up, do you?

@MrsLargeEmbodied

I have complained about the heating in works in the past yes. I always dress appropriately for the weather/temperature though.

I'm just surprised you chose cardigans, and you did not explain the context.
You just said women in their 60s who didn't wear cardigans are strange. And they aren't.

no i didnt @JimJamJollyWolly
i was talking about two specific women, unless you are one of them <<narrows eyes>>

A few points:
-progress is not something to be resented

• a child's body copes with cold much better than an adult, especially a pensioner. You may find it much harder this year,
• British housing stock is poor quality and prone to damp without heating. Comfortable housing is one of the reasons life expectancy rose post 1950. The rise in seriously respiratory disease due to cold damp housing will put even more pressure on a breaking nhs.

So far I am very much saving on commuting costs ..... will need to see how this winter pans out.

these are strange women in their sixties

Theyre probably struggling with hot flushes brought in by the sight of a cardi.