"We don't have the heating on"

[Christonabike37]

Just reading another thread and seen this "we never have the heating on at night" and I've never really understood what it means, but now with energy prices I need to know if its really what people do.

Our thermostat is set at 15 always, in the evenings we up it to 20 for a few hours. I consider 15 off, and 20 on. Is this the same? Or do people just not have the heating on at all, like your house could be 0 degrees? How cold does it get at night? Surely it gets down to single figures most of the time?

I live in a single skinned building (1850s cottage). My thermostat is set for 18 for a few hours in the evening, one hour in the morning and 9 at all other times (which is effectively off)

Always off overnight.
If it's a particularly cold spell we'll set it to come on a bit earlier but usually it comes on about half an hour before we wake up.

For those talking about pipes bursting, insulate then for a start and thaw them out if you need. If it’s going to be a prolonged cold then yes you probably do need the heating on but it doesn’t need to be at 18+ to stop it freezing over

Is this a serious thread? How can you not understand how central heating works?? Jeeez….yawn.

We hardly ever have the heating on. Last winter we had it on probably 5 times in total for an hour each time.

Last time heating was on was the beginning of February.

How did you manage - do you have fires?

For those talking about pipes bursting, insulate then for a start and thaw them out if you need

It’s not that simple. Eventually, even insulated pipes will freeze, and when they freeze the water in them expands and burst the pipe. When it thaws, the water goes everywhere.

We've never had heating on overnight. That's what duvets are for!

I'm more concerned about the day. We halved the amount of heating we used last winter and it was miserable. I work from home and I was cold even with multiple layers, including fleece lined leggings, thermal top, a fleece lined jacket and with a duvet wrapped round my legs. I don't see how we can go much lower than 2 to 3 hours a day - and that was with DS in school. If his school refusal continues we have to keep him warm somehow. It's a nightmare.

no fires either. We keep doors closed and have draft cushion things at the bottom of doors. We make sure we wear layers, have the big hoody blankets to wear etc and hot water bottles. Have big chunky blankets on the sofa to snuggle under.

We don’t spend that much time in the house due to having a pretty full on timetable with school/work/activities/clubs.

Think we have just got use to not having the heating on, now if we do put it on it gives us a headache.

So, @BertieQueen, you're living in an unheated house and will do so all winter? That sounds like a challenge - last year we had those dreadful storms and bitter winds. I couldn't manage.

I’ve literally never had it on at night. Even with newborn babies. It’s never been necessary and I’ve nerves woken up because I’m cold (more Importantly nor have the children). Nobody should have heating on unless they are wearing a jumper, it’s utterly wasteful to whack the heating on and sit in a vest and shorts (I know many people who do this).

I always get confused as to what is the cheapest way to heat the house
I never have the heating on overnight have always turned it off before bed but I guess that's because my parents always did that too!
I read on here lots of people keep it at a constant 20 day and overnight so what do I know

If it's well below freezing (especially at night), it is, in fact a good idea to have it on permanently set very low. Burst pipes are more expensive.

I would recommend a smart thermostat. We can programme the heating / hot water from an app on our phones. We can turn it off/ down whilst we are out, or turn the hot water / heating on before we head home. It can alert you if you go out and leave the heating on. Our bills fell quite significantly. The heating is on frost setting overnight (which I think is 7 degrees) - it never comes on. I had our heating programmed to come on just before the kids came home from school and it varied by day depending on what after school clubs they had.

yes, it doesn’t bother us at all have done so for years - judging by this thread we may be some kind of aliens as everyone loves their heating and even have it on at night.

When we didn’t have power & heating for 3 days last winter (multiple times) our house went down to about 10 degrees in the rooms which couldn’t be heated by the fire. That was during Scottish winter storms.

You’ll be ok to switch your heating off overnight. Your walls and double glazing will keep a fair bit of heat inside your house. I’m not someone who grew up with ice on the windows but I am surprised at how many people my age (30s) are heating their houses overnight and not thinking that’s a waste of energy!!!

I also like a colder house. Would never have it on over night. I would find 18 too warm.

I haven't RTWT (27 pages) Are we talking about the UK? in summer? Our heating has been off since April - ish. The temperature is high enough not to need it. For weeks now I've slept with only a sheet (or nothing) over me.
When the weather turns (prob end Sept) we shall put the heating on a timer. On at 6am - 9am when we go to work. On at 6pm till 10pm ish.

Ours is off entirely at the moment. In the autumn/winter, we will set it to come on for an hour in the morning, an hour around lunch time and a couple of hours in the evening. During the hours it is on, the thermostat will be on around 17 degrees, so if the hallways get hotter than 17, it will turn off, even if it hasn't been on for the full hour it is set for. When the hallways are 17, the bedrooms or living rooms are usually a few degrees warmer, around 19 or 20. So yes, our heating is entirely off over night.

My boiler is pretty old so it has the option to be on for hot water only, separate switch to turn on heating and I can set how hot the heating stays on (also it’s in Fahrenheit hand not Celsius for some reason). No option to set it to start when it reaches a certain temperature. Be separate control panel on the wall either, everything is controlled from the boiler.

We switch ours on for a couple of hours in the evening during winter and turn it off completely overnight. We used to stick it in for an hour in the morning when we get up but have decided to try our best not to this winter. We can get dressed quickly (under covers in necessary) and a cuppa will warm us up before we head out. DD is a teen now so can cope too - she will probably moan as she is the type to sit around in shorts whilst complaining about the cold .

I have a digital thermometer that measures inside and outside temperatures so will use that to monitor how cold it gets. I expect we will be doing a lot more layers and blankets this year than putting the heating on.

I have circulation problems, so really feel the cold. When outside temperatures have been very cold in the winter, I have had my thermostat up to 22c on occasion for short periods in the evenings. I am happy for it to be 17/18c overnight, but I also have asthma and my lungs are irritated by very cold air, so going much lower would be a problem. I have just bought a heated throw and, between this and and cutting my maximum thermostat temperature to 19c (due to energy prices), I’m hoping I can keep warm this coming winter.

Nope - no heating been on since April - top floor flat get everyone’s heat - we don’t plan on switching ours on only if it snows but that’s a rarity down south!

I hate the heating on at night. I get dry eyes and a dry throat and sleep badly. The thermostat on each radiator is set to 8 degrees to prevent freezing.

My mum has the heating on over night and I hate it.

We are on oil heating but have wood burners so we had our heating on for one hour each morning last winter and only 3 times during the evening because the wood burners kept us warm in an evening. Last winter really was not that cold in the NW. Our house is mostly run off electricity, cooker and shower so I am more worried about how we are going to manage the cost of that. Already cutting down washing machine, dishwasher, not using the tumble dryer, fewer showers and using less lighting

And in the summer the heating part of the boiler is turned off completely.