To explain to people that UK homes have never 'not had heating'

[KweenieBeanz]

People keep responding to those worrying about energy costs, don't worry, homes never used to have heating, people survived, just don't put your heating on!
Home did not have central heating. Instead, they had fires and heated individual homes. People did not live in homes with no heating in the UK.

In the UK during the winter if a home is never heated even by late November /December temperatures inside will have gradually dropped to a temperature that's too low.
See the info here: www.cse.org.uk/advice/advice-and-support/heat-and-health#:~:text=Below%2013%C2%B0%20%2D%20If%20your,recommended%20night%20time%20bedroom%20temperature.

There is a huge difference if you even use your heating for just 1hr a day, topping up the temperature to stop it dropping so rapidly.

People need to stop acting as though those struggling just need to toughen up, 'wear more layers' and cope with the heating off this winter as a solution to energy costs, as it's simply not feasible, and it would be better for people to take action now to let their energy provider know they are in fuel poverty and need to access help.

Errr yes. If you read what I originally posted, you'll see I pointed that out here :

"That said, there is a limit to what you can withstand if you aren't properly geared up and also if you are very young/old/not fit and healthy."

"If cold temperatures weren't survivable no-one would ever be able to go outside."
🤣

When we're outside we're generally moving briskly, carrying shopping, doing sport etc. I can run in winter in shorts but I still need hearing on overnight to keep the air warm.

heating on even. I will never get used to typing on a stupid smart phone. Bring back blackberries.

Exactly this, when you're skiing or climbing a mountain, or even just a walk you are going to be able to keep warm more than sitting/ pottering about at home!!

Also there are a lot of things that are technically 'survivable' that we wouldn't see as at all acceptable in 2022

Extreme sports people with thousands of pounds of gear aren’t really relevant to lower income people not being able to “heat and eat.” People who had highly unusual childhoods due to extreme deprivation caused by parents who struggled to function are also irrelevant to the OP’s point. (Though we are all sympathetic.)

It’s true that central heating is a relatively new invention. It’s also true that most people in Northern Europe just heated a few rooms some of the time and this was enough to keep body and soul together.

Besides being cold, not running any heating at all in damp winter weather risks destroying your house as mould and damp get into the walls of your house.

Turning off central heating altogether is not equivalent to life before central heating. There would certainly be excess deaths.

People use sleeping bags and tents in Antartica and up Everest where it gets down to -60 at night with no external heat and they survive fine

yeah people never die on Mount Everest never happens nope 😆

They just had bad clothing. Don't you know.

Are you honestly saying that we should be aspiring to send people back to that? Because it was miserable and unhealthy and shit (I know, I remember too!). I hate all this "it never did me any harm" and "the young don't know they're born" schtick. Well shoot me for not wanting my kids to grow up in the same / worse conditions than I did, or my elderly mom to be cold, just because you think it's somehow morally superior or character building. We are supposed to be one of the richest nations on earth fgs!

Well, no, the room I'm in heats up; the rest of the house is like an ice box! There are all sorts of practical ways to keep a house warm, or cool during heatwaves, without central heating or airconditioning. I have curtains, draught stoppers, etc, and close doors, to keep the room used warm, and I wear warm layers, etc.

I think the problem starts when the person, especially elderly person, has a tiny bar heater and/or no money to pay for much use of their gas or electric heater. This is the problem many are facing currently.

I think also there's a muddke ground. Many people I know sit around the house in shorts and t shirts, and I often get roo warm in other people's houses. I struggle to sleep at my parents house due to the heat.

People can use their heating considerably less than they are used to, and still be ok. I'm the winter I always have a jumper and slippers on , in the evenings when the dc are in bed I have a blanket if I'm watching TV. It's cold in the mornings so we put a dressing gown on. We still have the heating on daily, just not at 21° .

You are wrong OP - I lived in two separate homes where we had no heating. No fireplace. No electric, gas or paraffin heaters.

It was fucking cold.

Those aren't just your run of the mill £20 from the supermarket sleeping bags though. My £200 sleeping bag wouldn't be anywhere near the standard required for Everest, so I dread to think what they cost. If people could afford them they could afford to heat their homes and not need them.

I'm working at home today, it's just me at home so the heating doesn't feel justified. I have a hot water bottle, blanket and an extra cardy. I also have a hat to put on, as we lose most of our heat through our heads and wrist warmers so that I can still type. I'll drink several cups of coffee. If I get cold I'll walk round a bit. The heating will only go on as a last resort until the kids come home.

I'm so glad my 99 year old Gran is in a home now. She kept her thermostat at 11 degrees. She had a small fire she could put on and always had a blanket over her. She gave away her winter fuel payment to her favourite charity. Her house was freezing. I assumed she couldn't afford the heating, but now I'm her POA I can see how much she has in her accounts, so I've no idea why she lived like that. I'm glad she doesn't anymore.

@Bemyclementine
I think this the thing, there's no point being extreme and trying not to have it on at all unless you're literally struggling to afford food, just being more aware of turning the thermostat down a couple of degrees can help a lot cost wise and the sensible approach!

@Bemyclementine
I think this the thing, there's no point being extreme and trying not to have it on at all unless you're literally struggling to afford food, just being more aware of turning the thermostat down a couple of degrees can help a lot cost wise and the sensible approach!

I don’t see how the way we used to live is relevant today, unless there are some helpful tricks to apply now. We should aim for everyone at minimum, to have a place to live that is adequately warm to maintain health. Even with high insulation and building designs that capture warmth from the sun, an additional heat source of some sort is normally needed.

I grew up with my grandparents. No central heating. Living room had a fire. I hate being cold these days but I can cope with it. I am trying not to put heating on though 😬

I don’t see how the way we used to live is relevant today, unless there are some helpful tricks to apply

It’s very relevant if the the way we live today (yesterday?) is no longer sustainable and/or affordable.

Knowing that turning the central heating off overnight is unlikely to result in finding loved ones dead in their beds the next morning must be reassuring. As must be the knowledge that most of the the people who pushed up the average life expectancy in the UK grew up in houses where often only one room was heated properly.

We didn't have central heating when I was little. We lived in a council house that had a gas fire in the living room. We had a paraffin heater in the kitchen which dad would take up to the landing in the evening with all the bedroom doors open to try and get it a bit warm before we went to bed. No heating in the bathroom and we also had ice on the inside of the windows. We just piled on more blankets.

Its relevant because it's a warning people shouldn't have to live like it anymore as there are lots of people who can testify to how awful it was.

It wasn’t remotely awful for the majority. It just wasn’t as comfortable as we have latterly become used to.

How do you know what the majority had

How do you know what the majority had

Because if it had been that awful for the majority, it would have been a popular topic of conversation at the time. It wasn’t. The majority of families had some form of heating.

The house I grew up in was a terrace cottage so we did get heat from either side, we had an open fire and a gas fire downstairs, no heat upstairs, there was an open fire place in my parents bedroom but was never used. I did scrape ice off my bedroom windows in the depths of winter. Very thick stone walls which I think helped.

My dh grew up with no heating. They had a gas fire in each room, but for some reason only the downstairs one got turned on. He told me it used to be so cold they could see the air coming out from their mouth (condensation- whatever it's called), they would sleep with their coats on. They weren't poor tho, but their dad was very tight with money.
They only got central heating installed in 2010 or something.
His childhood makes me sad.
He never ate school dinners, his parents just never thought to give lunch money