9 degrees inside - is it now a false economy to not put heating on?

[blanketseverywhere]

I'm trying to get by without putting heating on. According to the smart meter, it's currently 9 degrees in the sitting room (north-facing). The house feels very cold, but if I sit in the kitchen (south-facing) in many layers, with scarf and fingerless gloves on etc, it's not unbearable for WFH. In the evening I can use blankets / hot water bottles etc while watching tv and have two duvets on the bed at night.

However, at what point will temperatures of this level start to damage the house - or me? I feel achey all the time which I think is from being 'tense' in the cold, if that makes sense. I also have a constantly red and running nose / scratchy throat although I don't really feel ill.

I'm not using the tumble dryer so drying washing inside most of the time, although do try and keep windows open for air circulation... but then that makes it colder! I don't think we have any damp but I'm worried about the house constantly being cold - is this an issue in itself?

Is it going to get to a point where it's a false economy not to put the heating on because it will possibly be doing damage to the house, or should I carry on trying to hold out if possible and just carry on layering up? I realise this probably sounds a bit daft but I really don't want to store up even bigger problems!

@blanketseverywhere

''No, the smart meter doesn't include the standing charge, unfortunately!''

Oh right! Thought it would!

Ignore personal comments, some people are just plain rude and obnoxious! You're clearly just thinking about things very carefully of which so are a lot of other people like me! There's nothing wrong with that!

If that was the case they would have to stipulate in the insurance policy that the house has to be kept at a certain temperature. I had to insure an unoccupied house for a while and the minimum temperature was made plain in the policy. I have never seen anything in my regular insurance policy.

Insurance companies must pay out millions each year when pipes burst in freezing weather. I doubt they comb through everyone's energy bills!

My Bulb smart meter shows the standing charge

This may have been answered already so apologies if it has.
You say you wfh, can you work from an office where you can be toasty warm and then pop heating on for an hour in the evening just? Saving money that way?

I am ok on 16. I woke up to the house being 12 today, so put the heating on.
I know I need to also maintain the house/pipes.
Everyone got £400 to help with energy costs, so it does baffle me when there are die hards refusing to put the heating on despite mould/damp, and going to bed early with a million blankets.
You are still paying standing charges.

18 degrees is the tipping point when our bodies begin to get stressed.

With modern energy-saving or LED liightbulbs, the cost of electricity for lighting is negligible.

We turned the heating off in a couple of rooms, we live rurally and these were direct to the outside rooms (door to outside, but inside). I stupidly kept all of our summer/spring stuff in this area and ALL of it was covered in mould and mildew. Such a false economy and such a shame, if I’d kept them at a similar temp to the rest of the house (16.5) I wouldn’t have had to either wash, re wash and buy specific detergent or replace!

No, they just have to stipulate that you will take reasonable care to maintain the building. There's a couple of threads bashing landlords over maintaining properties at the moment, but property maintenance is an annual expenditure for all property owners - not just landlords.

It costs me £14 a day to get into the office so I only go in if i absolutely have to. Much as I'd like to, I can't go to a cafe or similar to work as my job requires 2 screens and privacy (confidential / sensitive conversations etc). I like WFH...in the summer!!

It’s 11c in here, I can afford to put the heating on, and have a wood burner with a mountain of free/ scavenged wood,but I quite like being cooler and watching tv with a blanket on 🙂. I don’t feel stressed at all.

If things are really tight financially, could you save a bit on food and push the extra couple of quid a day towards heating? I think I'd rather live on lentil soup (a pot could last two days) or baked beans on toast for lunch and dinner than be cold. I bloody hate being cold more than anything.

As other posters have said, mould and damp will be a huge issue, you will get a bad build-up of mildew on curtains and blinds if you are drying indoors in a cold house, which absolutely stinks and will probably mean replacing them - it doesn't wash off.

How do people’s houses get so cold? We live in a 200+ year old timber framed cottage with minimal insulation (it’s a glorified shed) and no central heating. We put an electric heater on in the front room for half an hour or so in the morning and use a heated airer in the bathroom but that’s it. We’re all still perfectly warm! I’m still sleeping naked under a 4.5tog duvet! I know we’re in the South and it’s a bit milder but still!

I grew up in a cold house - my dad was one of the 'we grew up with ice on the windows, never did us any harm' types (lovely, lovely man but, y'know...)

So did I. Bugger that for a game of soldiers. My sitting room was 16 today and it was just bearable, I can't imagine what 9 degrees is like.

That makes sense I knew you would have a sensible reason for not going to the office

@Darcy101 Mine too...

''My Bulb smart meter shows the standing charge''

@PigletJohn I know.

If someone has gone this far to turn off the actual electrical board and buy head lamps I can't believe they haven't already researched prices of lighting and of all electrical stuff is turned off have the children got any warmth at all like a hot water bottle?

I also grew up in a cold house with intermittent heating.

However we had a huge fireplace and would sit in proper Parker Knoll winged backed chairs by it.
We had heavy velvet curtains to keep one area warm. By the time we went to bed we were warmed up and had a hot water bottle.

@Diyextension

I wish we had got one.
It means you can warm a room at least no matter what Russia throws at us.
If we suffer any power cuts this winter expect a huge rise in woodburners and other open fireplaces. .

I'm trying to go into the office more to save heating. Luckily the bus fare is cheap enough to save money.

I did add that the fact that they only stipulate a temperature for unoccupied properties probably indicates that they wouldn't expect an occupied house to get colder than that.

Seriously? There are tons of ways to save elsewhere - no takeaways, cook lentils/veg/soups from scratch, cancel unnecessary subscriptions.. Ask your provider for ways to help if you are absolutely struggling. You are damaging your health if your home is just 9 degrees C, as well as your property . All the other posters were spot on.

I’m quite shocked at how cold come houses get. We are lucky in that thanks for a kitchen extension in and old Victorian house the back of the house is really well insulated and it’s made a huge difference.
Same for roof which is well insulated after loft extension.

Spend money on insulation is what I say when financially possible.

In the meantime, put the heating on and speak to your energy provider. They are now obliged to help people in financial difficulty.

Close curtains before the evening to retain any heat generated in the day.

9C will harm your health! Need to get the ambient temperature up to minimum 16.
I comfortable temperature is 20 for reference .

The South as in the South of France😅?

It is 2 degrees where I am so a bit chilly now the heating is off for the night.

Who are all these people with unnecessary subscriptions?!