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

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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!

Put the heating on

This.

We had our whole heating system redone a couple of years ago, and this was the advice. It uses less energy and keeps your house warmer if you just keep it topping up a little all the time.

Op are you genuinely in this level of poverty? Other than saying it’s quite a lot when it comes to expense I can’t see you saying it’s eat or heat.

you are sitting in your home in gloves and scarfs and hats, the way you’re living is incredibly sad. The world health organisation says it needs to be 18 to maintain health. You can already feel yourself getting ill. The house itself will start to have mould, and much of it won’t be visible, it will be condensation mould in the air. Getting into your lungs. I hope there are no children or elderly or vulnerable in the house as it will be worse for them.

if This is a rental can you afford to move, someplace small cheaper and energy efficient. Like a one bed new build flat or mid terrace? Anything you can do to protect your health now is critical

Op there’s amazing advice above. To all the people struggling I would say please try and get help and I know you all know all the tricks but hot drinks, hot water bottles, blankets snoodies etc, move around and exercise. To people who can afford but are trying to cut back, why would you be cold like that? We don’t need it to be like a furnace but we’ve progressed enough that we should all expect some comfort and not to end up with pneumonia, lung issues or arthritis

Actually, I have! That’s a really good Christmas present idea, thank you for reminding me about them.

It's already damaging. Below 18 our bodies are affected significantly.

I’ve put it to 18 degrees this morning and switched it on, will see how it goes leaving it on.

I want a Hive or Nest installing, but can’t quite stretch to the cost before christmas.

It’s scandalous what they are charging. My aunt is on a low income due to her husband being on sickness for 1 year, she does not put her heating on at all. I’ve tried telling her that she needs to put it on for a bit, as she looks after her 18 month old grandchild. But so far, it won’t go on and I worry about their health and home and the baby it’s so sad that people are in this situation in the UK in 2022. And prices will never go back to what they were, will they?

I’m so glad that you are putting the heating on now for yourself and your husband. It did make me think though, you were more worried about the damage to the house rather than yourself. You are a person that is doing her best, getting on with life and working hard, you need to be kept warm too. All the very best to you.

I do agree that keeping thermostat set at a more or less comfortable level actually does not necessarily mean using more energy. As previous posters said, it keeps your house consistently warm (-ish) rather than using excessive amount of gas to quickly warm up a cold house from scratch. Maybe my insulation is good, but I have it on for 21-22 degrees almost all times I am in the house, and notice that it only very occasionally needs to actually make my heaters hot/warm. So that means the warmth stays. My bill for a small flat is less than 40 pounds a month.

Tbh I'm regretting leaving ours off for so long as I'm now dealing with mould and damp that wasn't there before. It feels so lovely and cosy now and I think I'm less tense!

If I kept my heating on all the time so that it kept the house at say 20C then it would cost much more. The higher you keep the temperature relative to the outside the greater the rate of heat leak. It's also bad news in terms of budgeting, because you never know how much it will cost per day.

I use two one hour blasts a day at the moment to get the house back up to an acceptable temperature (one at 07:00 and another at 15:00) and if it is still cold I use a small convection heater in the room I am in to top it off.

Can someone link the window hoover please

I don't have a room-thermostat, and it's a rented house so I can't just fit one.

But now I have my heating on (I'm testing the price atm, and it will be on for three hours - on the timer - today) I feel so much less stressed. Even though I know I am spending money that I ideally can't afford 😕

I got mine from b&m for about £20

I did some testing and it appears 1 hour in the evening costed a pound. From 16-18.5 (in rooms +2 degrees).

Having mine on for two hours the other day cost something like £1.20, so I decided to chance the automated timer....

Test for tomorrow is running the hot water on the timer too (which was costing me about a pound a day on its own, but I'm curious if it will be as much if the boiler is already on for the heating)

We cracked and put ours on for the first time last night - we have a very cold hoise and it had got down to 10 degrees, we could see our breath and nothing was drying.

The thermostat is now set to 15 degrees - it kicks in if it drops below 14, and I think I must have acclimatised as I feel comfortable! Saying this as someone with neurological and circulation issues that really make me feel the cold. I have a thermal base layer and fleecy hoodie on!

We haven't been worried as much about affording the heating through the winter as we've built up enough credit to cover it, more about what we're going to do in April when it's all likely to go up again, as finances are already tight but as we both work full time would not be eligible for any support.

Put your heating on for an hour in the morning and an hour at night. Get the house up to 20.

You cannot go on at 9 degrees - you will get ill and your house will get damp.

Ours only went on this week- 1.5 hours at DC bath/bedtime and 1 hour in the morning. It’s made a noticeable difference to our comfort and how damp the house had started to feel.

The OP is choosing not to attend her office and was choosing not to put the heating on.

VestaTilley · Today 12:33

Put your heating on for an hour in the morning and an hour at night. Get the house up to 20.

You must live in a very different house to me! I have warmth envy.

An hour in the morning and an hour at night gets our house up to maybe 17-18 in some rooms, temporarily, but mainly it brings the ave temp up to 16. (Have tried it last week.) This is a typical 1930s semi.

We're looking into updating some radiators and improving insulation in some places but the bay windows - while gorgeous in terms of light and space - are a total nightmare for damp, mould, condensation, cracks...

Having mine on for an hour this morning has got the living room up to 16.9'c. I don't know if it would even reach 20'c if I left it running 24/7!

It’s not just the cold it’s the associated damp that is an issue. I live in an ex council house ( renting) and the wall insulation is shocking. Without heating I could smell the damp. I just invested in a dehumidifier and the difference is already massive. It’s only been a week. Damp air takes a lot more energy to heat than dry air. It costs no more than I fridge to run and the amount of water it initially sucked in was scary.

My heating has now been on since 6.45am, smart meter showing at £4.50 with the thermostat at 20 upstairs. Upstairs is nice and toasty warm, downstairs still feels chilly as the heating has clicked off due to temp being reached upstairs.

Really need to move that thermostat

Radiators also make difference.
Some of my rooms still have that white cheapo ones. The cool down really quickly. New anthricite (everyone will know which type😂) from different material cool down very slowly so keep heat better.

My DS1 is in the worst room in this house for cold/damp. My mum grew up in an identical house built at the same time, and my dad used to say he was colder in her room than working on the North Sea rigs!
(Outing if either of my sisters are reading this 😂)

Luckily we do have GCH whereas they just had the coal fire (central chimney stack, only room it doesn't run through is the box bedroom)