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!

That guy on the BBC was sitting in an open short sleeved shirt and shorts.

At 10 degrees your hands wouldn't move that much because of the cold, so it's not surprising the puzzle took longer.

Lack of heat can be bad for you, esp. if you are young/old or have medical conditions. But I think you need to maintain some sense of perspective. Healthy people can tolerate pretty cold temperatures, and even colder if they are well equipped. I've spent a good proportion of my life outside at under 18 degrees C and am fine. If spending a significant proportion of your time at under 18 degrees C was bad for your respiratory health then farmers, delivery people, builders, gardeners, road repair workers, sportspeople, warehouse workers, ski instructors, soldiers, runners and dog walkers plus a load more people would all have knackered lungs.

Mould is bad news though and damp air isn't great for respiratory health.

Honestly I'd just stick the heating on. I can't dry laundry outside now so I do my washing around putting the heating on. You just have to factor in the increased costs and cut down elsewhere.

Goodness, what energy are you using to have a bill of £300 a month when you do not have your heating on and have not used your tumble dryer? My monthly costs are less than that and my heating is on from 7 am to 10 pm set at 19° and I dry my washing in the dryer at least once a week.

Im sure my air fryer does not save that much electricity!,

Do NOT do this. You won't save gas by turning off all your radiators except one!!! You will still use the same amount! In fact, probably MORE as the boiler comes on more, to try to heat the rest of the cold and damp rooms! 🤦‍♀️

But that's literally advice from the government. Turn off radiators in unused rooms to save on bills.

Dont leave the thermostat in the cold room obviously. Keep the thermostat in one of the rooms you're using or a hallway between the rooms being heated. Then it wont be turning on to heat up cold rooms as it wont be getting temperature measurements from the cold rooms.

I have never heard this before. If they HAVE said that - for EVERYONE, including people who gas central heating throughout - then that advice is wrong. The boiler will use the same amount of gas whether one - or TEN radiators are on.

If it's not gas central heating in the home, then that's different, but I am going on people who have gas central heating, which is MOST people I know.

As the other pp said though, you do risk the house going damp and mouldy as well, if you keep all the heating off. Only heating one room is a daft idea IMO. As I say, especially if you have gas central heating throughout.

I have to say, I do wonder how SOME people will cope when it's actually REALLY cold. I can't get my head around some of the posts on here from a small number of posters. One shower a month, one wash a month in between with a bowl of water from a kettle full of water they boiled, no heating on at ALL, shivering under a thick blanket with 5 layers of clothing, and gloves and hats on - INDOORS - claiming they can see their breath and all their clothes are damp, and they don't know how they'll make it through the winter.

The winter has not even STARTED yet, and no-one has actually had a proper full month of cold/wet weather yet, and in ADDITION, everyone has been given £66 a month toward their energy bills. (Or SHOULD have had had it.) ALSO, many people should have a credit in their gas and/or electric account from summer. We (and many people I know) have a decent credit in our gas account, as we kept paying the same amount of money in the direct debit all Spring and summer.

I literally know NO-ONE, I mean, not a single soul in real life like the small handful of doom-mongers on here, acting like they've been trapped in a tent halfway up Mount Everest for a fortnight Just so utterly bizarre.

Me and DH are not loaded, and we are mindful of the cost of living crisis and can see our food and utility bills rising, and we are being careful, and we're only having the heating on when it's cold and damp, and have had it on 2-3 hours a day for the past 2 weeks or so. And like most people, we are plodding along and being careful.

Oooh that's interesting. I'm going to check my insurance. Do smart meters record the temperature of your house? I don't have one but if insurance companies start asking for smart meter data to avoid paying out on damp issues this could be a major problem.

But the surely one boiler could hear a whole street?

I don’t have a smart meter, nor shall I get one since it would mean wrecking my kitchen to make the changeover.
While it’s true that, as a pp said, there’s no way the insurer can be sure I leave the heating on 12 degrees as I fly off to the Far East for January and February, if the pipes freeze while I’m away, that would be kind of a clue.

The issue here is being active (walking, working etc). Sitting relaxing at home, the body isn’t generating any heat if it’s own.

Perhaps I should hook my central heating loop into my next door neighbours and get heating for free. After all it doesn't matter if there are 10 or 20 radiators on the loop it will use the same amount of gas 🤔

Please check your home insurance policy as there is a minimum temperature that your house has to be. Anything lower and they won’t cover you for certain things.

@GasPanic

Oh so you share a boiler with your next door neighbours do you?

No. I thought not.

If you have gas central heating, and you have your thermostat on say 18 C, and you switch off half of your 10 radiators, you will STILL be using the same amount of gas.

I am actually gobsmacked at how many people actually CANNOT grasp this concept.

If you switch 10 radiators off and close the door behind them you will use less gas because you need to input less energy to earn a smaller space

Just turning off radiators won't help as the system will then struggle to try and get the house up to temperature

Hope that helps

I live on the coast in Yorkshire, today we have had a very cold wind coming in off the North Sea. If the wind drops it might not be cold but the wind chill factor has made it feel very cold. I took my dog out at lunchtime and all of the dog walkers were wearing hats, gloves and warm coats. Living a 2 minute walk from the sea we get the full blast of the wind, it's lovely in summer but we know it in winter. This is me just explaining that it might be bearable where you are, but other parts of the country might feel colder due to local factors.

I’ve just asked Dh about radiators. He’s plumbed loads in. He said this.

that is how I understand it too. Not that I have plumbed in any radiators…….

What I would like confirming/refuting is my thinking that 17 degrees inside does not feel like 17 degrees outside. 17 degrees in my house feels quite cold, when it’s 15 it feels really quite cold.

Part of me wonders if it is do with the fact that outside temps are taken in the shade, so when they say it’s 17 it’s actually warmer. Does this make any sense?

I’d say that 9 is absolutely the temp where problems will start. That’s way too cool

Do you really need to SHOUT out one word in EVERY sentence?

I think what you CANNOT grasp is that if one moves the thermostat to the room with the ONE radiator on and the door closed, then once THAT room gets up to temperature the system will click off. OBVIOUSLY if the thermostat is in a COLD room with NO radiator on it will NEVER reach 18 and therefore heating will therefore be permanently on. In this case having one radiator on keeps one room warm and DOES save gas.

@youhavenoshameonyourface i came on to post this!
@PurpleButterflyWings you’re shouting random words just makes you sound like an absolute pompous stuck you twat. Goody for you you know only rich people who can heat and eat. I thought e were comfortable before this, I’m taking readings once a week to monitor how we’re doing and we can have the heating on a small amount lower than usual and it’s uncomfortable. Some people haven’t switched it on yet you fool.

Here in Wales my house is regularly around 1 to 5 degrees at the moment :-( and yes it s bloody cold and miserable

Have you had your meter checked?.
I have a 1 bed flat. I'm home all day due to disabilities and don't pay any where near £120 on gas.
I cook on gas hot water and heating.
Ask your supplier if they can service your meter. Could be leak that isn't being detected if it's outside the property lije mine is. That's a huge amount a month with out the hating on. Esp if you are not home all day?..
The £66 is AHUGE help but it's a cure it's only s short term fix to get us through winter.

I read something similar, and a report that showed how your body including brain is badly affected at temps below 12 degrees. If u can afford it, I'd try to keep one room to at least 15 degrees.