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!

Do people really have their heating on for 8 hours a day?!

Well of course some people do. They don't necessarily have it on very high, but people who are at home all day or have poor mobility need to take the chill off.

And some of these people live in the parts of the UK that are somewhat colder than the south or live in older houses.

@blanketseverywhere WTAF?

WHO recommends 18 degrees for regular adults (21 degrees in a living room where you are likely to be inactive) & I seem to recall 21 degrees for older people but can't recall where I saw it.

Excerpt below is from
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/776497/Min_temp_threshold_for_homes_in_winter.pdf

"Heating homes to at least 18°C (65F) in winter poses minimal risk to the health of a
sedentary person, wearing suitable clothing.
Daytime recommendations
 The 18°C (65F) threshold is particularly important for people over 65yrs or with preexisting medical conditions. Having temperatures slightly above this threshold may be
beneficial for health.
 The 18°C (65F) threshold also applies to healthy people (1 – 64)*. If they are wearing
appropriate clothing and are active, they may wish to heat their homes to slightly less than
18°C (65F)
Overnight recommendations
 Maintaining the 18°C (65F) threshold overnight may be beneficial to protect the health of
those over 65yrs or with pre-existing medical conditions. They should continue to use
sufficient bedding, clothing and thermal blankets or heating aids as appropriate."

I know heated blanket sounds a bit life a fad/plaster on a large wound but believe me, they are lifechanging. We now just use the heating an hour or two a day to prevent damp. Me and my kids won’t be without ours. We have ours in bed and whilst chilling in the evening, and I use mine when WFH. It’s also brilliant for my chronic pain conditions and anxiety. Try and get a decent one that will last though.

We put our's on last night for the first time, it was 10c

We've started to notice mold appearing around windows frames so really you do have to start heating a house

OP, I presume you are extremely financially strapped if you are unable to have the heating on at all.
Have you looked into any benefits you might be entitled to, or any other ways to save money?
You say you're not using the tumble drier, which indicates to me that things haven't always been so tough. Tumble driers gobble up the electricity.

FWIW, I have actually put a coat on to go into my IL house. They used to refuse to put the central heating on and would huddle over an electric fire. I would drive in my warm car to theirs ,put on a parka ,zip it up and enter the ice box. They have more than enough income to heat their house but refuse to.

@blanketseverywhere I get you, we used to live in a really old flat with no timer on the boiler - we just had an on/off switch and used to take it in turns to jump out of bed in the morning to go and turn it on/.

Not everyone has thermostatic valves on their radiators either - we didn't in our last house, so not possible to only heat certain rooms. Glad you've put the heating on now OP and hope you feel a bit better soon

but my heating is more than £2.30 an hour to run

What heating do you have? That seems a lot.
I have been mindful but have not been restricting my heating, and my whole gas and elec for the house has been less than £4 / day (though I can see it ramping up just these last couple of days as it's got significantly colder).

I spent a couple of days staying in a damp property last week. I don't have any health issues, grew up in a cold house, so was expecting it to be fine.

Within 24 hours of being there I wanted to claw my eyes out through their itching and had developed a really horrible chesty cough. Both of which vanished within hours of me leaving.

Please put your heating on, or at least get a decent dehumidifier.

If you afforded your heating last year, but it's now twice as expensive, put it on for half the time. It'll take the edge off but won't cost you more. Keep the thermostat a degree or two lower than you did last year too. You won't be as warm as last year, but you won't be freezing your arse off either.

Do you have a smart meter to keep an eye on your costs?

Everyone's different. 9 degrees is not wicked cold to me. It certainly won't damage your house (not sure what that means). I wear a Kuddly working from home. I'm not a fan of central heating in general. I feel like I can't breathe and it dehydrates me. I prefer to heat my body. It goes on in kitchen where kids are at anything below 12-ish. If you are uncomfortable and can afford it, switch it on. Everyone is different. Some people seem to have an inner furnace (me, since I turned 40!), others will be in pain and tense at same temperature.

This

This.

By all means turn the thermostat down a bit, but I know people who can afford to heat their homes but are not doing so! It's madness - you will cause more damage to your home than you will save.

Manifestly it’s a case of put the heating on if you can afford it and more often than not people are prefacing what they say with that. Mumsnet: specialist subject? The bleeding obvious. Usually served with a side helping of shouting and ‘????/!!!!’. It bloody annoying. If the OP can’t afford it, she should say so.

@loislovesstewie
I cannot stand people like this. When they aren’t short of money but insist on this performative martyrdom of poverty. I know a woman, retired, huge house, lots of money (Yes, I do know this for sure) who sits in a chair in the corner in a coat and hat. Lights off as well because she “grew up poor in a house with no working lights”. She has 2 elderly dogs with severe arthritis and blindness who suffer.

Your heating will likely be most expensive the first hour you turn it on - so if it's £2 the first hour it won't be £48 if left on all day

assuming it's on a thermostat

If not - you act like a thermostat and turn it on and off as the temperature goes out of bounds

People saying get a humidifier or a heated blanket. I presume if the OP feel unable to spend on a small bit of heating then she doesn't have anything spare at all for such things.

I'm disabled, live in the far north and am home for most of the day if not all. I would love to have the heating on for even a quarter of that a day, low or otherwise. Even last winter I couldn't have done that.

Not competitive misery, just facts. More power to those who can afford it, I freely admit to being envious!

Could you just put it on in a few rooms? Or even just one room?

@TheOrigRights

i’m skint and got mine and my kids on pay-in-3 finance. Klarna so no interest. Was worth every penny in how it helps us and saves us money or the heating. It’s not as black and white as that

OP, I see from one of your updates that you have no thermostat and your boiler needs to be manually turned on and off. In your situation I would invest in a room thermometer and make sure the boiler is switched on at least once a day, twice if possible and turn it off once the room thermometer reaches 18 degrees, if this is affordable.

Worth pointing out, too, that if you're on a prepayment meter (as we are) you pay more for your fuel. As I said, not competitive misery, just reality.

I live up north, on a hill, and on the days I work from home I absolutely have the heating on. The thermostat is at 18 degrees, so it's not "hot" and I'm still wearing jumpers etc.

There are lots of people who can afford to heat their homes but are, for some reason, engaging in mad behaviour where they are going to extreme lengths to avoid it. But some of them (people that I know) are still going out to pubs, buying new clothes etc. while their home turns into a damp icebox.

i'd rather heat my home and keep it mould free - even if thay means less disposable income to spend on other things.

Yes, that's very true. I didn't think of that.
Are they genuinely really good? I'm thinking of one to use while I work (a heated throw, not a dehumidifier!).

I do have some of those ancient, massive, yellow cellular blankets - they are brilliantly warm although not very pretty

The heating has now been on for about 30 mins and the smart meter is up to a pound already. Maybe I should just get rid of the bloody smart meter, it's making me anxious!!