Is competitive underheating the new competitive undereating?

[DucklingDaisy]

I don’t mean people saying they’re trying to minimise it because of the cost, more people insisting that 17 degrees is actually sweltering and they don’t see why anyone could possibly need more. Is it unfair to assume they’re the same people who insist they’re stuffed after a small salad?

People's bodies and expectations are different. I don't think there's any virtue in needing less heating though.

Some people run really hot.

Others struggle with the cold.

I have a condition that means I can't regulate my body temperature. Often I am under an electric heated blanket in fleece PJ's while DH is sat near me feeling too warm in just his pants 🤣

I grew up in the NW of England and if you see me wearing a coat it's probably summer! We are all different regardless of geography.

I do struggle with iron levels and the cold as does one of my kids. I have wondered how many people who struggle are actually deficient in something or other. DH is always roasting but felt the cold badly when he had vit D issues.

Yes. It's like the magical Mumsnet chicken. Or Covid banana bread. Only those well enough off to join the competition do- because there is no competition when they change their minds and put it on- because they can afford to........

I grew up in the north east , I live on the south coast now and am still the first person I know to put a coat on. It's a running joke at work that the token northerner is sat in a coat looking cold!

YANBU. I keep on seeing people on FB posting “I don’t know why anyone has their heating on already, mines not been on at all” like it’s a badge of honour that they’ve got well built well insulated houses and don’t have health conditions that get set off by cold damp air.

It seems to be virtuous on here to be impervious to cold, but in the brief heatwave earlier this year anyone who said they didn’t know what all the fuss was about got short shrift.

The posts that get me are the ones where people say their gas bill was £2.43 for the previous month and electricity £12. And that they use the tumble dryer every day. Ok, this may be a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. Like the income threads where as the thread progresses people report increasingly high salaries at increasingly young ages.

I can cope at 15. This is a new revelation to me as I have never given the cost much thought until this year really. So it's a new thing for me.

Would much prefer 21 degrees but I'm honestly shocked at how low is tolerable. But I'm cash poor so it's not my first choice tbh.

Part of it is that we are all noticing temperatures more now.

my bedroom is currently 14 degrees and the living room was 15.5. I was warm enough with a heated throw watching tv and am now snuggled under a winter duvet.

my sister would have the hearing on and have rooms at 21. That temp would make me feel sick - I would be throwing windows open.

we are all different

I'm one of the summer haters who can't bear temps over 20 degrees so it's no surprise that I haven't put my heating on yet. In my defence we've just had new windows fitted instead of the 120 year old single glazed ones we had so the house is a lot warmer anyway. Plus if anyone one else in the house was cold they can put it on, I'm not actually stopping anyone.

I much prefer snuggling under the duvet when I'm cold anyway. But no hot chocolate please, it makes me vomit 😉

I think it's just because energy use is the main topic of conversation more now, everyone is worried about rising costs.

Our annual heating row generally starts in September when DH declares he's 'freezing' whilst I am still 'boiling'. We have been having the same row every year for nearly 40yrs now and it never gets resolved.

I never have the heating above 16°, I don't own a coat and if I'm wearing a cardigan outside then it's probably below zero. DH is 'comfortable' (but not warm) at 21° even if he is inside, all windows closed, and fully dressed with 3 layers. I just don't understand it, 21° would be considered a nice summers day if it was June and we were going out, how can it be cold at that temp indoors? It makes no sense to me.

So when I'm home alone it's heating off and windows open then I put it on at 18° and close the windows when he's home. I can usually keep it at that for a couple of hours, then he turns it up for a bit, then I turn it to 16° overnight.

The thermostat is on 18 so hardly cold enough for damp unless there’s any structural issues with the house… It really isn’t that bad, I wear an oodie around the house and have an electric throw to heat me up when sitting on the sofa. Most of the time I’m quite active and don’t really feel cold if I’m dressed properly (not walking around in shorts and a t shirt!) …

Saying that everyone’s different, likes different temperatures, and not many people can afford to have their house hotter than the Bahamas these days… Central heating is somewhat of a luxury now, sad but true

Definitely know what you mean. I’m on one of these FB sites for energy tips and people are casually saying ‘it’s so warm here, it’s 13 degrees’ And I’m just thinking, it doesn’t matter how many times you say it, you’re never going to convince me that 13 degrees is warm.

The posts that get me are the ones where people say their gas bill was £2.43 for the previous month and electricity £12. And that they use the tumble dryer every day. Ok, this may be a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point.

I find these posts worse.

Yes, I don't believe most of them. They're fibbing. Some of them cite living in large detached houses which is nonsense given the tiny bills. Some people must take them at face value and worry about where they're going wrong.

I do love a competitive underheating thread where people from the north of England talk about it as if they're from the coldest place on earth.

I've started calling this type of carry on the Poverty Olympics; people who make the misery of not turning on the heating until below freezing and making a cuppa soup last two meals because they want to be the most outrageous and want to have something daft to brag about even though they can afford otherwise. Drives me insane and very insulting to people who actually cannot afford to heat their homes or eat properly.

There does seem to be a lot of it. There’s a particular poster who keeps popping up saying she can’t understand how people have higher bills than her (she has solar panels).

I think some people lie, some people have no idea what temperature their home is at, some people don’t understand that because the energy companies only bill every six months unless you’re really on top of things you probably don’t have an accurate idea of whether you’re in credit or not and some people are just adjusted to living in a colder home.

My house runs cool. You do get used to it.

On mumsnet it is. And frankly I don't believe half of them. People rich enough to buy Oodies ( not the cheap primark ones) , dehumidifiers, electric throws and blankets and who have woodburners can well afford to put the central heating on, they're choosing to present themselves in a certain way.

So have the temperature in-between.

YANBU.

Everytime I have a Teams call with my boss she brags about how she hasn't had the heating on yet and if she did she would be sweltering.

It's extremely tiresome and I wonder how on earth she copes in the summer.

@ciri not all companies bill every 6 months. Mine bills monthly. (Octopus) and I know precisely what electricity I'm using.

Growing up I lived in a cold house. (Usually between 12-14 degrees apart from the kitchen) I was used to it, so could cope with really quite cold temperatures for years afterwards.

That's gradually changed and I now feel cold when it's below 18. So I put the heating on. My house is well insulated so it keeps the heat well, and I can afford to heat it. If I'm sitting still I feel colder, but I check my thermometer, and try and move about rather than turning on the heating straight away. (Hoovering and ironing always warm me up)

What I don't get is people like my friend who posted on FB how cold she was WFH in a very professional job. She said it was a waste to heat the whole house, then posts of advice and she's bought cashmere turtle dove gloves, a heated throw thermals and other warm things people suggested. Surely she could have bought a tiny heater and run it all winter for that?
Are people being a bit martyr ish here and not logical?

Oh yes, it's not limited to just the heating. I have competitive who can stand the elements longest at a football match, and that's real life people 😩 I have no interest in this stupidity and will go home rather than see my kids soaked and frozen to the bone, they are kids ffs.

We have a conservatory in our house with a thermometer in it, I've just been in there and it's 12 degrees and it was really really chilly. Worse than the air temperature was the cold of the tiles, and there is a radiator in there!