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?

This is more about humidity and air flow. Cold doesn't equal mould. Damp does.

www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/health/heating-mould-damage-property-tips-3678717

Blankets and hot water bottles are good, but cold air gets into your bones. Heating is necessary, even at lower temperatures. I've just accepted the days of me cranking the heating up and lying on the couch in a t shirt are gone, and maybe that's not the worst thing.

they might be for you but they arent for everybody,
so many people are still as i quoted, relying too much on central heating without a care for the planet

People are just different.

My friends has the heating on at 21. It's way too hot for me, uncomfortably so, even in a tee-shirt.

I hate the stuffiness of heating, it smells awful.

I'm currently in my office, 14.5c not cold, windows open to dry some washing. I am warm all the time.

It was hilarious and a perfect illustration of how gullible some posters are.

There were one or two which clearly were posters bedrooms (funny how some completely run of the mill hobby cycling is always so dangerously outing but posting a photo of your bedroom isn't).

Then there were the pictures that were clearly from Pinterest/RightMove/Booking.com (and definitely not from houses that were kept at 15 degrees!) yet soooo many people were saying "ooh, I love that wallpaper, where's it from?"

On a serious note, I would imagine that for many posters these sorts of threads can be less than helpful as they truly believe that other people have Versailles sized bedrooms, are perfectly "cozy" at 15 degrees (in their designer oodies and heated blankets - natch) and spend their entire waking hours boiling clothes to within an inch of their lives if they have been so much as glanced at in the wardrobe.

If you take it all with a pinch of salt (salt!, salt! - work of the devil!!) then it is entertaining, but it is depressing to realise how many people actually believe a lot of what is written on here.

I think some peoppe were joking with the hotel pics as well 😁 not full on hoping everyone will believe it

Definitely a mumsnet thing. But if you actually are worried about heating get an electric throw. I put it off for ages but it’s SO SO worth it.

Houses are all different. In my last house the thermostat was right by the front door, which wasn't well sealed. If you put the stat on 16 it would be 24 plus (using a room thermometer) in the bedrooms and sweltering. Had to leave it on 8 overnight to avoid the boiler kicking in at 3am and waking us up.

Current house the thermostat is more central so it's about right. We have a floor of 12 for when the house is unoccupied during the day and boost as needed.

Other houses the thermostat might be in the kitchen so you'd need it higher to keep the bedrooms from freezing...

Also some people just run warmer. I have constant battles with my older DC to wear a coat/jumper home from school if it's not raining. She'll be in a t-shirt while I wear hoodie and gilet. I know people who live in shorts and flipflops year round and people who don't go out without a woolie hat 9 months of the year, living in the same county...

Competitive anything is definitely a mumsnet thing. I'm convinced a lot of people on here are economical with the truth sometimes.

I can afford to crank up the heating but have chosen not to this year. The house sits at around 14 degree unheated at the moment and the heating is on at 18 for an hour each morning and evening. I'm making do with lots of layers, a heated throw and warm cuddly dogs. I'll light the open fire if it's really chilly in the evening.

I'm getting way too much pleasure watching my credit balance at Octopus increase each month. They insisted on putting it up but I'm not prepared to line the industry pockets any more than I have to. It's acting as a nice savings account at the moment

The money I'm "saving" will be enough for a decent holiday by April.

How do you do that? Doesn't it take a while for them to adjust the direct debit?

You know that if you left the thermostat at 18 during the day it would probably only come on again a few times to keep it at that temp right?

All you are doing is spending lots of money getting the house up to 18c and then letting the house get cold again, essentially wasting the money.

I live in an old 1930s maisonette with no insulation, to keep it at 18c all day the heating only has to come on for about 90 minutes in total.

Octopus say they aim for a zero balance in April. I will then ask for a refund of the approx £2K I'll have overpaid.

We are actually paying about £100pm LESS already than they actually want us too and still "saving" over £150 a month.

The firms have got greedy.

it will be cold in december
then perhaps the heating will be on, but i rarely have it on,
my hands are cold! but it hasnt been too bad.
i cant see a holiday on the horizon though

I'm with Bulb and can't underpay. I can pay the minimum required.

OMG yes hahaha, someone said on showering thread "shame on you who shower twice a day, what a waste of water" 😂But mumsnetty 10 loads of laundry per week is water-saving scheme.

Also - just save the money in a savings account rarher than leaving it at the mercy of the power companies. Seems silly.

I’ve been careful about my energy to conserve it to help prevent power cuts. I’ve always kept my heating between 18 - 20 degrees twice a day.

I’ve been quite surprised about the people who need the heating on overnight as I’ve only ever done that when the temperature outside is freezing or below.

I appreciate that they were joking, but a lot of the posters didn't seem to realise this (even though it was blatantly obvious).

I usually work on the basis that most posters are either exaggerating or being deliberately misleading about having the heating on/doing laundry every 20 seconds/meal planning/Xmas Eve boxes...or whatever and it is entertaining from my point of view, but there are clearly people that believe every word posted and feel inadequate as a result when there is absolutely no need to as it is mostly fantasy

The Energy Saving Trust disagrees with you on that one.

Got to love posters who make others feel greedy for wanting their basic needs fulfilled - like food and heating. Wonder the housing crisis might lead to a series of threads with posters declaring that they've been living in such a tent, and that's more than enough for them.

<Shrug> Keeps them happy and they won't accept a lower DDM.

The interest I'd get over the next few months would be minimal anyway. It's a complete fallacy that short term deposits get a decent rate of interest. Inflation will strip that even that away and much more besides.

If you are fit and healthy then I don't believe in the "if you don't heat your house to 18C you will die" nonsense which is often peddled on here. OTOH living in a place where there is condensation dripping off everything and mould on the walls and freezing temperatures is not going to be good state to be in either. Like most things in life there is a good balance somewhere in between.

I think a lot of people have got used to heating their houses far warmer than they actually need to be though because of the availability of cheap energy. If the current situation causes more people to be interested in whether or not they actually need to heat their home at the level they do, and take more interest in discussing and making energy saving improvements then to me that's at least one good thing that comes out of the current crisis.

YANBU. Definitely competitive misery on here sometimes.

From who?

The people who don’t need much food and/or don’t feel the cold aren’t miserable. It’s the hungry/cold ones that are.