my house is 16c - is that too cold?

[tfkyt78y]

I work from home but try not to heat the house during the day so only for one hour in the morning and a couple of hours in the evening. It's 3.30pm and the thermometer on my desk says it's currently 16c. It obviously feels cold and I am under blankets. Not sure we can afford to heat it during the day but seriously does everyone else think that would warrant putting the heating on?

Op get the heating on if you can or get a little heater for that room , mines at 21 and I will still need to turn it up soon! I’d be freezing at some of these temperatures. Is your house badly insulated ? I couldn’t imagine the house not getting above 18!

All the people living in the much derided new builds must be feeling smug as fuck.

I usually set the max temp to 18.5

I think the temperature feels worse if it’s cold AND damp. I can sort of smell the cold in the house if it’s been raining.
Even on cold crisp nights I feel ok at 16 degrees and happy to grab a blanket if sat on the sofa. My thermostat is set at 17 degrees and it seems fine everywhere.

You're wasting your energy trying to compare with others. It depends entirely where they're thermostats are, or rather where yours is.

put it next to a heat source next to you in your office & you'll be sitting in one temperature, put it by the front door near a draft and your office will be much hotter.

the thermostat reads the temperature where it is, not where you are and it keeps firing up the boiler until. IT is sitting in x° irrespective of what it is where you are.

Meh, it's no different to all the people saying they keep their house at 23-24 degrees and can't believe anyone isn't freezing at a lower temperature.

I think thermals and layering is the way to go and a hot water bottle to put your feet on. Try and move around every hour. The kids won’t feel as cold as they’ll move around but when you’re immobile the cold is more noticeable

It's very worrying that wearing a hat and coat inside is considered normal!

Agree it’s just people saying what their preference is

No one has to be affronted by a difference

If I’m moving around doing housework etc then I’m quite warm. But sitting still I do get chilly. Our bills are already £3-400 a month though so no way am I turning the heat on when the kids aren’t home.

I wasn't criticising you 😊 And I'm the same - currently pottering around at home which is currently 16.5 with the heating off. Very often sit in the evenings with DH with a sleeping bag over me (surprisingly warm)

But i still maintain that it's concerning that being cold enough to need outdoor clothing to do office work is being normalised

Oh, yes, fair enough! Sorry if I seemed snippy, I didn’t mean to but sentiment often gets lost in text!

That's ok @StollenAway You're right, it does!

In terms of insulation - the living area is on the first floor and is open planned with massive windows at both ends - so heat goes up and down the stairs and escapes. It's one of the 1960s townhouses. I love it normally but it's rubbish in winter. I quite like working in the living area/kitchen space because it's open but heating it is nigh on impossible. i've got a portable room thermometer hence why i can see temp in different rooms. i was actually asking because of the kids. i would just put an extra blanket on - but both DCs were coming home

the heating has been on since 4pm and it only got to 18.3c

Ours is 19-20 all day in the main living rooms, the utility room is only 16 as no radiator in there, it gets a bit of heat from the kitchen radiator but not a lot, it feels cold in there though

Mine is 13'C after 3 hours of central heating in which is one 2x day. It's brassic ..!
I've a severe respiratory disorder so coldness impacts on me but can't afford to keep heating on more

If you feel it's cold that's all that matters.
It's got nothing to do with anyone else. They're not you and they don't pay your bills. 16 will be warm to some and cold to others

I haven't switched my heating on yet, i open all my upstairs windows when we get up and close them around 2/3pm. Our house can get a little damp. I don't check the temp buy when i have notice it I've seen 12•c doesn't bother me!
If we get cold just put on extra layers. Im having a c section next week so the heating will be on then!

It would be very cold for my taste. I just can’t function like this. 18-19 C is ok for me. But I live in a very small property and it literally takes 10-15 min to heat it up and I don’t keep heating for long. Still have big bills.

I live in an old house. Been here 20 years. In winter, we put the heating on in the evening and it's warms up quickly. But it's never too hot. Just comfortable. I go to other people's newer, smaller houses and find it horrible. I have come away from my sister in laws house with a rotten headache, feeling sick (migraine) because its too hot! It's always easier to warm up than cool down. Just move aro, wear your warm clothes 😊 In summer, I'm laughing, as it's never too hot at home. It's cosy snuggled up with a blanket with my hubby with the Christmas 🎄 lights on at the moment.