Does heating need to be on everyday?

[ALittleBitCreeped]

Or would it be okay to have on 3 times a week?
We had heating on for about 3 hours a day everyday last week and it seems our gas prices are quite high!

Of course it doesn’t. Just put it on when you need it. I’m on the same fa with a quilt and nice and toasty

Oops should say I’m on the sofa!

@Quitelikeit I'm thinking more in terms of dampness and mould and pipes; I can happily live in blankets but I'm worried that not putting heating on everyday will damage house?

Can you afford a dehumidifier? Its cheaper to run than the heating and it keeps the house dry. We have cheap night rate electricity so run it for a couple of hours every night.

Depends on the outside temperature and where your water pipes are.

I use to work away a lot so would the heating to come on low twice a day if the long term weather forecast predicted sub-zero temperatures. Otherwise it was once a day in winter.

It depends also on what temperature the heating is set to

No heating will damage the house if you breathe, cook, do laundry, bathe, boil water, have house plants, wash dishes... Unless you do all that with windows wide open.

The condensation forms on cold surfaces. Obviously, the walls (and everything else) will be colder with no heating.

But there are all sorts of variables.
You live in a terrace or flats and your neighbours have heating on - better for the house.
You live alone =less condensation - better for the house.
You live in a draughty house - better for the house.
Your house generally is bone dry - better for the house.

Who knows, it's a risk you take.

And clearly unheated, unventilated spaces ain't good for the buildings, otherwise landlords wouldn't have to enforce the above via contracts.

I have a humidity monitor and it's been interesting observing the cause-effect of different things.

@ALittleBitCreeped

where is your boiler?

can you set your thermostat to a minimum temperature at which it kicks in?

Well, you could only really answer this question if everyone's house was the same? It certainly wouldn't work for my draughty stone-fronted end-of-terrace HA house that has crap double glazing and was built in the 1870s, but it could very well work in an energy efficient relatively new flat, for example.

Yes, it could well cause some serious damage long-term.

I put my heating on when I feel like I need it.

Dehumidifier I put on every day during autumn - winter though. I switch it off once the humidity shows as low enough (in the 50s %). Some days it takes 15 minutes, other days it’s on for half the day.

It’s unhealthy it’s why poorer people are more likely to have mould or damp problems and one of the reasons why housing is associated with poor health. But as said upthread housing stock, amount of people in the house and personal habits are a factor. I know my friends son takes really long showers because she was complaining, 20 mins every time. That’s about 4 days showers for me. She also had three kids, a partner that works on building sites and her son is an emergency services worker so has clean uniform every day as it’s a health hazard not to. One of her kids is in two football teams so that house has 2 loads of washing on every day minimum. Dishwasher on twice a day plus 5 people breathing and a dog, all makes condensation.

Even before the huge rise in bills people seem to rarely open windows.

No I don’t think so unless it is below freezing.

Today was the first time I’ve turned my heating on for months.

I usually cook every day though and I find the oven heats up the house quite well.

So I guess it depends what your lifestyle is like and where you live.