Anyone trying not to have heating on

[TheOpalFox]

Anyone else tried to not have heating on? Even tho your cold? It’s 8 degrees and I’m cold but can’t afford to have heating on all the time :( what a way to live!!!

I don’t put mine on until October time

We have newer ones where the output times can be controlled.

Even if it was freezing, literally, before that?

The consultant would have suggested a little cooler air, really warm dry air isn’t great if people aren’t opening windows occasionally.

On the other hand warming the person means that breathing in cold damp air at 13 degrees is not good either. There can be a happy medium between the both.

We don’t have the heat on constantly or above 20 but 13 is ridiculous for someone with COPD ( i have a history of family members with lung issues including COPD)

Yes, agreed, too warm/dry or too cold/damp are both detrimental, 18 to 21 is recommended (not 13).

We lit our fire yesterday for the first time, ridiculous I know but I've got a horrible cold and I've spent most of the weekend stood outside watching my kids play sports and I just wanted to be warm and cosy. They've been felling trees near us all year so we've been bringing a few logs home each morning we walk the dog so we at least it didn't cost us anything.

absolutely havent needed it this last week

It's 1° here today, but our room was still over 17° despite the window being open all night. I didn't notice the hall temperature, but it definitely wasn't cold enough to put the heating on. The benefit of a well-insulated house. Our old house would've needed heating in these temperatures!

Heating on today for the first time. Woke up to frost! The cat is most appreciative and has surgically attached herself to the radiator.
I also pay more in the summer so am in credit for the winter. I'm not so worried this year as we have had a solid 6 months of no heating weather (Scotland)..warmest spring ever this year and heating was off much earlier than usual.

We've managed about 5 months with much reduced/no heating, also Scotland but quite far north. After having no/broken heaters I refuse to not use the news ones that actually work! We're a bit in credit too, and will see how things go regarding direct debit as the season goes on. 👍

Not even turned the boiler from summer setting yet, but might do that today to check it still works. And might bring the stand alone heaters up from shed and put in place.

But not had the heating on as of yet.

It doesn't feel like 8 degrees in the house yet, perhaps in the mornings but then you get up, get moving put some clothes on and it's ok.

How I look at it is heating could be what two/three hours of your wage a week, this is why you work to pay bills, first and foremost, so you use it and it's less than 10% of your weekly wage, a smaller percentage for some.

We don’t put heating on until October unless it gets really cold. We’re in East Anglia and it was warm enough for open windows yesterday so we should make it another week without a problem.

Weather can change day to day.
I like to be flexible, if it's cold in September, on it goes. A mild October? We switch it off.

Oh I know, but it happens ever year on these threads. Someone innocently says they’re not cold enough for the heating and within five posts someone inevitably brings up some official guidance telling them they’re going to make themselves sick and destroy their home with damp if they don’t put the heating on immediately 😉

There’s a subset of posters every year (and it’s always the same names) who genuinely seem
to get offended when you say you’re not cold and don’t want the heating on yet. They bring out guidance, talk about how being cold doesn’t make you superior and seemingly hate the idea of people being different to them.

I think the context here is very different. There's a poster telling of an elderly person with COPD, a Consultant giving what some would consider to be wrong advice, and so pp comparing it to official health guidance of 18°c to demonstrate the discrepancy.

I wasn’t referring to those posts.

Right.

It's not really very cold here, although 4 degrees outside this morning. House is staying around 20 degrees but we've noticed the towels aren't drying so dh cranked up the thermostat and the heating came on this morning. What we need is to get individual thermostatic valves fitted (recentky moved house) so we can just have the towel rails on.

These threads often surprise me as some posters seem to have an all or nothing approach to having the heating on. We all live in different types of homes, in different parts of the country and with different thresholds for being warm/cold. It's hardly surprising that there are many different responses to the question of putting the heating on. Also popping it on for an hour in the morning as the weather turns cooler isn't the same as cranking it up to be on all day in the depths of a freezing winter. There seems to be a competitive element to how long people hold off and how cold they will allow their home to become before succumbing. I understand fuel is expensive and for some it feels like a luxury they must forgo, but for many it is affordable to ensure some warmth as the colder weather approaches.

I had it on for a bit yesterday as the washing wasn't dry after 24 hours and the towels were still wet in the morning.

But it's that time of year when it takes 50 billions years for washing to dry.

Get a tumble dryer, they're an absolute boon

My dad died earlier this year at 91. He had the warmest house all year round - we found it really difficult when we went to stay with him. He would have the heating on all the time, but back door wide open for ventilation? He couldnt cope with our house when he came to stay here as he found it too cold so we got him an electric throw and boot to keep him toasty.

I had to get rid of my one when I moved into a flat as there is no where to put one without losing a kitchen cupboard (I miss the utility room in my old house).

Shame! I sacrificed cupboard space because the difference is so significant.
It's a pity you can't find a space for it.

21c is too warm for me in winter, particularly if I’m moving around which I normally am as I will be dressed in warm clothes as it’s winter. We all feel temperatures differently but I hate it when I stay with friends at ski chalets and I can’t wear a jumper inside as it’s too hot.