What do you set your heating at?

[amibeingaknob]

Please settle an argument with me and my mother.

What do you set your heating at? Is it different in the day and the night?

Just trying to gauge what the 'norm' is here. We are South East (not that that makes any difference - temp is temp).

For me - 20 in the day, 17 at night. My boyfriend (who lives with me) is 22 day, 19 night so its gone up - I wouldn't want him feeling the cold.

My mother thinks a house that is 14 is perfectly reasonable, and not on at all at night. She rarely puts in on. This worries me desperately as father has had pneumonia and they are in their mid 70s. She is convinced I, and 'my generation' are wussies, and heating is bad for you, and they are normal and I 'feel the cold more than most'.

I guess I want to prove to her that that last line is inaccurate, and she puts her bloody heating on this winter, as I am super anxious about their health (particularly my dad). On a selfish note, I loathe going round there as I sit shivering, whilst being given a blanket and told 'oh dear, you do feel the cold don't you'. Like Im some sort of alien. The offer of heating is never there, and when it is put on, it is with much complaint, and mum performance huffing and fanning of brow. Ugh. Drives me nuts.

I feel the cold easily unless I’m in about 20* (if not moving much, like in the evening). I also get cold if I haven’t eaten much. Biggest game changer for me in the last couple of years has been a heated throw for the sofa. Hardly need any heating on and thus far we have around 7 now bought within extended family and friends - we all have this one - very thick in its own right before the heat is even switched on. I also have two thinner ones as this is too thick and warm for the bedrooms. I think the thick one is about 5p per hour to run, and I think anyone living under the poverty line or on pension credit, should be given one for free.

Sorry forgot the link .. https://www.boots.com/dreamland-intelliheat-faux-fur-warming-throw-10324331

You jest I think ? Xmas day the house gets really hot due to cooking a big Xmas dinner! Doors and windows open here.

But plenty of people won't see that as 'tight', just sensible for them.

I'm pretty sure we all choose to spend on some things that other people would think was wasteful and then save on some things we see as sensible that others see as 'tight'. It's just personal reference.

Personally I hate cooking and am happy to go out a few times on holiday, but I wouldn't pay Cornwall prices for a cottage when there are places that are just as lovely and much more affordable. It's swings and roundabouts.
Some people spend masses on clothes or gadgets or moisturising creams or redecorating their house regularly or wine or socialising or going to the pictures and so on and so on. Just individual choices.

My Dad is the same. It’s an age thing. He is 89, has a massive final salary pension and has his thermostat set for 15C. He does put the gas fire on for me when I visit. But it gets worse, he heats the kettle to have a wash, to save energy.
But in his defence, he is very well, takes no medication and can walk for miles…..

About 18 on a timer for morning and evening. Sometimes boosted higher as needed. Off at night.

We don’t have the heating on at all at the moment but an acceptable temp is about 18 especially if we’re moving around. We’d never put the heating on overnight, I actually have the bedroom window open even on freezing nights - it probably goes down to about 15? I like the air nice and fresh but in bed with a big duvet, bedspread & hot water bottle 🥰

Same. I'd melt if the heating was on over night.
Mine is set to 15 during the day & I think it came in a couple of times last winter. Mine is not a particularly well insulted house.

23/24 in the day and 18 at night. I hate being cold and our dogs don’t sleep well if they are cold at night.

21 in the day
18 at night

20C day. 18C night.

We have ours on the thermostat to 18 daytime and 16 at night but rarely comes on overnight as it keeps the warmth from the day. My parents (in their 70s) have theirs on 21 and find our house cold.

21 c

17-19 during the day - set to come on 6-9am, then 6-9pm, off overnight, although will kick in at 7 degrees.

Never has, though, as old west of Scotland farmhouse with 2' thick walls which trap heat and the interior temperature has never dropped that low for as long as we've lived here. Also have fires in both public rooms.

We both 'run hot' and use the heating more to preserve the integrity of the building than to stay warm - we're very much adding an extra layer before we turn the heating up.

If I’m on my own the heating comes on at 12 degrees. It’s blankets, hats and jumpers. I much prefer this to going from a cold outdoors where I’m dressed appropriately into a sweltering building where everyone’s wearing t shirts.

If I’m with my family, it comes on when it falls below 18.

One thing to note is that your body absolutely adjusts to the cold. When I’ve had the heating low for extended periods I just don’t feel the cold the same way as when I’m in a hot house. Your mum is probably accustomed to the colder temperatures - so long as she’s not getting chilled when she’s ill then she may well be fine.

If she’s over a certain age or at risk of pneumonia then do get her to contact the GP for a vaccine. It’s very broad spectrum these days and well worth it, as pneumonia is often a complication for older people and can be a real risk.

Ours hasn’t gone on yet but once I start noticing the cold it’s set to 20 degrees from 6-7.30am and 6-9pm. We sleep with windows open all year round so absolutely no point in overnight heating.

The heating was on for 9.5 weeks last year: entirely due to excellent insulation: in my last house we were cold all the time and had an aga, a wood burner and central heating on most days from autumn to spring. In this house my computers in the daytime and the telly in the evening is enough until mid November at least.

We keep our house really warm. I’m like a lizard and prefer a really warm house and DS is disabled and won’t keep any clothes on. He runs around just wearing a pull-up but no clothes (he’s 15 years old) but doesn’t notice hot or cold temperatures really. I make sure that the house is warm so he doesn’t get a chill - in the summer I also have to persuade him NOT to wear a fleeced onesie if we go out. I think his internal thermostat is broken 😂🤷‍♀️

Our heating is set to around 23 or 24 during the day but we only have one radiator downstairs, and that’s in the hall. It’s mainly to keep the DC’s bedrooms warm - DD’s room in particular gets freezing cold as she is double aspect and the windows need replacing.

We have a log burner downstairs and that really heats everywhere. It kicks out an amazing degree of heat and is perfect as I can sit close to it while DP can sit further away.

For that reason, the heating isn’t on that much really as the log fire does most of the work. We don’t have the heating on at night unless there’s an icy snap and it’s minus degrees outside.

Editing to add: we’re in the southwest and haven’t lit the fire or had the heating on yet this year but as soon as it starts to feel chilly we will. I’m always the coldest in the house and I’m just turning 50 (on Wednesday actually!) so I’m constantly running hot at the moment. Could be our cheapest winter ever 😂

Aren’t you absolutely boiling?

About 17 in the day, never at night! Good warm duvets!

Pneumonia is usually caused by a virus, I had it once following flu, many years ago, but I was working ridiculously long night shifts and little sleep..I'm 75, also in the SE..I like less than double figures for sleeping, bedroom window open. The air cooler is still out..we ventilate ,air, when the heating does go on,18c in the day,off at night.. friends in their 50s, live in t shirts,I went into their south facing lounge, heating on 22c, wearing a jumper, I thought I would pass out.. I think a lot of it is, whether you are moving..if I vacuum,I get hot.. I've been busy making soup.. yesterday and hours dog walking,3 hours gardening..

4.5 tog duvet here, our last house was cold,we have a couple of dogs,they keep you warm!

17 during the day in rooms we are using , no heating at night. Plus a blast of heat in the whole house for an hour or two a day in very cold wet weather to keep off the damp.

iLife a hot water bottle , but not a dog or cat substituting as one! Warm they may be, but they’re also smelly!

I think ours comes on if it drops below 16.5 at night and 18.5 in the day but we do sometimes crank it up as the thermostat is in the warmest part of the house.

Ours is set to 18 in the mornings and evenings (all day at the weekend), which in practice means it's 19 or thereabouts in the kitchen and family room, 18 in the hallway and 17 in the front room which is used infrequently.

At night it's set to 14 but that's only theoretical. It hardly ever gets cold enough for it to do anything.