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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Your thermostat temperature?

193 replies

wallypops3 · 20/11/2025 08:56

So it’s cold and in our home the annual heating debate has begun. Dh thinks it’s acceptable to have the thermostat on 16. I would be far happier with 20 but we have compromised at 18 although he still complains about this and the cost.

We have a log burner which does heat the downstairs quite well but when we go up to bed it’s freezing. He doesn’t feel the cold like me and I genuinely dread this time of year and having to argue just to feel warm in my own home.

OP posts:
MellowPinkDeer · 20/11/2025 08:56

20 downstairs, 18 upstairs ( turned to 16 at bedtime)

andanotherproblem · 20/11/2025 08:58

Ours was on 18 but we’ve changed it to 20 just last week and it’s stayed on that since then, if it gets cold even at 20 I will change it, I don’t care about how much it costs I’d rather be warm

toffeeappleturnip · 20/11/2025 09:00

Mines 15 right now.

It was 13.5 in the night. I have an electric blanket though which I turned on low at 6am for an hour till I got up. I did the same for my teen too.

16/17 is warm enough for me but I am hot all the time with perimenopause.

I turn it up if my mum and dad come round.

Elbowpatch · 20/11/2025 09:01

andanotherproblem · 20/11/2025 08:58

Ours was on 18 but we’ve changed it to 20 just last week and it’s stayed on that since then, if it gets cold even at 20 I will change it, I don’t care about how much it costs I’d rather be warm

Surely it will be 18 at 18 and 20 at 20? That’s what thermostats do,

ChocolateCinderToffee · 20/11/2025 09:02

18 and that’s day and night.

andanotherproblem · 20/11/2025 09:02

Elbowpatch · 20/11/2025 09:01

Surely it will be 18 at 18 and 20 at 20? That’s what thermostats do,

You’re not making sense? I said I turned it up from 18 to 20 because it was cold and if it gets colder I’ll turn it up again?

Elbowpatch · 20/11/2025 09:04

andanotherproblem · 20/11/2025 09:02

You’re not making sense? I said I turned it up from 18 to 20 because it was cold and if it gets colder I’ll turn it up again?

I’m not making sense? You have turned it up from 18 to 20 so it won’t get colder, it will stay at 20.

Squirrelmirrel2 · 20/11/2025 09:05

We have ours set to 18 in the morning for 1.5 hours and again in the evening from 6 for the same amount of time. The rest of the time the heating is off.
I find overnight it doesn't bother me and it comes on at at 6 and the house is warm by the time we get up.
In the daytime when DH and I are working we both just wrap up warm but if it's the weekend or we are all home I'd just override the heating and give it a blast if we are cold. The kids don't notice the cold, it's always me.

WhatATimeToBeAlive · 20/11/2025 09:06

19.5 - but it's never on at night. I don't understand anyone that has the heating on overnight. What a waste of money.

PinkFootstool · 20/11/2025 09:07

17.5 all day from 7am, 16 after 8pm. I can't sleep in a hot room, it makes me ill (migraines).

That said, I'm on Mounjaro and permanently freezing cold so I'm also wearing an Oodie and Uggs for WFH and have the electric blanket ready to break out as needed. I needed it yesterday!

If you're cold in bed, look at an underblanket solely for your side? Getting into a warm bed in a cool room is great.

Upsetbetty · 20/11/2025 09:08

Elbowpatch · 20/11/2025 09:04

I’m not making sense? You have turned it up from 18 to 20 so it won’t get colder, it will stay at 20.

Edited

Yes this! If your thermostat is at 20 then that means your room is at 20 it shouldn’t be “getting colder” if it is, you have a thermostat problem it’s not working.

Fearfulsaints · 20/11/2025 09:08

I think thermostats are very variable.

Ours is tucked away in a warm spot of our home. Its an internal wall, it gets a lot of solar gain and its where we are a lot so our bodies heat the space.. Its set at 18, but that doesnt mean my whole house is 18. My workspace and bedroom is much colder.

I get cold too. I find thermals and good slippers help as does a heated blanket and going for a brisk walk.

Peridoteage · 20/11/2025 09:09

it's never on at night. I don't understand anyone that has the heating on overnight. What a waste of money.

Some people's homes may be less well insulated than yours, at the night the temperature can drop to very low levels and you could get too cold even in bed!

applecrumblespider · 20/11/2025 09:10

Also depends where your thermostat is. Mine is in the hallway coldest bit of the house, so although set at 18 (1 hour morning, 4 hours evening) and 16 during the day, the living room, bathrooms and bedrooms are warmer than 18.

Devilsmommy · 20/11/2025 09:10

I'm in a flat and mine is always set to 22°C. I'm not being cold for anyone. Though thankfully my DH is a star and doesn't complain about me putting the heating on 😊

SleepingisanArt · 20/11/2025 09:10

17 - heating comes on at 6am goes off at 10pm. Boiler fires it up a couple of times during the day but isn't running full time. We have made sure there are no drafts and rooms which are not used (bedrooms of those who've moved out) are closed. House is a good temperature and no need to wear every item of clothing we own nor are we swanning around in shorts!

Peridoteage · 20/11/2025 09:12

We are comfortable at 19 when moving around a lot/rushing to get to school or work. When sitting around etc we need it to be 20, if older people are visiting we sometimes put it to 21/22.

I do think 16 is cold these days. If you stop moving at 16 degrees you are going to want a blanket to snuggle under.

Foxpooshampoo · 20/11/2025 09:12

Mine is 21 this week as it’s on the upstairs landing. If it’s lower then the downstairs temp is too cold.

pollydollydoo · 20/11/2025 09:13

It’s set to 19 or 20 depending on how chilly it feels outside. The house is very well insulated so it stays nice and warm for a long time. I do feel the chill though and I’m often very trigger happy in boosting the temp to 22 or even 23. My husband is nearly always wearing a hoody of some kind, so he thinks the boost isn’t needed, but agrees it’s nicer for the house to be warm rather than cold.

Seeline · 20/11/2025 09:13

Ours is set to 18 and is on all day.
The living room reached 18 at about 4pm yesterday - joys of living in an old house with high ceilings.

vellichoria · 20/11/2025 09:17

20-21 during the day. 19 at night.

Procrastinatrixx · 20/11/2025 09:18

18 during the day, sometimes manually higher if needed. But some of our rooms are warmer than others, and one room is positively freezing, so it depends who is where and for how long. We also run clothes drying racks which warms our living room up.

Babies, young kids and the elderly are recommended to keep it at about 20 for health reasons.

Healthy adults should aim for 16-18 overnight for best sleep, assuming you have a winter duvet etc.

Have you done a heat check of your house, identifying and addressing cold spots with insulated curtains, checking window glazing, draft excluders etc? That’ll improve your heating efficiency. UK houses are very cold by poor design.

Natsku · 20/11/2025 09:19

Don't have a central thermostat but the air heat pump is set to 21 usually, the electric radiators are set to about 20 and the few radiators that are heated by the boiler are set full blast (because otherwise they don't work). Thermometer on the lounge wall generally shows around 20, kitchen (where full blast radiator is) around 23.

Dontcallmescarface · 20/11/2025 09:19

22 all day and off at night.

Seawolves · 20/11/2025 09:20

WhatATimeToBeAlive · 20/11/2025 09:06

19.5 - but it's never on at night. I don't understand anyone that has the heating on overnight. What a waste of money.

I have a child who is now on palliative care, his body thermostat struggles to maintain a normal temperature and he often drops to 35.7 overnight and to help him keep warm the heating comes on when the house drops below 20° day or night.