To think that 17 degrees is not warm enough?

[Maybebaby10]

Staying with a family member who is refusing to agree that 17 degrees in a drafty living room is too cold!! I have a small child here with me and the said family member decided to sleep with the window open as they like the breeze. They also do not like to shut their bedroom doors so draft under our door into the ‘make shift’ bedroom all night. We are in England and it’s freezing at the moment. I am fuming and freezing but don’t want to ruin the day.

Update

Having looked at prices, I think a camping inverter, running off a car battery, is more realistic. You would have to connect it yourself.

You must not feed a generator or standby power into your house socket or other circuits. It must be separate.

You can if you use a generator transfer switch to isolate the house from the grid. We have a backup generator.

I can't speak for every single house but that's not true for mine, that can't possibly be a blanket rule for all circumstances

No heating at all? That's unpleasant, and would break the rules here - employers have to take action if the temperature falls below 20 degrees for office work where you work sitting down.

17 is pretty normal to me tbh. But my horrible drafty house is 11 so I’m not the norm.

21 here in the day, no heating on from around 10pm until one of us adjusts the thermostat at whatever o’clock in the morning.

I would find 17 too cold for sitting about in.

Thanks for that John.
Next time I have a power cut I'll nip down to b&q for all the bits.

Correct, but a proper changeover switch rated at 80 or 100A is rarely seen in a home.

Presumably yours was installed to conform with the Electricity Act. Very few people have read it.

16-18 is adequate even with health conditions. It can feel a bit chilly if you're used to it being warmer. I find anything over 20 a bit warm now.

We have 2 fan heaters but it’s a huge area. I just wear thermals

17 is too much for our house but everyone is different

Current winter settings 13 overnight and 16 during day when someone is home

That is very cold - a choice with open window too? How strange and selfish with visitors

17C isn't that cold. If a normal fit person went outside at 17C they would barely need a coat and certainly wouldn't die.

There are some vunerable people who need higher temperatures, but the vast majority of healthy people should be able to cope with that temperature no issues.

I do think that being able to cope with different temperatures is about conditioning. If you run your house like a sauna all the time and insist on walking around in t-shirts and shorts then yes if the temperature is set colder you will struggle. If you spend time at cooler temperatures then you can condition yourself to cope with it no issues.

Turning up the gas to silly temperatures even a few degrees extra can lead to significant extra expense. Which in the same way some people are vunerable to lower temperatures some people are vunerable to higher costs.

I would though if I had some visitors try to at the very least try to find some middle ground to their usual requirements and mine. No one surely wants their guests to be uncomfortable.

17 is below the health guidelines for all people not just vulnerable

I wonder how healthy those in the very warm houses are, and their children.
A friend I share a work space with has endless sickness in her house - parents and kids and she hates when I open the window in work or turn off the radiator when stuffy. She doesn't open windows daily at home. Meanwhile we have next to no sickness here thankfully with heat only for a few hours on winter evenings/nights and windows thrown open every day year round.

All the people I know keen on parroting the government advice on how warm your house should be seem surprisingly less keen on parroting and adhering to government advice on how much exercise you should take and how many takeaways you should eat.

Funny one that.

Just factually incorrect. The NHS, and the World Health Organisation, recommend a minimum indoor temperature of 18 degrees for all groups, not just vulnerable people. For vulnerable people a minimum of 21 is recommended.

"The currently available evidence base, alongside expert
discussion, suggests indoor temperatures of at least 18°C poses minimal risk to the health
of a sedentary person, wearing suitable clothing. Below 18°C, negative health effects may
occur, such as increases in blood pressure and the risk of blood clots which can lead to
strokes and heart attacks."

Public Health England has published a study on this topic.

Minimum home temperature thresholds for health in winter – A systematic literature review

From the conclusions:

“There is a lack of sufficient evidence to define thresholds in different parts of the house, or for those in high risk groups. Emphasis should be placed on keeping the homes of vulnerable people to at least 18°C, but that temperatures up to 21°C may be beneficial.”

However:

“Younger healthy adults may find it easier to increase activity levels and adjust their clothing to keep warm, and may wish to keep indoor temperatures to levels at which they are comfortable, even if this is lower than this threshold.”

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c5986f8ed915d045f3778a9/Min_temp_threshold_for_homes_in_winter.pdf

In that study they are trying to find a compromise between health and carbon emissions and expense, they still say 18 degrees is the temperature with minimal risk.
In my country the health authority recommends 21 degrees for optimal indoor temperature for health, with 18 as the lowest limit, they're not trying to compromise with their recommendations.

I have never ever had a cold. I just plain dont get them. I dont suffer with any illnesses at all, I do have arthritis in my Spine.
Im a hot house person

Oh we are all different but I wouldn’t sit in a t shirt and then turn heat up to 22c !!
If I was just sitting I’d need heating set to about 18c to feel comfortable and I’d wear a jumper plus socks with my slippers .
17c is fine if you’re busy rushing round cleaning and cooking.
It also does depend on whether it’s a grey and damp day because that for me feels colder ?
I really dislike overly warm homes , warm restaurants and cafes , I sometimes dress in layers so i can sit there in a thin shirt and often take a small handheld fan with me.
Because you heat up when you’re eating plus if the restaurant is full of people the body heat they produce is warming the place up even more .
Recently we were out for lunch though in a restaurant in an old high ceiling building and it was definitely on the cooler side so kept my woolies on , but not my coat lol that would’ve been miserable

Keep my house very warm, never ever get sick. I do sea swim all winter though!

A couple of days ago there was an article in the paper, some university has done a study of people in environments of between 17 and I think 26c. As the temperature went up, peoples blood pressure, pulse and cortisol levels rose..It said 17c was healthier. I'm sure you could look it up.

Which Paper ?
Which Uni ?
Which country ? Iceland or Zambia ?

Everyone is different but 18 to 21 seems to be the norm. Max 23 if it's for babies.
The way people used to manage was with woolly socks, little caps and you can't beat a hot water bottle!