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.

I’m the opposite, I like the air warm and to wear a t-shirt otherwise the eczema on my elbows starts to itch

At 17 degrees I'd be wearing too much clothing to be comfortable and I'd still be cold. When electricity got expensive we kept the heating at 19 degrees and I needed thermal underwear, warm trousers, long sleeve shirt, jumper, socks and woolly socks, and a thick warm dressing gown and fingerless gloves and I still hated it. I cannot bear cold houses, makes me utterly miserable.

When two extremes meet a compromise has to be reached, so warmer than you'd like, colder than they'd like, but somewhere in the middle so neither one is completely miserable.

No I can’t. I have to make sure I’m wearing short sleeves when I go out to bars or restaurants. I also take T-shirts to change into when going to houses where I know they like it hot.

Trying to imagine fluffy jumpers and fluffy hats. And I’m picturing people wandering around dressed like bears🤣 Surely normal knitted jumpers and hats would do the job?

You're not unreasonable feeling cold if you are used to a higher temperature, but neither is your host unreasonable for having her heating at the temperature that's comfortable for her. You need layers, to move around a bit rather than sitting still and to ask for a blanket if you are cold watching TV or whatever. Just say that you are a chilly person rather than complaining that her house is freezing!

My lungs prefer cooler fresher air as well. It's not just the temperature but the way the air dries out with central heating on high all day. But there will be a way for everyone to feel comfortable with a bit of imagination.

YABU. Put on a nice warm jumper and enjoy the fresh air!

17C is not warm, but if you were used to being outdoors, you would take your coat off and find it comfortable.

If you were busy in the kitchen you would be glad not to be hotter.

The answer is to wear socks and a jumper.

Have you ever been to this house before?

The posters talking about moving around a lot or not make a good point. In my house (17) dd is basically either dancing or asleep, I’m massively in to fitness and have bars in doorways that I’ll do a pull up on as I go under etc; I guess it would be much different if we were static for hours on end. I’m wall sitting as I type this 😂

Yes this.

Lots of people seem to expect to live at a permanent 20°c these days - to the extent of using air-conditioning on warm but not hot summer and even spring/ autumn days and turning the heating on/ up as soon as it's not t-shirt weather...

People do "run" at different temperatures and people who are very sedentary, have circulation problems or are elderly often genuinely feel cold at 17°c - children who are constantly on the move are not likely to be cold at that temperature if dressed appropriately - unless they have health issues or refuse to keep clothes on (although children who refuse to keep clothes on are often also very, very active and therefore still not cold)!

If I have guests I set the temperature to suit them not me
And give them clean towels and sheets And buy food for them - it’s just basic hospitality

Well its fine saying you'd pay money just so you - as a guest in someone's home - were comfy @CurlyhairedAssassin but what if that is then unbearable for the host?
How would you feel if they came to you and insisted you turn your own heating down?

As to the comment about not having fat on your bones - why do mumsnetters always assume that anyone who has a cool house is obese? I'm 8 stone, size 10. Thermostat at 17 for daytime.

it’s rubbish that it’s just the elderly or those with circulation problems who feel cold at 17

it’s an unhealthy temperature and if we were pets in a zoo the zoo would get closed for operating below healthy limits

yes you main feel fine - be used to it - and move around a lot I would guess or have thyroid issues but you can’t say 17 is ok when science can show you it’s not

I thought that about mine so I got one these, also shows humidity level which is spot on and always reads the same as my dehumidifer, if it’s running, the temperature is always showing 1-2 degrees lower than my thermostat (which is the old fashioned dial one)

Why has that been brought in to it? You think that people who prefer a cooler temperature give guests used towels and slept in bedsheets?

It's difficult if you don't know in advance that it will be cold. I have a friend whose house is always cold by my standards. Closer to your 17 rather than the 21 to 22 I have at home. I know this and take a thick fleece to put on and I'm fine.

But who needs a hat at 17 degrees? If it was 17 outside you wouldn't wear a hat or a heavy padded coat, so why would you need one indoors? That's what I don't understand. 17 is a light sweater for most of us, surely? I don't get the need for all the drama.

Just out of interest, do you wear all that clothing throughout the year when the temperature is 19 degrees? That's a nice spring temperature and I would be ok in jeans, t-shirt and hoodie outdoors in April/May. I switch my heating off over the summer and the temperature in the house sits around 19 (except during heatwaves) and I just wear normal summer clothing indoors.

I think it is dependent on the type of house.

17 degrees in a new built, well insulated house is fine.

17 degrees in a draughty victorian property is bloody freezing!

@Maybebaby10 there probably isn't much you can do if they won't budget. Is there anything you camnuse as a draught excluder under the door, extra pillows...rolled upntowel maybe?

Have you talked to the relative and explained that you are uncomfortably cold?

It really depends on the individuals whether or not 17 is too cold. Our thermostat in the hall is set at 16 and it is fine for us.

If I had guests who ran cooler we would turn it up a bit.

One thing that I think isn’t mentioned on these type of threads is that a thermostat being set at 19 in one house will make the house feel very different to another house with the thermostat set at 19.

my thermostat in the landing is set to 20. Any colder than that and the bedrooms are freezing and go mouldy. Plus I’m shaking with the cold. No idea why other than house is old. Radiators seem to be hot.

ibe been at a friends house this morning, very modern house and her thermostat in the hallway said 16 as I walked past it. House was a bit cooler than mine but not shaking with the cold type cold.

That is utter nonsense about a zoo. Some animals thrive in cold, others need to be kept warm.
I know someone whose dog needs a jumper in winter because it has a thin coat, my dog has a woolly double coat and lies out in the freezing cold. It would be cruel for me to expect her to live at 25 degrees.

@CurlyhairedAssassinI honestly can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not… how could 16 be warm? It certainty feels nice and cool in my house! I have one of those thermostats with WiFi so I can see the data, and I can count on one hand the amount of times my heating has even kicked in upstairs this winter so far (the upstairs is only ever programmed to a temperature, 16, at night, it’s off entirely during the day. And when it does, it’s only been for an hour or less. So effectively my home is not heated overnight. And I will usually have a window open in the bedroom too!

I'd go home if I was subjected to that.
17c is bad enough, but + a draught !!

I think it's personal preference really and people need to be accommodating and considerate of each other. My friend keeps her house at 16/17 degrees and I can't stand it, takes me ages to warm up once I get home from visiting her! We're all different.