Page 4 | Have you turned off your heating now?

WombatChocolate · 2023-03-28T15:02:31+00:00

I know some people haven’t really had it on all winter - terrible position to find yourself in and I’m truly sorry people have had to do this. But if you have had it on, have you now turned it off or if you’ve reduced it,how many hours per day now? It’s late March and ours is till on for 1 hr in morning and about 4 hrs in evening. Obviously it’s not firing up so much as it gets to temp (17 degrees) faster now. Just wondered when people who’ve already turned it off did so and what those still using it are doing…and when you’d think it will be off fully. Thanks.

Anycolouryoulike · 28/03/2023 21:19

DanceMonster · 28/03/2023 21:04

I don’t know whether I’m just jealous as I’ve just sat down for the first time today but I don’t get it either! If your house is cold then it’s cold when you’re cooking/showering/getting ready for work/playing with your children/anything else people do day to day.

Exactly. I do sit under a blanket in the evenings but have to do day to day stuff the rest of the time, so while I am careful with the heating the whole house would be freezing if I never used the heating at all.

PuppyMonkey · 28/03/2023 21:23

I have the heating on AND sit under a blanket.

Sandrine1982 · 28/03/2023 21:28

Boiler conked out today, and the temperature downstairs is starting to be very uncomfortable !!!!
We're anxiously waiting to get it fixed. We definitely still need heating (I had hoped we wouldn't at this time of year in London!!).

But yes, with bills around £200 pcm for gas+electric, we are being careful ...

EmotionalSupportWyrm · 28/03/2023 21:33

Riapia · 28/03/2023 19:16

I have a thermostat.
No need to be worried about outside temperature.

Never needed to adjust it since it was installed.

Same here - I noticed my daily cost on the smart meter in-house display was around £6 yesterday - that's about half what it was on the coldest days this winter - so its clearly not been kicking in as much as it was, but the house remains at a pretty constant temperature during the day. I don't have CH on at night - too hot - I'm happy with my hot water bottles.

piedbeauty · 28/03/2023 22:25

No. It was minus 1 last night.

DeathMetalMum · 28/03/2023 22:32

We use the thermostat so ours is always 'on'. It hasn't been on every day for the last few weeks, mostly mornings for a short while or an hour in the evening. Last few mornings have been really cold so we've had the heating on.

UWhatNow · 28/03/2023 22:33

Do people set their heating by the calendar? Fair enough if it’s Highclere Castle but 15 Acacia Crescent? Surely people put the heating on if they need the heating on? Or am I missing something? 🤷🏻‍♀️

stayathomer · 29/03/2023 05:20

I had said upthread about just turning it back on. It broke last night. Typically!😅(stupid pellet burners- never had this trouble with oil!!)

Mumma · 29/03/2023 05:49

Im at home all day with a tiny baby so its always on... dreading the bills

Oblomov23 · 29/03/2023 05:51

No.I'm still cold at certain points.

Okunevo · 29/03/2023 05:57

UWhatNow · 28/03/2023 22:33

Do people set their heating by the calendar? Fair enough if it’s Highclere Castle but 15 Acacia Crescent? Surely people put the heating on if they need the heating on? Or am I missing something? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Mine goes off if I don't need it anymore so I don't need to worry that it might click on with a window open. If it got very cold I'd first check if DS had a window open then manually put it on for an hour.

Yesitstrue · 29/03/2023 06:17

My step dad has just altered the thermostat in my house in the UK as he says it’s now milder but I can recall the day he married my mum and it snowed in Dundee on the 26th of April. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had to put it back up again even though my house is in the south.

Meanwhile here at home our ac’s are back on but they go off again a few times a day and overnight as the temperature is still up and down a bit.

In fact we only really know summer is here when the bum gun scalds your bottom when you’ve been to the loo, usually the first two weeks of May. That’s when we know the Ac’s won’t be going on and off again till November.

Blondeshavemorefun · 29/03/2023 10:41

Def not

Been chilly last few days

On maybe 30m am so warm to get dressed for school

Some days not on till 4/5. Ans maybe hour 8/9

Other days a 30m boost

It's on less than last year but equally hate being cold so still on

SpinningFloppa · 29/03/2023 10:43

No need it to dry clothes

Babdoc · 29/03/2023 10:49

Still on up here in Perthshire, even though it’s costing over £800 a month for the gas central heating and electric underfloor combined. I refuse to sit in a freezing house. It goes off around mid day for a couple of hours if the sun is shining into my south facing sitting room, though.

MidnightMeltdown · 29/03/2023 10:55

No - it's still cold! Mine's on all day and it will be until it's warm enough to switch off. It doesn't matter what the calendar says.

teacakie · 29/03/2023 11:03

I have never used the timer on mine we just put it on and off if we feel cold. It's on just now bc DH was cold.

Netcam · 29/03/2023 11:07

We've managed an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening all winter and we WFH. Was thinking of turning it off completely but it's still too cold.

GasPanic · 29/03/2023 11:41

Had it off for 12 days or so in mid March.

Last two days been a bit chilly so switched back on again.

Looks to be warming up again now so will probably go off permanently as don't normally have it on in April.

DannyZukosSmile · 29/03/2023 11:52

This thread is batshit. 🦇💩

Mine didn't go on once. DS and I were fine. We had Oodies to keep us warm and now I have a lovely amount of credit on my electricity account.

@sanityisamyth

How can you not have it on once, like I mean EVER? I don't get it. The heating system is meant to be switched on. It will damage the system if it's never on. And it will do untold damage to your home too. You will get damp throughout, and mould forming, and it will cost way more money than simply having the heating on (sometimes) when it's very cold. Also, surely you use electricity for more than your heating???

How can you have a 'lovely amount of credit on your electricity account' purely for not using the heating? Do you switch off the majority of your electrical items too? No TV, no DVD player, no computers on, no laptops, no phones, no stereo or music. Just all huddled around a candle in your oodies reading a book? (Probably Charles Dickens as you probably feel like your in a Charles Dickens novel living this way!)

I never get these weird threads. Surely people will put the heating on when it's cold, and then NOT put it on when it's a bit warmer. I don't mean stick it on every time the temperature drops below 10 C, but when it is COLD, like windchill below zero, and a temperature of 2-3 C or lower. I have had mine on for a few days in late May on a cold day, and then not on for a few days in December when it's not cold. It goes on when it's very cold and off when it's warmer.

It's all common sense. I find it so hard to comprehend how anyone with a workable and functioning heating system has it switched off all year round and just wears 'oodies' and then smugly proclaims 'we never have our heating, aren't we clever?'

@samsam123

mines been off most of the winter - sit under a duvet perfectly warm enough...

You just spent the whole winter in your home........ sitting under a duvet?

DanceMonster · 29/03/2023 12:00

DannyZukosSmile · 29/03/2023 11:52

This thread is batshit. 🦇💩

Mine didn't go on once. DS and I were fine. We had Oodies to keep us warm and now I have a lovely amount of credit on my electricity account.

@sanityisamyth

How can you not have it on once, like I mean EVER? I don't get it. The heating system is meant to be switched on. It will damage the system if it's never on. And it will do untold damage to your home too. You will get damp throughout, and mould forming, and it will cost way more money than simply having the heating on (sometimes) when it's very cold. Also, surely you use electricity for more than your heating???

How can you have a 'lovely amount of credit on your electricity account' purely for not using the heating? Do you switch off the majority of your electrical items too? No TV, no DVD player, no computers on, no laptops, no phones, no stereo or music. Just all huddled around a candle in your oodies reading a book? (Probably Charles Dickens as you probably feel like your in a Charles Dickens novel living this way!)

I never get these weird threads. Surely people will put the heating on when it's cold, and then NOT put it on when it's a bit warmer. I don't mean stick it on every time the temperature drops below 10 C, but when it is COLD, like windchill below zero, and a temperature of 2-3 C or lower. I have had mine on for a few days in late May on a cold day, and then not on for a few days in December when it's not cold. It goes on when it's very cold and off when it's warmer.

It's all common sense. I find it so hard to comprehend how anyone with a workable and functioning heating system has it switched off all year round and just wears 'oodies' and then smugly proclaims 'we never have our heating, aren't we clever?'

@samsam123

mines been off most of the winter - sit under a duvet perfectly warm enough...

You just spent the whole winter in your home........ sitting under a duvet?

I agree. Not having your heating at all, all winter, is going to cause greater problems than it solves (damp and mould etc).
I have a child with asthma which is exacerbated by damp conditions and an autistic child who will not wear layers to bed so wakes up multiple times freezing if it’s too cold so ours is on at 18 all winter. I never switch it off completely anyway though; it’s set to 14 even in the summer although obviously it rarely comes on, letting your house get below that temperature can cause all sorts of problems.

Okunevo · 29/03/2023 12:39

Might depend if some posters are in a modern flat. My family member hardly ever needs it on as they only have one exterior wall, the temperature simply does not drop that low.

YetAnotherUser · 29/03/2023 12:55

I turned mine off last week during a warm spell, and I hope to keep it off until December or so now!

I'll switch it back on momentarily if I have company round or if the temperature drops substantially for period of time, but I intend to put up with being a bit chilly until the weather gets its rear into gear.

Yesterday evening the thermostat did say it was 16 though, which felt a bit parky, and it's currently 16.5 and probably wont get any warmer between now and when I finish work so I may well need end up caving in and having another go in a couple of weeks time...

DannyZukosSmile · 29/03/2023 13:09

DanceMonster · 29/03/2023 12:00

I agree. Not having your heating at all, all winter, is going to cause greater problems than it solves (damp and mould etc).
I have a child with asthma which is exacerbated by damp conditions and an autistic child who will not wear layers to bed so wakes up multiple times freezing if it’s too cold so ours is on at 18 all winter. I never switch it off completely anyway though; it’s set to 14 even in the summer although obviously it rarely comes on, letting your house get below that temperature can cause all sorts of problems.

Show quote history

@DanceMonster

Yeah of course I forgot to add that bit. The health risks to yourself and your children - and your pets! (Anyone who resides in your house basically.) The 'heating ban' could cause asthma - or make asthma you already have even worse. Could progress to emphysema, or bronchial pneumonia. (And chronic and lifelong breathing problems, if you're lucky enough to live for quite a long time!)

Utterly and wholly irresponsible to have NO HEATING ON all through the Autumn and winter/and all though the year, especially when you have children in the home. You are risking their health, (and yours!)

SandLResources · 29/03/2023 13:28

DannyZukosSmile · 29/03/2023 11:52

This thread is batshit. 🦇💩

Mine didn't go on once. DS and I were fine. We had Oodies to keep us warm and now I have a lovely amount of credit on my electricity account.

@sanityisamyth

How can you not have it on once, like I mean EVER? I don't get it. The heating system is meant to be switched on. It will damage the system if it's never on. And it will do untold damage to your home too. You will get damp throughout, and mould forming, and it will cost way more money than simply having the heating on (sometimes) when it's very cold. Also, surely you use electricity for more than your heating???

How can you have a 'lovely amount of credit on your electricity account' purely for not using the heating? Do you switch off the majority of your electrical items too? No TV, no DVD player, no computers on, no laptops, no phones, no stereo or music. Just all huddled around a candle in your oodies reading a book? (Probably Charles Dickens as you probably feel like your in a Charles Dickens novel living this way!)

I never get these weird threads. Surely people will put the heating on when it's cold, and then NOT put it on when it's a bit warmer. I don't mean stick it on every time the temperature drops below 10 C, but when it is COLD, like windchill below zero, and a temperature of 2-3 C or lower. I have had mine on for a few days in late May on a cold day, and then not on for a few days in December when it's not cold. It goes on when it's very cold and off when it's warmer.

It's all common sense. I find it so hard to comprehend how anyone with a workable and functioning heating system has it switched off all year round and just wears 'oodies' and then smugly proclaims 'we never have our heating, aren't we clever?'

@samsam123

mines been off most of the winter - sit under a duvet perfectly warm enough...

You just spent the whole winter in your home........ sitting under a duvet?

I'm not sure why this has got you quite so angry.

I work long hours and when I'm home I spend all my time in one room. I have a heated blanket and a heated clothes dryer as well as thick bedclothes and warm blankets.

I have always overpaid my direct debits and combined with the rebate from the government I am in a nice amount of credit.

I am not freezing.

I have run the heating twice over the winter to test it.

Smug? Not really. Batshit? Not as much as someone upthread who is spending double the amount I spend in mortgage payments a month on gas and electric.

I keep all my appliances plugged in and the cost is negligible, its the standing charge I can't do anything about.

I sleep at night....and I'm warm while I dream.