What temperature to heat unused rooms

[Tworedgeraniums]

both My DC have left to flat share in town, so I’m here alone with ddog, a log burner and the ability to set temperatures using my phone on individual rooms.

i need to dial down my bills. The house is well insulated, kitchen dining room etc all open plan with separate lounge.

I want to be careful I don’t encourage damp etc, currently I’ve got the spare bedrooms set to 18, I keep doors open during day to allow sunshine heat to drift round the house, but I close them about 6pm. From 7pm the kitchen area I dial down from 20 to 18 and then I go to the lounge and open and close the door depending on how hot the log burner gets.

my bedroom I raise from 18 to 19.5 and then hour before bed and keep it that way until the morning.

what do you set yours at?

That seems quite warm to me.

Our heating is on an hour in the morning and 2 in the evening set at 18.
We give it a boost if home at the weekend.
The unused room has the radiator turned off.

I shut half the house down over winter and don't heat those rooms at all.

I think mould grows below 16 so we have all our rooms at 18, but we don't have any used rooms

Our thermostat is set to 18 and then the radiators in used rooms are on 3 or 4 (of 5) on the TRV dial and the radiators in the unused rooms are on either just the frost setting or 1.

According to Google mould grows best between 15 and 26 degrees.

Our house is permanently set on 18. It’s well insulated and the new windows and doors we had fitted in 2023 have reduced our bills by 25%. We heat the bathroom, it’s tiled so prone to condensation, the kitchen, the living room and the hall. Since heat rises and the loft is well insulated, we have never had to heat the bedrooms.

In fact DS sleeps with his windows wide open all year round, he hates the heat and adds layers of clothing ( I have trained him well). DH and I are from the pre central heating generation so prefer not to have the heating on overnight.

The living room is always warm and we keep the doors closed but everywhere else I keep doors open to encourage air flow. Sleeps his door closed to stop his room heating up.

DS is at uni and has the heating off in his room with the window open. He’s typical of his age group, they just don’t seem to feel the cold. He left his big coat at uni and was wearing a jumper and gilet when it was really cold. He has been wearing a thermal vest at work, he picks up work labouring when he’s not at uni, but if they are busy he is usually working in a t shirt.

I invested in a couple of long cardigans and throw on my favourite cashmere jumper if it’s a bit chilly.

Im a northerner which might explain why I’m happier in a cooler house. I think that your body just gets used to the cooler temps and maybe we use a bit more energy than if the house was warmer.

My monthly bill is around 130 in the winter. Hopefully less now I’ve invested in a heat pump tumble dryer.

Im interested in your new tumble dryer, do you know how much it costs an hour to run please?

Why do you have the heating on through the night?

Mine goes off at 11 and comes back on 30 mins before mum ( 86) gets up to take any chill off. You should always sleep in a cold room and warm bed, its only babies and the vulnerable who need their bedrooms heated at night I don't have the rads on in my lounge or bedroom

I have unused rooms on frost settings

Like you I use a stove ( hence no rads on in the lounge ) and open the bedroom doors to take any excess heat - the ones on the same floor as my lounge

We are oil heating which is expensive and not as efficient as either gas or electric

Ive been up since 4;30, the lounge is still pretty warm from the stove, the heating will come on around 8am,

If mum wasn't here all day the heating wouldn't be going on till we come home from work, When Im home alone I don't bother with it at all rather heating me - ie layers - not the house

I've just got one, it costs around 10p.

We are in a similar position. The only radiators we have on are the kitchen/sitting room, our bathroom and my office. All the others are off.
Why would you heat their rooms to 18?

18 is what we set out heating at in the winter, so I’d be reducing it.

And ours are heated with a stove so when it's off just the bathroom towel rail is on. And the gas Rayburn in the kitchen.

Like the OP our kids have flown the nest.

One of their rooms is used by my DP as a den/study but the other is storage/dumping ground. The radiator in there is turned off and the door close. Enough residual heat from the rest of the house to keep damp/mould etc at bay. We've experimented with how we keep other doors as the through lounge diner tens to get too war while the hall is cold.

The heat pump tumble dryer is rated at 1kw but rarely runs at full power so I'd say around 15p/hr.

I'd turn the temperature in the unused rooms down quite a bit - and just open doors and windows on dry sunny days. Opn th doors if you need to loose some heat from the burner.

I'd drop the overnight temperature - our heating goes off at 8pm, and comes back on at 5.30 ( get up at 6). You might need a thicker duvet of you are used to a warm room overnight.

Our Unused rooms are set to 7 and doors kept shut.

Then every week or so they get warmed up and aired out, hoovered etc.

Even wity thermostatic controllers most have a lower set point for the ‘once in bed and under a duvet’ part of the night.

I don’t have central heating so half my flat is only heated when I’m in those particular rooms (I have storage heaters in my main room and bedroom).
My kitchen and bathroom are generally 5° above the outside temperature without heating, but fan/convector heaters warm them up quickly when needed. There’s no mould and they don’t feel damp. I use a dehumidifier if I’ve done laundry or cooked. 18°C in rooms that are not in use seems unnecessary.

Thank you. I had wondered if 18 was too high.

I’ll start experimenting and definitely think about a new tumble dryer as mines very old and costing about 35p an hour so I’m being very careful using it, unfortunately the shadow of the house blocks the sun from the garden so using the washing line there needs to be a good gusty wind as well.

I’ve already a thick duvet but do feel cold at night so I’m going to pop a blanket on top. I asked for nice warm slippers and cardigans for Christmas so I am set for the Granny stage which is due to arrive from DD1 in June.

I used to do that until a pipe froze and split in one room and we didn't find out until the weather got warmer and the room flooded😭.

Now i wouldn't set anything less than 8 degrees in an used used room ( which is usually a '*' on the thermostatic radiator valve.)

Bed socks make a huge difference , I sleep au natural but I like warm feet - ok so don't try to imagine it, not a pretty sight lol

Brushed cotton sheets are great as well. I only have a 4 tog duvet but but the brushed cotton on during these really cold spells

Even investing in an electric blanket for the bed would make savings long term

Im of the generation who grew up in single glazed houses with no central heating, lino flooring and just one gas fire for heating, so am used to layering up

There's nothing "granny" about it at all, it's sensible.

We have had generations growing up living and working in hot houses and expecting to be able to wear t shirts and shorts all year round due to what was cheap energy, those days are gone , fuel costs .

Heating isn't important. Humidity is. Dehumidifiers in the unused areas, on a moderate setting will keep everything ticking over fine :)

Thanks I have one

My parents had the radiator turned off in one unused room years ago. We woke to snow and as the heating came on, a loud bang which we found hard to trace. Turned out the radiator that had been turned off completely burst! Don't know how it happened, but good to be aware it can even if not in use.

OP, our heating is set to 18c when in use. I think it'd be ok to set rooms that aren't in use to 15/16c, especially if you're opening rooms and airing them. My elderly Mum likes to have her heating on night as she's paranoid about burst pipes (has had a few), she counteracts this by not having her heating on more than 17c in the day (when she's there), so the house never gets above 17c in the winter. There's no sign of damp at all.