Heating rooms

I live on my own in a 3 bedroom house and the staircase is in the living room. I have all of the bedrooms upstairs timed to come on a very low setting and I leave the doors open so that the heat from downstairs rises. I have never had a problem with mould or dampness and until the recent energy crisis, my bills have always been very low.

If the T is minus overnight it is cheaper even now to have the heating on very low overnight than to deal with burst pipes.

We have a big house and use all the downstairs rooms but not many upstairs. We have thermostatic radiator valves on all our radiators and those in unused rooms are ser at 1. In occupied rooms they are set at 3..

Hot air rised so heat in downstairs room will go through the ceiling and warm the rooms above them, unless, of course, you have 12 inches of insulation on the floor of upstairs rooms instead of carpet.

I had a relative who rarely had the heating on and lived mainly downstairs. When he went into a care home, I found all the clothes in the wardrobe of one bedroom were formed into a solid block by the growth of mould in the cupboard. I had to wear protective clothing, a mask and spread dust sheets on the floor in order to take them out stuff them into bags, seal them and take them to the tip.

If you decide not to heat unused rooms it is really important to open windows as often as you can, rooms need fresh air - especially rooms that are not in use.

Thank you all for your tips. No frost setting on ours. Still umming and aahring what to do.

Hetty58

Parky, I run an Ebac dehumidifier all the time, in winter, to keep the unused rooms dry. It's just astounding how much water it collects. I only use the central heating in the coldest months, and have the TRVs in those rooms on low.

Does that work out very costly in electric costs?

I keep radiators on low.
Keeps damp at bay.

I have been monitoring costs of things for about 18 months.
It is possible, almost definite, I have a different heating system to most people. Dont think I will go into detail.
I dont know what to call it, but there is a heat setting I put on 50 or 55. Oil. I have had the heating on overnight for 8 weeks. On in most of rooms, now all.

Cost has been low enough for me.
If you would like more detail, you can DM me.

We are in a 3 bed semi, just the two of us, and we have always kept all the doors open. The radiators all have thermostatic valves, set low in the bedrooms. I tend to think that an all over, evened out temperature is beneficial to us, but maybe not to everyones taste.

My MIL had pots of crystals which apparently absorbed damp in rooms she didn't use, before she had double glazing and central heating.

I live in a three storey Victorian house 1874 built I don’t have any central heating so I just heat the one room I mainly use
I do get some damp but try to open a window in the rooms I don’t use and keep the doors shut
Nothing much else I can do

Once mould gets into the walls it's difficult to get rid of so best to clear condensation from windows and keep some heat on in unused rooms.

Airing is so important. And never put washing to dry there either.

Primrose53

Do you have a frost setting on your radiator thermostat. I think that should do. Either that or very low.

Yes, have thermostats fitted on al, radiators and set on frost or 1.

Make sure the rooms are aired sometimes too.

Same here, - mould if I don't heat the rooms at all. So I just leave the thermostats turned low on each radiator in rooms which are not much used.
I've managed not to put the central heating on yet this season.
Just a little electric fire in the living room so far.

I, too, mainly just heat the rooms I use, but I go round the house, once a week and as I vacuum each room, I turn the radiator on afterwards, then turn them off in the same order when I’m finished.

Do you have a frost setting on your radiator thermostat. I think that should do. Either that or very low.

Parky, I run an Ebac dehumidifier all the time, in winter, to keep the unused rooms dry. It's just astounding how much water it collects. I only use the central heating in the coldest months, and have the TRVs in those rooms on low.

I live alone in a 4 bedroom house,. All the rooms are heated and at the moment they are on all day and night. I have lung problems and can’t handle the cold. Besides, I have heard that it’s not good to just a couple of rooms , due to ensuing damp problems in the other rooms.