Heating

Oh WhenI I've just googled under active thyroid, and I think I'll go,for a blood test.

Legs from the knees down (see legs thread) get cold. We have solid floors on concrete foundations which, in the winter, become like a block of ice, also not helped by solid clay underneath. Good underlay and carpets do help but on especially cold evenings I sit with my feet up under a throw (trendy word for blanket!) or lurk upstairs (where I am now). Thermostat set anywhere from 20 -24 deg depending on whether the sun shines, lounge is west-facing, or even switched off if having a cleaning fix!
Sorry Atqui..... no real help

Sorry to hear that, soon. Have you thought about sleeping in a beanie hat?

I have a lot of hair [on my head!], and I get a cold head.
And cant get to sleep, and stay asleep if the air is cold in the bedroom.

I don't think so When; I've had thyroid tests done in the past in the hope that it was the reason for my thinning hair. I was so cold at work that I just hated the very thought of being cold.

We just have controls on our radiators, rather than a room thermostat.

We have heating on 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. - 2 on full in our (quite big) sitting room, one radiator on low in our (smallish) back room, and kitchen and hall radiators on full.

Upstairs, we have the bathroom radiator on full but don't put on the bedroom radiators unless it is especially cold - and only in the day.

Tegan, you couldn't be suffering from an underactive thyroid if you are feeling the cold more than you were, could you? It's the sort of thing that creeps up on you but is easily diagnosed (or excluded) with a simple blood test, and if it is a problem, is easily treated.

We have our heating set at Auto all the time, which means that it comes on when the kitchen/living room temperature falls too low, but we also have room thermostats so that the bedroom is about 17-18º, the sitting room is about 20º and the spare bedroom is 15º unless someone we like comes to stay . We did try having it on timed, but it kept coming on when it wanted to anyway, so it's been cheaper to leave it to do what it wants. We tried leaving it on all the time as well, but were boiling so stopped that one very quickly.

granjura, I agree - what's the point in doing all that knitting if you never wear your winter jumpers? I hate the way shops put their staff into light-weight clothes all year round and then turn up the heat so that customers who are dressed for the cold outside feel uncomfortable when they come in. I have complained several times, usually in M&S, that I am too hot to think about buying anything, but to no avail.

No heating in our bedroom, and is hovering in winter at 15/16- the only family member with a radiator on is Pudding, the elderly cat. From April to October, we sleep with the window opened. In winter, we put a blanket on top of the duvet (each got our own, these days, much easier to change and we don't have to fight for it anymore ;)

Downstairs, about 19. Can never understand why people don't accept that in winter you put warmer socks on and an extra layer or 2- rather than crank the thermostat up.

Thermostat set at 18.5 and the heating is on 6.00 - 9.30am and 4.00 to 10.30pm. When the temperature outside falls below about 7 degrees C we light the wood stove and keep it going all day. Occasionally we advance the heating and have it on all day.

Our house is large and very old but we have been steadily improving the insulation since we moved in. The house is listed so double glazing is a non starter but we have fitted secondary double glazing to some windows and plan to do more. We also have a well insulated roof, including all the nooks and crannies houses like ours have. We have had been able to dry line and insulate the internal walls of three of the four bedrooms and we have efficient CH boilers. We continue to add little bits and pieces of insulation and have halved our energy consumption over 15 years.

I dislike a very warm house. I prefer to put on an extra sweater or a pair of socks if I feel cold.

Kitty what you need is a good programming timer. Ours is quite easy to use and you can set times for temperature changes. have it high just before you get up, then lower during the day, then back up to say 21 at 5pm, then back down to 15 during the night.

I do keep the curtains and blinds closed most of the time to keep the heat in. I think I really do need to hibernate from October to March. Trouble is, if I wear my thermals I get TOO hot . And I wear a hat most of the time, even indoors [like a baglady]. I sometimes think it's cause my hair is so thin and I lose heat from my head .

We have ours on about 18 but the thermostat is in the hall which is probably the coldest place in the house. We have thermostats on all radiators too.

We used to keep our heating on 24 hours a day through the winter and our bills did go down. Our house is built of 9" granite but with some single glazing and a slate roof. We had to stop leaving the heating on as we kept forgetting to turn the thermostat down and, consequently, frazzled in bed.

We are thinking of getting a new thermostat fitted - anyone have any suggestions?

Different people do have different internal thermostats, that's why we expect different temps. to feel comfortable. I have not done a scientific experiment to come to this conclusion! x

We have oil, and I have tried both ways. We got through twice as much oil when we had the heating on full-time. Maybe it depends on your house and your fuel.

21 degrees!
I get migraines, and if my head gets cold, I can get a migraine.

Thanks for that Lona I know some people swear that its more economical so each to their own plan I guess.. if it works for you .

I really feel the cold these days. I worked in a very cold environment for several years and never seemed to get over that; the only thing that warmed me up when I got home was a scalding hot bath and I used to dread going to work each day. My thermostat is on between 18-21 and the heating is on all the time. I wear lots of clothes and have a duvet to snuggle under on the sofa. The £200 allowance stops me worrying about the bills to much. I did used to like a cold house at night but I get up for the loo so many times these days that I hate getting out of bed into a cold room; on top of that the dog has started barking to go out in the early hours of the morning as well . I don't even like going out for a walk in winter any more, and I used to be very much a winter person. Not sure why I've changed so much [?]. I love going to the sauna twice a week and cooking myself. Maybe it's because of my arthritic'y joints?

Same here Lona and our heating engineer said the same thing.

We have a woodburner in the sitting room but don't often need to light it as keeping the CH at a constant temperature doesn't make "warm-ups" necessary. It's on at 20 during the day and 18 at night. Seldom need to push it up higher but as I suffer with aching joints when I get cold, I do need to keep the place warm.

tanith I have my heating on 24/7 , lowish during the day and turned down a bit more when I go to bed.
I was told by a heating engineer that it's the boiler coming on full blast twice a day to bring the temperature up, that makes it more expensive.
When it's already on, the boiler doesn't use as much fuel.

Works for me.

Thermostat set at 15'C. Heating (oil) comes on 6.30 - 7.30am and 4.30 - 7.30pm. Very occasionally I'll put it on during the day or when visitors expected. If it gets chilly I will go outside and then it is warm when I come in. I wear layers and at night have a throw over my legs which more often than not is thrown off.
House has solid walls with a small amount of internal insulation on the walls and of course in the loft.
Perhaps I am fortunate that I live alone !!!

If you are sitting down all the time, 20C can feel quite cold until you get up and move around. We keep throws on every sofa and chair. When we had gas and one thermostat, I kept ours at 20C but would edge it up higher when it was really cold outside, as it seemed to seep into the fabric of the house. We would have the gas fire on as well.

I keep a wrap on the chair by the computer just in case I spend too long on GN - being on GN makes you chilly

Thanks everyone. My husband would be saying words to the effect of Told You So! When I'm in the house during the day I put it up to 20, which he thinks unnecessary. We have a fire in the sitting room in the evenings , and like a cold bedroom , so it's not so high then.At the moment I am wearing a thermal long sleeved vest, a woolen jumper and cardigan and a pashmina. Perhaps there is something wrong with me. (I am also wearing jeans in case anyone worried).

When DM lived with us the fire was always on in the sitting room - quite high! as she couldn't move around much she always felt the cold.

The thermostat is set at 17C but the thermometer next to it reads at about 20C so I think the thermostat is faulty (although it is a newish one).
The heat is off from 9.30 am until 4.30 pm unless we are in and it is really chilly. Sometimes we sit in the conservatory at a toasty 22C or 23C in the afternoon.
The radiator in the bedroom rarely goes on. We have just had thermostats fitted to some radiators so unused bedrooms are set lower than the rest of the house.

If we were going away we would still leave the heating on low twice a day because we have experienced coming back to a freezing cold house which took about 3 days to warm up!