Brrr...

Is it just me or does anyone else find that 18 deg in summer feels much warmer than 18deg in autumn/winter?!

As I am typing this it is 29 degrees here in Cyprus, very unusual to have such hot and humid weather this late in the year. Can't wait till the rain and the snow (yes, we do get a snow here at the house quite often from November till February) starts. At least the nights have started to cool down to a reasonable 18 degrees.

We don't normally have ours on until the end of October, but we have put it on a couple of mornings this week and it is clicking on at 15 degrees. We have cavity wall insulation and it does make a difference. Our last house was very cold.

I have never understood why not having the heating on(when you can afford to do so) should be something to be proud of. Personal choice should be the deciding factor. I'd rather do without some other things than be cold.

not having been born in this (cold - relatively speaking, of course) country, and having spent my youth on the Mediterranean, I do feel the cold, and the heating in our house comes on automatically whenever the temperature drops below a certain level (it has been known to come on in August...!) However, I do take the very serious point made by vegasmags about cost and ability to afford a warm house.

We set it at 19.5 but this is a very well insulated house.

I often wonder if people understand what a thermosat is for you don't need all this switching on and off stuff. Set it at the temp you either want or can afford.Set the timer so it comes on at say 6 am and goes off at 11pm and Bob's your Uncle as they say.

Surely it's not whether the heating is on but the temperature at which it is set that matters. Ours is on all day everyday but we regulate the temperature according to the weather. So , in the summer it is usually on at around 5° and, therefore, it never kicks in, but we can just switch it higher if necessary.

Currently it is set at 21 during the day. We have a hive controller so it is really easy to control.

This is one of the reasons I would not care to live in a cold country again. It is still up in the high 20's/30's here in Malta. No heating on, no duvet on bed and still have the fan on all night.

We've got ours timed to come on early morning - first night frost here last night., but it should get up to 22 or so by mid-day.

Mine's set at 20 and comes on in the morning. It's off for a spell and then on again in the evening which seems to be fine at the moment but if when it gets colder, I'll leave in on all day. As usual certain papers are predicting a 'big freeze'. They do it every year in the hope that one year they will be right. They do the same with 'scorching' summers.

I am switching it on in the evenings as and when required. It has to be a very cold morning before I switch it on then. My house has been well insulated so I am now reaping the benefit.

Apricot min isn't on yet either although in the evenings I relax in the warmth of my plug in heated throw - costs only pennies to run and is now on its 3rd year of operation. I also can't afford to run the CH as much as I would like, but this afternoon had an email from my energy provider Ovo inviting me to apply for a warm home discount of £140. This has to be done via your supplier so worth a go if you are on a low income.

Oh apricot that isn't good. Perhaps there is a gran who knows how you can around that?

We've had frost the last three nights but I haven't turned mine on yet.
I never used to feel the cold but now I'm cold as soon as I sit still. I'm wearing two jumpers and will later put a blanket over me and cuddle a hot water bottle, as well as two dogs and a cat.
I can't afford to have the CH over 15. When the Tories scrap the winter heat allowance I shall freeze to death. My house is old and cold (like me)

We cannot turn off our heating, it is entirely controlled by the thermostat. This is set at 18.5C so the heating has been off until yesterday, we have it on for 3 hours in the morning and 6 in the evening and find that is quite sufficient to keep the house warm all day.

We woke yesterday to the comforting wumpf of the boiler turning itself on, and when I returned from my very chilly early morning walk it was lovely to open the front door and be embraced by the warmth indoors.

grandMattie No criticism intended were all different but we're in Kent and I couldn't imagine having the heating on all year. We have the patio doors open most days and indeed we were still opening them until about a week ago.

Off in the summer but now set at 17 all day from 7am to 10pm. I increase the temp in the evening if necessary but more often than not, I sit wrapped in a fleecy blanket when watching the telly in the

It is bright and sunny here in the South. We do put the heating on for first thing then it goes off.

We would put it on if we were cold.

heating is on 12 months a year - hang on, before you castigate me for being wet, as we live in Kent... we turn the thermostat down to about 9 in the summer. I am shameless in being warm now, having spent the previous 40 years being cold because "there was only me in the house"!

Us hardy types in the north still have conservatory door open! Not for much longer I suspect.

Our timer was installed too far away from the boiler for it to pick up the signal (note to self, GET IT MOVED) so heating is always turned on manually. We haven't had it on since April but we may have the gas fire in the lounge on soon. I did resort to a cardi last night.

Our heating is on permanently, the house is never cold. Turning heating on and off uses more gas/electricity and leaves lengthy wait to reach optimum heat.

Ours is on all year, we go by thermostat not calendar! If it is warm in November it doesnt come on, if it is chilly in June it does. Two separate thermostats and timers, one for living areas, one for bedrooms so they go on and off at different times. House is extremely well insulated too.

Ours is set to come on morning and evening at the moment which I have been overriding. Today is chilly to say the least. Read somewhere that the elderly should have heating at 21c.