Central heating

I don’t understand using heating by dates. Suppose there was a cold snap in early October - is it better to freeze than switch some heating on for an hour or two? Personally I’d go without food before I went without warmth.

We’ve just had Hive installed and it’s programmed to come on if the house falls below 20. It’s come on some mornings at about 6:30 when the overnight temp has been in single figures. Bizarrely on Weds/Thu it was warmer outside overnight (15deg) than it was in the day (11deg).

I had to succumb and put the heating on as I felt so cold today. The heating clicked on at 12 degrees. It really is quite cold up here

Our CH works off the thermostat. We do not turn it on or off.

The main thermostat is set aT 18.5 and it comes on from 6.00am-9.30am and agan from 4.00pm - 10.00pm

That is how we set it 27 years ago when we moved to this house and we haven't really thought about it since. The heating comes on by those parameters and we rarely feel any need to play with them.

Grannynannywammy most teenagers are hot so they may well say….gosh Granny’s house is always hot!

I still have fans on as I feel hot most of the time. I can't even think about putting the heating on. Tbh it rarely goes on in this house, it's a very warm house, very well insulated. I'm in London on the border with Essex with a lot of open fields till Sadiq Khan covers them in houses.

We had a change from summer to fall about 2 weeks ago! A cold damp front came in and settled, and the furnace clicked on in the mornings. We have it set to around 18c. I think the dampness makes it feel colder.

Today is 11c and rainy, and the next week shows more of the same. Sweater weather for sure.

The wood burning stove is ready to be lit but haven’t succumbed yet. I have succumbed to switching the electric blanket on for a short while. It really depends on the weather and it has turned quite cold in Somerset today.

I live in Scotland. I've just gone to bed with a hot water bottle.
The heating is not on but I am considering it. My house is old and stone like a castle. It could never be called cosy
It is often much warmer outside than in!.
I don't like the heat which is lucky and would prefer to add layers than be too warm

I bought a mini electric blanket from Amazon which I switch on low for a couple of hours and place on my thighs with a blanket to keep the heat in situ when watching TV.

My 1980's house is well insulated but it always feels cold. I am trying to keep the heating off until the 1st of October and then use it as and when required.

Hey Sodapop we are unique the only two on here without any central heating 😊

The electric blanket has been on for a week and the heating has been on twice here.
It's rained a lot and the house has felt damp.

Having been brought up in the West Indies and then the Middle East, I really feel the cold. Heating will be on tomorrow morning for two hours. Husband will be in short sleeves and shorts with air conditioning and a fan on. We have had to learn to adjust. He’s Middle Eastern and like all his family, cannot bear the heat unless in Spain next to a pool with a beer in hand. After 42 years together we somehow manage it.

My thermostat is set to a minimum temperature and the heating comes if it drops below that in the living room. I dont have heating on in the bedroom but ot comes on low in the bathroom. Like some of the posters upthread I dont do being coldand I deserve to be comfortable. Its one of the things I spend my money on.

Ours started last week just a couple of hours in the morning which means we can turn the immersion off and have a heated floor in the shower too.

The problem with people's claims for how and when their heating comes on and off etc is that we have no information about how big and how well insulated their home is or how exposed it is to the weather.

If you live on a small modern highly insulated home, possibly mid terrace and facing south then the heating is going to be coming on much later and much less than if you have a stone walled detached house in an exposed position on a northen hillside.

Frankly, I can see no reason to attach special credit to those who manage without heating or are happier when the temperture is lower. From my experience, how much we feel the cold has very little to do with fortitude or experience and much more to do with genes.

My childhood predated domestic central heating, as, of course, did my mother's, but my mother, her sister, one of sisters and I are all what we describe as 'chilly mortals'; people who feel the cold and need to keep warm. My other sister, like my DH and my children will go out into snow with T shirts on.

How far the fact that our normal body temperature is on the low side plays to this I do not know. We were always told that standard body temperature was around 37C. For most of my family, including me, it is around 36C. I am also prone to hypothermia and prefer to keep warm with extra clothes ratherthan extra heating.

It must be nice and economical to manage without heating your house, but it is a accident of genes rather than a proud sign of fortitude.

BlueBelle

Hey Sodapop we are unique the only two on here without any central heating 😊

Seems like it BlueBelle no plans to change that either. Fortunately our house is not very big.

We haven’t needed to have ours on yet. The house is 20 degrees this morning and we have heated towel rails run off the hot water on all year round so it is warm where it matters.

I have programmed the oldie safe temperatures into all the thermostats, five of them and I think I will turn the actual thermostats on later today. They will catch any low temperature blip that I don`t physically notice

What is the oldie safe temp, Karmalady? About 18?

I had a new gas boiler installed earlier this year so yesterday I turned up the thermostat to see if it worked, programmed for an hour in the morning. It did, which was a relief, as the instructions are complex and printed in about font 8 so I need a period of intense study and a magnifying glass.

StacyAnna

^I have programmed the oldie safe temperatures into all the thermostats, five of them and I think I will turn the actual thermostats on later today. They will catch any low temperature blip that I don`t physically notice^

What is the oldie safe temp, Karmalady? About 18?

I have 21 in my downstairs living areas and 18 upstairs for my bedroom. If I want a quick boost for my en suite shower, then I press manual,23, and it stays on for 15 minutes

Pensioners get the extra money again this winter, £500 in total I think. No-one should be sitting in temperatures that are below the safe level

Thanks, Karmalady for that info- and I didn’t know about the extra money. That’ll be really helpful.

Oh, just realised you mean the regular Winter fuel payment, not additional payouts as last year. Still very welcome!

I'm a cold bod. At the moment the heating and water is on timed for a couple of hours morning and evening and the thermostat is set at 21. The heating came on this morning for the first time this autumn, it gave me a warm house to get up to but the timer has switched it off now.

Oh, just realised you mean the regular Winter fuel payment, not additional payouts as last year. Still very welcome!

I think pensioners are getting an extra amount this winter, in addition to the Winter fuel money? Hope so, or our heating will be as low as possible!
www.turn2us.org.uk/get-support/information-for-your-situation/cost-of-living-support/money-off-your-energy-bills

Easybee
Do you use an iPad, if so, there is a magnifying app on there. There you will have the whole screen. Or, ( on an iPad) take a photo and expand that on your screen.