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What temparature is your house?

(138 Posts)
biglouis Sun 03-Apr-22 13:11:11

Just seen a thread on this over on MN and a surprising variation.

My living room is a constant 21/22
Bedroom/upstairs office 16/17

Small detached 2 bed and a boxroom 1980s

Its fair to say I have arthritis and will not be economising on heating although I have cut down on some other things such as little food treats.

Im currently working downstairs on the laptop.

I never have baths, only showers. Seldom cook as a relative brings me 4/5 meals a week which I just pop into the micro.

Blondiescot Sun 03-Apr-22 15:48:57

BlueBelle

The world must be warmer though blondiscot I don’t have double glazing and only have the same heat we had when I grew up but my windows never freeze up now

Maybe depends where you are - we have neighbours who don't have glazing and they still get ice on the inside of their windows in the winter.

Shelmiss Sun 03-Apr-22 15:41:59

It’s set for 21c through the whole house, which has been known to occasionally creep up to 22c when my DH is away…..I don’t know how that happens?

SusieB50 Sun 03-Apr-22 15:34:50

That is 7am- 10pm !

SusieB50 Sun 03-Apr-22 15:34:13

I can’t bear being cold and at the moment I’m not very mobile . The thermostat is set at 19c and is on from 7-10pm . In the evenings I have a cosy rug to put over me . Upstairs the thermostat valves control the temp and are a bit lower . I have underfloor heating in my extension and it remains a constant 17 C . That is the only part of the that is well insulated , I do have double glazing but sanded floor boards and a draughty original front door. The plan this year is to have new flooring and really draught proof the front door . Don’t really want to change it but may have to .

LOUISA1523 Sun 03-Apr-22 15:33:51

Currently 13.7 in the kitchen....I'm running around doing a big clean so not cold at all

Oldnproud Sun 03-Apr-22 15:19:41

21° if DH is here - even then, he starts complaining it's too cold, but objects to wearing more than two layers of clothing.

If I'm alone for a few days, I lower it, and with that plus the fact that I waste far less hot water than he does, I use way less energy.

That reminds me - I secretly dropped it a degree this morning because the sun was shining in in and it felt really hot - I'd better turn it up again now before he notices, as its cooling down now that the sun has gone.

Harris27 Sun 03-Apr-22 15:09:26

20 usually for us. I love my house warm as I’ve really bad asthma. I do still work and it’s freezing most of the time in my classroom. I plan to keep drought excluders etc in place during winter now this heating price thing has took off.

BlueBelle Sun 03-Apr-22 14:59:53

The world must be warmer though blondiscot I don’t have double glazing and only have the same heat we had when I grew up but my windows never freeze up now

biglouis Sun 03-Apr-22 14:58:36

I would never cut down on heating to the extent that I felt cold. I would rather do without cakes/biscuits/crisps and treats. You can waste so much money on them. Ive never smoked and drink only one bottle of wine a week (shared with relative when he comes) and I dont order takeaways or run a car. I go out rarely and entertain little. Cant remember when I bought new clothes, So Im not going to be miserable and sit in a cold house.

Blondiescot Sun 03-Apr-22 14:55:41

No idea. We don't have the heating on thermostats - in fact, we rarely have the heating on at all. Our house is always what most folk would consider 'freezing', but having grown up in it, I'm just used to it now. When I was young, we had ice on the inside of the windows as well as outside - thankfully we now have double glazing so that's a thing of the past. We have our wood burning stove in the living room, so that's the one room which is usually warm (in the evenings anyway, we don't light it until after dinner).

Elusivebutterfly Sun 03-Apr-22 14:45:00

Mine is 19 degrees and set to come on 7 to 10 am and 4 to 9pm. I put it on again when it goes below 17. I don't put it on at night. When just sitting I often boost it as I hate being cold. I do wear thermals, with a jumper and cardigan.
The new fuel cost, plus increased Council Tax, is over 25% of my income. It's scary and I'm glad I have savings.

Whitewavemark2 Sun 03-Apr-22 14:43:27

DH has heart issues, and undoubtedly the temperature affects him detrimentally.

He gets very cold if the temperature goes below 21 and looks very pale. Likewise if he gets too hot he also goes very pale and feels unwell.

That is going to be a real issue for the elderly as they attempt to economise. Health outcomes are going to look poorer.

DiscoDancer1975 Sun 03-Apr-22 14:41:45

We keep it around 18 to 20 degrees, 15 at night when really cold.

I’ve never found wearing more makes any difference. If the house is cold....so are we.

Some builder friends of ours always say if your house is cold all the time, you’ll get a different set of problems. Damp, mould etc. I’m allergic to mould!

BlueBelle Sun 03-Apr-22 14:38:12

Sitting by my gas fire the temperature is 15* but the rest of the house is 10*
In the coldest days of winter in the kitchen my olive oil in the bottles goes semi solid
I don’t think it would suit any of you 22* people but I m fine with it it’s what I m used to
I m certainly not a hot blooded person and like my thick jumper on and at night in bed I sleep on a soft blanket with two hot water bottles ( top and bottom) and two duvets but I m snug as a bug in a rug
I don’t have a car so walk or cycle so not used to heated vehicles and of course I do dip in the North Sea during winter too
I m not unhealthy and think people who live in hot houses need it higher and higher
I couldn’t afford to have central heating put in my big old Victorian house and no way could I run it so what you haven’t got you don’t miss I did find it very cold when I first came back from 3 years living in the tropics ?

Mamie Sun 03-Apr-22 14:33:36

Our underfloor heating downstairs is on 24 hours at 21°. No heating upstairs apart from rare use of aircon / heating inverter. We light the woodburner on cold days (like today) and the vents from the chimney heat upstairs.
It is all reasonably economical which is good because DH has arthritis and needs warmth to avoid pain. Our electricity bill has only gone up 4%.

AGAA4 Sun 03-Apr-22 14:29:30

My thermostat is set at 16° during the day and 10 at night. It rarely comes on during the night.
I always dress warmly in thermal t shirt and thick jumper and feel warm enough.

Audi10 Sun 03-Apr-22 14:23:02

Well today we are on constant 19

M0nica Sun 03-Apr-22 14:21:26

Our two thermostats are set immovably at 18.5. The heating comes on morning and evening. 6.00am - 9.30am, 4.00pm - 10.00pm

If the temperature in the house falls to 16, we put the heating back on. If the external temperature looks at being 5 degrees or less we light the wood-burning stove.

We never have heating in at night. We have an electric blanket that we will put on for 30 mintes and that is all we need.

We have thermostatic radiator valves on every radiator, this is turned down to 1 and the door kept shut in rooms we do not use regularly.

We have followed this regime for decades now. it means we rarely need to think or look at the heating controls.

We have a hoiday programme on our thermostat and we switch over to that when we go away for more than a day. This setting means the heating only comes on if the ambient temperature drops below 15 degrees and doesn't heat the empty house above that temperature.

I think the Age Concern temperatures are at aimed at old and infirm/inactive people who spend most of their time just sitting.

Gilly3 Sun 03-Apr-22 14:18:08

My thermostat is set at 16 degrees. My body temperature has always been low around 36.2, I think I'm an Arctic mammal.

SueDonim Sun 03-Apr-22 14:17:33

It’s 21deg in my kitchen/family room right now and I’m a bit chilly. It’ll be warm later as most of my family will be here and twelve bodies generate a lot of heat! grin

FlexibleFriend Sun 03-Apr-22 14:14:24

No clue, the heating is turned off 24/7 and always has been since I moved in. It's very well insulated and it's rare any of us feel cold. We don't wear extra clothes or anything just dress normally. I do put the heating on if it feels cold but that's usually about 7 days a year.

Poppyred Sun 03-Apr-22 14:14:04

Ours is on 22C for about 3 hours in the evening. After reading comments here, I’m going to turn it down gradually to see how we get on. Hate being cold.

Charleygirl5 Sun 03-Apr-22 14:08:37

My thermostat is set at 18C. I have a staircase going from the living room upstairs so the heat rises.

If it is going to be -3C or colder during the night I may leave my heating on very low around 5C because it is cheaper to run the heating than find and pay for an emergency plumber if pipes freeze.

I live in a 1980s well insulated house but the living room is always cold which is great when we have a heatwave.

Marydoll Sun 03-Apr-22 14:08:02

I have heart and lung problems. I can't live in a home with low temperatures, I have no choice.

Iam surprised at how low a temperature some of you manage to live with. I am so envious.

This a from Age UK's website.

There are a number of reasons for cold related illness and mortality from poorly insulated homes to sustained low indoor temperatures(7). Living room temperatures should ideally be kept at 70F (21C) and above whereas bedroom temperatures should be kept at a minimum of 64F (18C).(8) However, Age UK's research(9) shows that over 80% of older people didn't know the ideal living room and bedroom temperatures.

However, for most this is not affordable.

tanith Sun 03-Apr-22 13:59:58

Today my thermostat is on 13* it’s not come on all day if I’m cold later I’ll turn it up to 17* for a couple of hours. I don’t like it hot in the house. It’s off at night. I live in a 2 bed semi it’s quite well insulated.