Putting the heating on-or not

We have had our heating on in the evenings most of this week. I am miserable if I’m cold. I can’t concentrate on TV or reading either.

There was a report in our paper today about a very highly educated and well off man whose boiler needed replacing 16 years ago but he chose not to have it done. He has had no heating or hot water since then. He was found dead on his floor from hypothermia a while back.

It's been unusually cold lately, and I put the heating on for 30 minutes this morning!

I didn’t want to turn on the CH but I had the log burner going last night. It was so cold and windy. If I had curtains, they would have been blowing in the draft! Since I had an op recently I seem to feel the cold more. 🥶

Our heating does not have an on/off switch. Just a thermostat, which is set at 18.5degrees all year. Currently it has been coming on every morning and sometimes in the evenings as well.

jusnoneed how warm or cold you feel has little to do with personal choice or experience. At school in the 1950s, when some girls were running around in their shirt sleeves, I would be wearing a sweater over my blouse and sometimes a blazer as well. Whether I like it or not I am sensitive to the cold.

A few weeks ago we did a boot sale with this current cold wind. Despite two layers, when I finished I realised I had mild hypothermia. I had, over the morning, gently cooled down until I felt cold to the core. When I got home I had a hot bath and a hot drink, until my core temperature was back to normal.

It is not that I do not like the cold, I love a walk out in the cold, providing I have sufficient layers on to keep me warm.

I also suffer from Raynauds syndrome, which is another reason for keeping warm at home and well wrapped outside.

It's not advisable for older people to let themselves be cold. Apart from hypothermia the blood thickens and can result in serious health issues.
It was only 13 degrees in my flat yesterday so the heating went on.
I do have sympathy for those who can't afford to pay for heating in June.

We set the thermostat to what we find acceptable (really me, he's out working, I'm inside with more-than-occasional small children).

I keep fires roaring, boiler isn't working properly, currently.

What a load of hothouse plants!! In our last three storey Victorian wind tunnel of a house, we had the thermostat set at 10 degrees!! Thick layers of clothes, hottie and a brace of Retrievers kept us warm-ish. Fear of the gas bill was the driver of this decision. It did the house and contents no good, as mould arrived! We are currently in a 1960s rental. No heating on at all over winter. Norfolk is not the warmest of counties! Again fear of cost but the oil boiler is not considered safe.

Apart from a coal fire in the sitting room, there was no central heating when I was growing up & double glazing was not heard of! Jack Frost was a frequent visitor to the inside of my bedroom window in the winter. Am still here to tell the tale!

dalrymple23 As I said in my last post, how much we feel the cold has got absolutely nothing to do whether we are wimps or not, but is almost genetically determined.

I too had a cold non-centrally heated childhood and I can remember just how miserable that could be, with chilblains on my fingers and my younger sister weeping from the cold.

Nevertheless, I feel cold very easily and need to constantly protect myself from hypothermia, which I develop very quickly if the condtions are right (wrong?); a cold wind that blows through me or if I get damp. I have also suffered from Raynauds syndrome since I was in my 20s. It means my fingers go numb very easily, even walking past a chill cabinet in a supermarket.

While I fully understand your delight with being able to keep your fuel bills down because you have this ability not to feel the cold. You should not be dismissive of others, who with a similar background, for reasons over which they have no control would find your living conditions a danger to their health and wellbeing.

I'm in Scotland too, but there's absolutely no way I would put the heating on at the time of year, no matter how cold it gets. I wouldn't even put our log burner on. Our heating doesn't usually go on until October at the very earliest, usually later than that, and it's off by around March. I grew up with ice on the inside of the windows and no heating other than a small gas fire and a paraffin heater in the bathroom to stop the pipes freezing. We're a hardy lot!

But that’s my point Missinterpreted….why?? Are you actually comfortable at the low temperatures? If it’s finance related, I understand and sympathise, but if not, why on earth not live comfortably. I’m like so many of the above, I really feel the cold and literally can’t function in the cold. Being at home dressed like a yeti is uncomfy and doesn’t stop the air feeling cold. As long as I can afford it, I’m too old to struggle

hamster58

But that’s my point Missinterpreted….why?? Are you actually comfortable at the low temperatures? If it’s finance related, I understand and sympathise, but if not, why on earth not live comfortably. I’m like so many of the above, I really feel the cold and literally can’t function in the cold. Being at home dressed like a yeti is uncomfy and doesn’t stop the air feeling cold. As long as I can afford it, I’m too old to struggle

There is none so unsympathetic as those who cannot understand why anyone could possibly be different tho them (and if they are they are distinclty inferior)

M0nica

hamster58

But that’s my point Missinterpreted….why?? Are you actually comfortable at the low temperatures? If it’s finance related, I understand and sympathise, but if not, why on earth not live comfortably. I’m like so many of the above, I really feel the cold and literally can’t function in the cold. Being at home dressed like a yeti is uncomfy and doesn’t stop the air feeling cold. As long as I can afford it, I’m too old to struggle

There is none so unsympathetic as those who cannot understand why anyone could possibly be different tho them (and if they are they are distinclty inferior)

I don't think my post was in any way unsympathetic to those who feel the cold. We couldn't possibly afford to have our heating on more than we do. Thank goodness we have free wood for our log burner, or it would be even worse. Even during the winter months, it's usually only on in the evenings. There were days when I was almost in tears with the cold this winter just past, but I just had to put extra layers on and fill some hot water bottles. I've been sat at my laptop typing with gloves on on occasion too.

MissInterpreted that's so sad to read. In your situation I would seriously be thinking about downsizing ☹️

V3ra

MissInterpreted that's so sad to read. In your situation I would seriously be thinking about downsizing ☹️

It's not a big house (although it is an old house), and moving isn't an option.

MissInterpreted….that wasn’t clear at all from your first message. I’m so sorry you’re in this difficult situation. Moving isn’t always that easy for various reasons but I hope somehow things can become easier and more comfy for you going forward.

We live in a very damp climate, so will keep the heat on if necessary. Ours is on a thermostat and usually kept around 17 degrees. I don't feel guilty at all if the furnace clicks on.
It is currently 12 c here.

I live in sheltered accommodation and we don’t have gas, so only night storage heaters, that I have at 16-18C during the winter. They are erratic as one depends on the previous day’s temperature for the settings. It is impossible to “just have the heat on for 1/2 hour”, it is all day or nothing.
Therefore, I put on extra clothes as, like most of you, I feel the cold and, ATM, I can’t afford any extra expenses.

We are fortunate enough to be able to turn up the thermostat if needed. It was necessary yesterday, we’re ok without heating this evening. Dressed appropriately Mr C feels the cold terribly since open heart surgery, apparently medication linked. He’d never turn up the thermostat himself so I keep a close eye and react according to what I see. It must be so hard not to be able to be comfortable.

I have switched the heating on most evenings recently. I have not needed to switch it on early am but my neighbours have. I would if I needed to as I hate to feel cold.

I live in a modern house and it is well insulated. I like to be comfortable, I do not smoke, drink little and no longer go on holiday so I do not intend to be cold indoors.

MissInterpreted have you explored the availability of any grants to help improve the insulation in your house?
Over the years we've had help with cavity wall insulation and loft insulation in different houses.
Either your local council or your utility company might have a scheme that would offer this.

Misinterpreted my comments weren't directed at you but rather at dalrymple23. I had responded to her comments a few minutes before and my mind was still with her when I read hamster23's post and endorsed it.

My apologies.

V3ra

MissInterpreted have you explored the availability of any grants to help improve the insulation in your house?
Over the years we've had help with cavity wall insulation and loft insulation in different houses.
Either your local council or your utility company might have a scheme that would offer this.

Thanks, but we already have loft insulation and can't have cavity wall insulation. We're fine, honestly. I've never lived anywhere else, so it's just become a way of life.

cornergran

We are fortunate enough to be able to turn up the thermostat if needed. It was necessary yesterday, we’re ok without heating this evening. Dressed appropriately Mr C feels the cold terribly since open heart surgery, apparently medication linked. He’d never turn up the thermostat himself so I keep a close eye and react according to what I see. It must be so hard not to be able to be comfortable.

Just a reminder that there are many amazing electric throws which you can wrap yourselves up in while watching TV. Not electric blankets that you put on a bed but fleecy blankets to wrap up in. Alternatively there are heated pads. These are all so much better than hot water bottles when you're sitting around in the evening, and you wouldn't have to turn the heating up for one person if they were wrapped in one of those.

Just a reminder that there are many amazing electric throws which you can wrap yourselves up in while watching TV. Not electric blankets that you put on a bed but fleecy blankets to wrap up in. Alternatively there are heated pads. These are all so much better than hot water bottles when you're sitting around in the evening, and you wouldn't have to turn the heating up for one person if they were wrapped in one of those.

But these only warm you from the outside in. If you are sitting in a cold room the cold air you are breathing into your lungs will chill your core and that is far more likely to damage your health than cold hands or feet.

I feel the cold and I am prone to hypothermia if I am not careful and, while I do not need the house to be excessively warm, our thermostat is set at 18.5 C, I would not let the temperature fall much below that - and then on a temporary basis only - and rely on locally applied sources of heat if I could possibly avoid it.

I always seem to be hot, but DH has poor circulation since heart attack, despite walking 3 miles every morning with dog. I’m still in T shirts, he’s wearing a thin jumper over a T shirt.

I’m with you all, if you’re cold, put on your heating!