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Just got off a Teams call where one person was wrapped in a duvet type thing and the other had a woolly hat and a coat on and it's not even that cold yet....!
I closed a window the other night as it was 3c.
We have it on in the annexe where we work in the day, but lower than it was before
Not on in the house yet, but the logburner has been lit in the evenings. I think we'll get to October, I doubt we'll get much further than that.
I've 'tested' ours a couple of times - only to make sure it's working OK mind! 🙂
Still off. Windows closed but still only warming the house in the daytime by leaving the conservatory door open and closing it at about 6. I reckon we've got at least another couple of weeks.
I recon I can buy another week with it off after that as I've not 'tested' it yet and the diverter valve has definitely been siezing/leaking over the summer. So that could mean draining the system to fix it 🤣
Not well, but then I also have a loathing to move from standard shorts and t-shirt wear of late spring and summer to wear long trousers and long sleeves.
Turned ours on for half an hour yesterday just to make sure everything was okay and rads didn’t need bleeding. Reckon I can get through to mid Oct without using it.
Fine in the sun drenched south, mind you the stat has been set at 18C, so even if it was on it wouldn't be calling for heat just yet, will see how far I can make it into October before the residents start moaning 😀
Still off here in the Midlands, though I have started to wear trousers and not shorts in the evening. Still in shorts during the day though.
I reckon I've got 3 weeks before it goes on in the evening, it'll stay off in the day until I've run out of coats to wear and/or the dog starts shivering.
I closed a window the other night as it was 3c.
4 °C here (Cheshire) overnight, it'll certainly test people's resolve. It's easy to say I'm not turning my heating on over winter when it's 20+ °C outside, not quite so funny when it's near freezing 😀
not even gone to long trousers and cardigans yet.
just ordered a new waffle fleece hoody tho, for dec/jan/feb.
Have moved from shorts to trousers and started wearing a jumper. Dogs have started turning up in my bed in the middle of the night to leach heat off me.
Wait till the clocks change on the barmy south coast. Still got windows open as well, was 11c this morning though so noticed the chill.
Did have to pop on a beanie last night but that's more down to having a cold that im denying i have, in the vain hope it stays stuck in my lungs.
Been half tempted but that's due to my 3 year old son not understanding why he feels cold. It's also feeling colder than it is due to being used to the warmer weather we recently had. I expect we will last until early October and then make sure the temp is kept lower, to be honest our heating isn't usually on for too long anyway.
Trousers and a hoody indoors now. We've had a couple of frosty nights and it's been a chilly, damp North-Westerly these past few days so the heating has been on and off a few times. That's about right for the season.
I can't remember when I last turned the heating on earlier than December.
4 °C here (Cheshire) overnight, it’ll certainly test people’s resolve.
It was 3°C in my part of Cheshire last night. Window open and summer duvet.
Had Woodburner on once
Heating systems in bits... and the Aga is off.
I'm upset my Sandle tan lines are fading
It's a bit early for the annual willy-waving contest - but we've a load of contenders already it seems.
Most I'll wager are southern based and live in well-insulated houses.
Ours went on last night; mainly because of the new baby coming home from the hospital. It was starting to feel a bit cold in the mornings though, making getting up a lot less enjoyable, so we might not have lasted too much longer even without the new arrival.
Not on here in Angus yet, but it is a bit nippy today with the wind with a draughty house. My wife is sat WFH with a down jacket, scarf, fingerless gloves and fleece blanket wrapped around her lower half. I'm in shorts and a hoody 🤣
I did offer to put it on for an hour but she's going to tough it out 🤣
Most I’ll wager are southern based and live in well-insulated houses.
Or have low paid jobs and can't afford to put their heating on unless absolutely necessary?
So far so covered in layers. I'm determined to make it to Christmas
Our front room rad was showing signs of blockage* last year so it was taken off & flushed, only made a slight difference so we’ve had a new one on along with having the rest balanced.
So yes, the heatings been on but we’re going to Spain tomorrow for a month so it’ll be turned off.
*yes, the rest of the system is probably full of crap too.
Sat here in shorts and a polo shirt with the window open here near @Lunge. Had to admit defeat and put a jumper on at work the other morning as it was 2°C.
Still sleeping with window open, light duvet and in the nip
Ours has to be on as we have 11 month old twins. We also have a fixed rate mortgage ending soon. Its likely we will be a mortgage prisoner. Obviously our energy bills and food bills have increased dramatically, whilst we go from two incomes to one. I strongly suspect we will default on mortgage payments as we simply will not have the cash come the new year. OWith the current SVR, it means out bills have gone up by about £3000/month. If we fail to sell our home, which is highly likely, I suspect it will be repossessed.
Before we had kids we earned nearly £100k combined and amassed over £10k in savings, as we thought we could afford a child. Nobody expects twins.
Now we are soon to be on the bread line.
I dont know what to do?
mainly because of the new baby coming home from the hospita
Congratulations!
Ours has kicked in at 5.45 the last two mornings - set at 18°. Not been on in the evenings yet.
Most I’ll wager are southern based and live in well-insulated houses.
Macclesfield in a house built in 1890 that’s basically a wind tunnel. Born and raised in Yorkshire so have a natural aversion to heating as it’s seen as a weakness!
Tested ours last night and now it won't turn off. The programmer is borked. Now waiting for the gas engineer.
I dont know what to do?
Sorry to hear this.
Start talking to mortgage companies, energy firms etc to let them know you have problems and see what they can do to help ease the pressure or give you time.
I caved in and put it on last night but the system is set on last year's settings of 2hrs in the morning and 3 in the evening at 19'C.
What lengths of time and temps does yowse lot have it running?
Thinking of reducing to an hour in the morning, 1hr at 3pm (kids in from school) and another hour at 5/6 so the house is warmish for bed and showers.
Also,do you think it would make much difference to turn off some rads? Like the ones in the halls, or not?
London, wfh, small 1896 terraced house, not well-insulated, back to long trousers last week, added socks today
What lengths of time and temps does yowse lot have it running?
When it gets cold it is on for a max of an hour in the evening. It gets to whatever temperature it gets to in that time (generally somewhere between 14 and 15 if I'm lucky)
Macclesfield in a house built in 1890 that’s basically a wind tunnel
Same here! Well, I don't know the year but probably similar.
Most I’ll wager are southern based and live in well-insulated houses.
1880 stone flat in Southern Scotland. Had the fan heater on in the bathroom for the first time last night, cold when I'm wet but otherwise OK with ajumper.
The wood burner is on in the dining room to heat the middle of the house. Been using it early evening the last couple of days.
Likely need the heating on for and hour or two later on.
Fortunately on a fixed energy deal until next summer but our mortgage is a tracker so that's about to get a bit too interesting!
Talk to your mortgage company - there's always a way. We've been in the roller coaster of mortgage arrears many times over the years. You have to be in really serious shit for them to start repossession proceedings. They're more helpful than you think.
Might buy you time to sell your house.
And ask for advice on this forum too - there's some brilliant people on there. You don't have to be bankrupt for the advice to be relevant. Although I was 12 years ago and still managed to keep our house...
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/bankruptcy-living-with-it
That's crap ed2000. Don't just stick your head in the sand, make sure you talk to lenders etc. If you really do need to sell up I'm sure the spectre of negative equity is still some time away. Good luck.
Re heating, bought one of those heated throws as Mrs is always cold whilst I'm in shorts and tees. Seems to do the trick nicely, she hasn't moaned about having the heating off. Disclaimer: tropical Sussex coast.
I've given up. Was going to not put the heating on but I reckon that could lead to illness, so decided life is more important than money.
I'll leave it off as long as possible, but not over the entire day. Maybe towards the evening, or mornings too. Just not worth causing yourself harm, and lets face it, with the amount of 'New Bike Day' threads, most here can probably afford a price increase. Just curtail other random or luxury expenditures.
Definitely talk to your lenders and energy suppliers.
Different time but someone I know was in dire straights a few years back and his mortgage company allowed him interest only payments for a time, and then an extended term when he returned to paying off capital; if you don't talk to them you don't know what solutions they may offer.
Not put mine on yet. Mind you im still a couple of thousand miles south🤣
Edward
Law centres and CAB type places do debt advice and can help with renegotiating debt. Its what mrs tj used to do.
You might even be eligable for benefits
I don't turn my heating on. I have this technogical marvel called a programmable thermostat that works it all out for me 😋
That being said, the heating has popped on for a couple of mornings now, only for half an hour. Hasn't come on in the day or evening yet, but it is sunny and the wind is low. Will be different when it's grey and windy.
tall and thin end terrace on sunny manchester, its colder inside that it is outside ffs.
been holding off but it was on at the weekend to test everything.
we are absolutely on the limit now, so i expect to be burning money for the next 6 months 🙁
Hang in there Ed, these are tough times but you'll get through it
2nd for speaking to your mortgage Co.
They despite what people think don't want to kick folk out.
Off to pit it on...
Was doing ok heating wise but got home this evening to it had come on for an hour.
Thermostat at 17 left at that all year so it must have been a bit cold for it to kick in.
I think I will be lighting the fire this evening for the first time and heating will be on from now, just need to figure out a more austere heating programme 🙂
20 yr old 5 bed detached house in a windy high part of west central Scotland. Ours is on a Hive and I’m working from home 3/4 of the time. It’s been kicking in mornings and evenings for the past few weeks and on most of the day so far this week. It’s set at around 21 during the day and 22.5 evenings.
Energy bill projections looking quite scary, wife and teenage sons seem to feel the cold, though boys rarely wear other than shorts and T-shirts in the house 🙄
Nope. I feel the cold but love the cold weather as well.Shir, fleece and quilted gilet for me at the moment. Came in warm from the ride home.
It’s set at around 21 during the day and 22.5 evenings.
Crikey, ours would be on in the middle of summer where we are.
Temps have barely been above single figures here most days for a while now. House isn't much warmer. Put the heating for about 15 minutes the other day just to take the edge off, but I'm determined to hold out until next month at least.
I've moved out of shorts and t-shirts in favour of joggers and jumpers - not quite got to the fingerless gloves and woolly hat stage... I've had the wood burner lit every evening this week mind. The heating came on automatically this morning for about 20 mins as the thermostat was still set to 19. I've rectified that now so it won't come on again unless it's in danger of freezing up! Shame the wood burner doesn't heat the whole house - just makes the room it's in the temperature of a furnace. Had the bedroom window closed the last couple of nights but still got the summer duvet on... I expect we'll cave by the end of Oct at the latest....
Most I’ll wager are southern based and live in well-insulated houses.
Northerner here so heating doesn’t go on until it’s really cold.
@edward2000 This might seem heartless but please don't take it personally, I'm just trying to be objective, I know nothing about your circumstances so I know fine I'm making a lot of assumptions here.
Point the first, how can you have been earning £100k+ between you but not now be able to pay the bills? I realise that implies one partner has quit to stay at home but even then worst case you are still earning £50k assuming the main earner wasn't the one that quit. If you are worried it may be time to bite the bullet, find a good nursery and go back to work (bearing in mind there is a tax benefit to childcare vouchers even if they're not as great as they once were). Ours was two when my wife decided to go back to work but there were plenty of younger kids and babies in the nursery.
If it's the mortgage that's the issue and you borrowed the max against your previous earnings then, well, that's a tougher call. As said you need to speak to the lender but it may not be the worst idea to look at downsizing if possible.
We've caved last night and this morning. It was 12*c in the lounge/dining this morning when I came down.
Although we're on a (cheap) 2 year fixed rate with Octopus, so I'm tempted to make the most of it...
Not putting mine on yet, and when I do it’ll only be set around 16 degrees for as long as I can get away with it. Perfectly happy putting on thicker fleeces, etc. My monthly standing order is going up £20 compared to the last year, so I’m not panicking yet.
Not likely to put the heating on anytime soon with the energy prices the way they are.
Mind you have just splashed out on some loft insulation and fitted today so hoping that'll recoup it's investment quickly.
Just getting the autumn duvet out the loft whilst up there today too.
Still wearing the shorts but have succumbed to putting a hodie on now.
Living down south so warm'ish i guess, but then I am a 'shandy-drinking-soft-southerner'. 1930's non cavity wall semi.
We as a rule dont have the heating too high, and tbh I dont think the house and heating would get it there. split zones upstairs and downstairs, plus the back of the house is underfloor running off the boiler.
Thermostats are set so normally they just kick in and we override if it gets a bit cold.
I have turned all the zones on each programme down by a degree and left the back of the house as is and we work in here if wfh. Door closed to the rest of the house. We are going to try not to overide at will.
downstairs front of house 17.5 then 18.5 until 5pm and then 19, upstairs the same until evening and then 19.5 (it just feels colder up there). We have a ribbon flame fire in the lounge (tiny lounge), but this has not been on this Autumn.
Lets see if we can keep off the overide, and how long for
Still off in Cardiff. A bit chilly in the mornings in the kitchen and in the evening watching telly. But in both situations it soon warms up.
Ours has to be on as we have 11 month old twins.
I know no-one wants parenting advice especially when you are at a low, but I don't think this is the case. Whilst it's true that newborn babies can't regulate their temperature well, they soon gain this ability and I think at that age you can put them in warm clothes and they really should be fine.
Funny that all of the people not putting on heating have made that decision using the first person singular, whereas those with heating on use “we”. Are you people with the heating off all single, or just old fashioned about who had control of the thermostat?
Heating on here though. Southern family just moved to the highlands. Feels effing cold even when it is warm outside. Two of us wfh most of the time as well 🫤 Tado is doing its best to only heat up the rooms we’re in.
Good advice to talk to mortgage and energy companies for @edward2000.
I closed the windows last week and have lit the wood burner 3 times in the last week. Once for drunkenness and twice to keep heating off. Usually we can get to Nov before turning on heating (East Coast Scotland) Wood burner is small but heats living room well. Kitchen gets hot after cooking tea and bedroom has electric blanket. Going to be getting warmer duvet, jumpers are down from the loft and sandals have been swapped for slippers. I'd love to get to December before turning on the heating. Don't think that'll work now in a semi cottage with concrete floors. Used to be great in a clad tenement with 2 floors of pensioners below us!
Northerner here so heating doesn’t go on until it’s really cold
don’t you live in England?
Heating went on today an autumn duvet will be this weekend. Still have the window open at night though.
No heating yet. Quite amazed as I keep asking my Wife if she wants it on, but she somehow seems fine.
Thermostat in the lounge showing 17.3deg which would normally not be tolerated.
We normally leave the thermostat on throughout the year, but when it was on the cusp of being too warm to need it, the Nest kept kicking in and over-doing it.
It really is crap. Tempted to chop it in for a better system.
To add to all the 'I'm hardy' comments.
On Sunday I put the 10tog duvet on.
The heating went on the past few days as we're toilet training youngest and he's running around half naked all day.
don’t you live in England?
Yes. Northern England.
So the the northern part of the southern half of the U.K. then. 😉
No, that would be Cowes.
Aye. Hes a southerner🙄🤣
Still in shorts in the balmy south east, although I do confess to sticking a blanket over my legs when working at my desk....
its currently 20C downstairs and 19.5C upstairs. Haven't had the heating on yet. South East, modern, insulated house. Have shut most of the windows though
The simple thermostat here is still in 'Holiday" setting, with a target temperature of 14C. Which means that so far, its not made a call to the boiler, even early in the morning when it's read 17C a couple of times. And I'm hoping it'll carry on like that for a couple of weeks at least. When that happens, I'll probably set the warmest target temp to 18-19C for an hour or two early each evening.
Mrs Lawman is OK (so far...) putting on a cardigan when necessary, and having the flickering lights on the newish electric fire in the living room. That's not actually been asked to throw out any heat yet either, although I suspect it'll not be long. In the meantime, I've taken to wearing a body warmer most of the day.
Herself had run the heating for an hours boost yesterday with the windows open upstairs! Thankfully 2 of the open windows have sensors so no radiator heat in those rooms. Downstairs like an oven when I got home (I exaggerate somewhat).
Aye. Hes a southerner
But I live further north than parts of Scotland?
I boosted the house up for an hour to 20c today... just to test the boiler still worked.
Current indoor temp several hours later is 16.9c, relative humdity is 49%
I'm impressed that people are making an effort, whether in solidarity with Ukraine, concern for the environment budget considerations, or a combination of all three.
I’m reeling from two things:
- people have heating on during the day
- that they let a thermostat decide to put the heating on in September
Fire on tonight in THE north.
It was 8 degrees* on the house thermostat when I started but it's still in frost mode.
*Had tradesmen in all day going in and out all day with the attic open so all the insulation was doing naff all as the wind whistles through the house like a chimney
But I do find it funny that people use calenders to measure the temperature.
It was 8 degrees* on the house thermostat when I started but it’s still in frost mode.
Above or below freezing?
But I do find it funny that people use calenders to measure the temperature.
To be fair, if it was November I'd have just stuck the heating on, but as it's still September I refuse to give in.
8 degrees past August according to my calender
But I live further north than parts of Scotland?
They are southerners as well. Embra is where north starts and even thats the soft north🙄🤣
Ignore trailrat tho. Hes aberdonian. A breed all to themselves. Its the norfolk of Scotland
But I do find it funny that people use calenders to measure the temperature.
You talking about wor lass??
Right, that’s it, outside now! 😂😜
1980 detached 3 bed in North Somerset. It's insulated with modern DG, 300mm loft and 85mm graphite polybead cavity insulation. I'd like to insulate the suspended timber floor, but thats a big job.
I've let the stat run our heating for years, but not this year.
I've dropped its threshold from 20 degrees to 18 degrees and reviewed the boiler flow temperature for the central heating and hot water.
I've been totally upfront with the kids and Mrs officer on our projected costs because I know the energy demand for our house and our new unit rate. I've asked them to put a jumper and long trousers on so that I can continue to pay their driving lessons.
It's currently chilly in the house mornings and evenings, but warms up with a bit of activity, running the TV, cooker, etc...
Currently loafing in the living room and its 19.2°C. it was 18.1° when I got in at 18:15.
I'm going to keep the stat deactivated until I get some protestations from the family officer, which I suspect will be in the coming weeks...