Steve,our bungalow is open plan, lounge/kitchen/big conservatory (21x11) that's north facing, the sun is so low at the moment that it doesn't reach there at this time of year. 18c is the max I feel comfortable with. The conservatory was9.8c this morning. I didn't check inside.obviously going in and out we loose heat. Thermostat is now on 16c, hubby bumped it up as he's reading in the conservatory. Just checked the living room its17c, and I'm uncomfortable in the jumper I put on at 7.
I have noticed BOTH neighbours wearing t shirts. I like a throw....so I can throw it off!!! Our last house,a 1930s semi, tiny cottage was absolutely freezing. We added thick loft insulation,new doors and windows. Had thick PJ's, brushed cotton bedding, electric blanket, winter tog duvet,lots of cold spots,damp, mould. Tiny windows. Obviously wouldn't work for everyone, but what I do to get warm,is actually take the dogs out at night, suitable wrapped,get very warm. When I married my first husband,we moved to London, ground floor flat, rubbish electric fire,2 bars,big Victorian rooms/large windows/high ceilings. I put my daughter in her pram and went to the park,we could barely afford to put the fire on.... this was the landlady's rates for cost.
@raisingirl Are you talking same temperature at night as well? The main stat programme(s) here has a standard min of about 15 degrees and I then programme it for the exceptions. So typically, I have it to try to achieve 19 degrees between 7 and 9 am and 6 and 10pm. Outside of those exceptions, it reverts back to the default of 15 (I'm not aware of it ever being triggered overnight on that setting - as the morning temp is always higher than the base 15 even plus the half degree tolerance. It's typically around 17).
Putting this then as a practical question, if I wanted 18 degrees when I'm up and about (ie between say 6am and 10pm), is it better (more cost effective) to set 18 as the default base and just leave the heating to maintain 18 degrees both day and night? Or is it better (more cost effective) to do as I do now and have specific times of 18 degree 'heat' with a default of say 15 in between, with the house temp dropping a degree or two below 18 and putting up with a cooler temp between 9am and >6pm?
Can you believe that I came across a house the other day where, when the loo is flushed it flushes with hot water from the gas boiler?!?!?! The bathroom is in an uninsulated downstairs extension on the back of the small terraced house, and apparently this was done by the landlord to stop the loo freezing during cold spells and causing damage and expensive repairs. Seems insane to me.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
We have a very old, very leaky house. I don't actually mind that - I hate the idea of being sealed in breathing the same air over and over. But it's small and with low ceilings so is easier to heat. We have it set to 18 degrees during the day, now it has turned frosty, turn it up to 20 in the evening and off at night. Washing gets dried in the kitchen on the radiator in there, and on a clothes horse (don't seem to get cooking smells, but we use the extractor hood which must help with that). That said, I have a very cosy fluffy dressing gown and tend to not get dressed until about midday. Which is now - better get dressed! And in the evening I have a throw I put over my legs. OH doesn't seem to get as chilly as I do. Cold bedroom is fine - don't like stuffy bedroom - but a hot water bottle. Have been known to wear socks in bed though, and a shawl around me!
Very white and icy outside this morning but luckily the sun is out.
You mentioned a shawl @didyw - which reminded me of my Nan who knitted ‘bed jackets’ for us. They were good for reading in bed as you had an extra layer on just the bit that was outside the blankets. I know family members also used to put all the outdoor coats on the bed to add layers too.
I wear socks in bed most nights anyway and have some lovely Nordic ‘chalet’ socks on the go this week.
Re the heating on constant vs as and when - I think the science now reports that the concept of keeping it on is only more efficient in very well insulated and already warm buildings. Not my house then.
I do use the psychological hugge.in winter,thick check curtains right down to the ground. Lots of layers of throws. Different cushions, mustard colour, fluffy,fakey fur. Fake log burner, just the log effect on,and table lamps with "warm" white bulbs (all low wattage natch) fairy lights and battery "candles".
I thank my parents for my genes. I just don't feel the cold. No central heating, but i'll stick a heater on in the living room for an hour in the morning when i get out of bed. A thermometer in my bedroom reads 12c when i wake up. My living room is usually 16-18c during the day. I have a tropical fish tank in the living room that probably acts as a radiator.
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Thermostat is now on 16c, hubby bumped it up as he's reading in the conservatory. Just checked the living room its17c, and I'm uncomfortable in the jumper I put on at 7.
Are you talking same temperature at night as well? The main stat programme(s) here has a standard min of about 15 degrees and I then programme it for the exceptions. So typically, I have it to try to achieve 19 degrees between 7 and 9 am and 6 and 10pm. Outside of those exceptions, it reverts back to the default of 15 (I'm not aware of it ever being triggered overnight on that setting - as the morning temp is always higher than the base 15 even plus the half degree tolerance. It's typically around 17).
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I just don't feel the cold. No central heating, but i'll stick a heater on in the living room for an hour in the morning when i get out of bed.
A thermometer in my bedroom reads 12c when i wake up. My living room is usually 16-18c during the day. I have a tropical fish tank in the living room that probably acts as a radiator.