Is your heating ON or OFF?

parsonswife8

mardatha wrote: »

We have a full gale up here and my roof is ready to come off at any time...thank god the power is still on so I can stay in MSE !

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Hope your roof stays in tact.

It's blowing a bit down here in the South but mild compared to what you must be experiencing there.

Travelqueen

Mines been on for about a week in the mornings & evenings...

I have lodgers though so I've not got a lot of choice. The 'put another jumper on' only works so well.

However, I have been secretly turning the thermostat down (mwhahah) so the heating doesn't kick in until it gets below 16 degrees and keeping the sensor in the kitchen (warmest room) rather than the living room (coldest)

When it gets a bit later in the year I'll move it upstairs with the theory that heat rises so upstairs will stay even warmer than the kitchen and put the wood-burning stove on down there instead as that fuel is 'free' thanks to last years winds and tree casulties...

Caterina

Hi all,

First of all, Mardatha and all others in Scotland and North England, I hope you are safe, what with the bad weather and all, and that no damage comes to your homes!

Then, reading the last two days' posts I am noticing a lot of people saying "Oh dear I have caved in" etc... when they put the heating on - I don't know if I am misreading it but some of it sounds like guilt (I might be wrong).

I am still not putting the CH on but firing the woodstove for all its worth in the evenings, but I am really near the point of switching the CH. I read a few people here saying that they were beginning not to like being at home etc... and I feel a bit like this at the moment too.

The whole point of OSing, surely, is to be frugal and save but stay within some sort of comfort zone, isn't it? Unless there is a really serious financial reason for suffering the cold, I suppose that we do not get a medal for our hardship, other than the one we award ourselves.

I am not sure even where I stand on this issue, as by rights I should have the heating on NOW as I suffer from arthritis and my joints are not terribly happy - so, if I am immune to eco-guilt, why am I not going to the scullery and turn the boiler switch to ON?

Are some of us taking the frugal thing too far, or is this only a character building exercise, seeing how far out of our comfort zone we can reach?

I don't think there is a right or wrong way on this one, I am just pondering, and would be interested in others' views.

Caterina

Claire70_2

well my heating is on, just for an hour in the morning and an hour at night. And I have an open fire, I have a 2yr old and its not fair for her to be cold

coldstreamalways

I'm still about £500 in arrears with Brit Gas and I pay £100 a month, that's my bill plus extra to clear arrears. I haven't had any heating on at all and I'm doing ok! We have really good double glazing and we're on the second floor so downstairs keep us fairly warm. When it gets chilly I either do some exercise (I know not everyone can) like sit ups for a minute or two, or if DH is here we snuggle up under a fleece blanket.

I really would like to not put the heating on at all if I can help it because I realy want to get this £100 a month bill down!

bellaquidsin

W-e-l-l it hasn't been officially put on yet but there have been a few lapses (very short ones) by Himself and when we have had visitors.

My aim with retirement looming is to make our comfort zone meet our budget. We could afford to be a little kinder to ourselves at the moment but we are 'in training' and every penny saved now is another penny in the retirement pot.

We have visitors again on Sunday and then the DGCh are coming to stay for a couple of days so I guess we will be warm here for a day or two. Hope we don't get to used to it as I will turn it all off again once there is just us. When we get keen frosts the heating will go on as I don't want any frozen pipes.

Bella.

Woodyrocks

Have no double glazing (HA property so no choice in the matter) so we have no choice but to have the heating on as it does get cold quickly especially as downstairs is 'mock open-plan' so you can't even shut a door and keep heat in the front room.

Heating comes on 6.50am - 7.50am (weekdays) and then back on at 6pm - 9.40pm (weekdays). It is variable on the w/ends!

katiecoodle

OMG I am sat in my mums house with the heating on full (she's never warm enough). She's even got a blanket over her watching the telly. And I noticed a draft coming past the computer - so I go to the back door & realise it has been wide open for the last hour at least....so I ask mum why she's bothering with the heating when she's letting it all out again & she just said "oh I was leaving it open in case the dog wanted to go in and out. I always leave it open like that when I'm in"



Next time she complains about her bills, I'll bite my tongue! She's sooooooooooo annoying!

buxtonrabbitgreen

My oh is always accusing me of wasting gas so we don't have our central heating on much. It is because of the expense not out of some sort of self flaggelation. The thermostat is only set at 15 degrees anyway. I would like to have it on all winter but we can't afford it.He did put it on tuesday afternoon as it was very cold here but only for a couple of hours.

larmy16

It's not so much guilt for me as a mini protest against the energy companies. If it makes me really miserable I shall put it on.