The Great British "not put my heating on yet" brag

bristolleedsfan

dealyboy said:

@MattMattMattUK said:

B0bbyEwing said:

I'm sure you all know someone who says this. You may even say it yourself & while I can't say how everyone up & down the land intends to mean it, for those people I come across it's almost always said in a bragging puff the chest out sense.

But it made me wonder .... the knock on effects.

Last year I tried to hold off as long as possible & when the heating did go on, it went on later, came off sooner & it was set lower than previous. I used the fire (multi fuel stove) a lot more often since I get wood for free for the time being, but then unfortunately that only really heats the living room, even if I leave the hall & kitchen doors open. I suppose it'll impact them too but it doesn't feel like it does much. The living room though gets toasty, obviously. 

But what I noticed last year - black mould around the house, more than years gone by. 

Is this just something all the "not put my heating on yet" people battle or am I just unlucky that I was experiencing this mould more than usual?

Black mould is not cause by low temperatures, it is caused by damp, one could have a cold but well ventilated home and that would mean no black mould issues, or one could have a hot but damp home and that would mean a lot of black mould. The issues arise because some people choose to block up all the vents, not use extractors when cooking, turn off bathroom fans, dry clothes indoors etc. There are ways to combat that, dehumidifiers being the most effective, but an element of ventilations is stull required. 

B0bbyEwing said:

Another thought that crossed my mind - is not having the heating on at all even good for the whole heating system? Go months & months, let's say April-October/November without putting it on because the temps are warm & then battle through December-March to not put it on or put it on very very little. Is that even good for the heating system? Maybe it makes no difference, I've really no idea - that's why I'm here asking these Qs.

Normally for wet systems the boiler or heat pump is linked to the hot water as well, so it will still be cycled, the only part that might not is the heating circuit and those valves/solenoids so in theory they could stick a bit, but in general with a properly used and maintained system it should not be a problem. 

As for the comment/boast about not having the heating on, there is first an element of stoicism about it, but it also can demonstrate an element of common sense, turning the heating up to 24 and walking around in just shorts is an extravagant waste of energy which falls into an element of conspicuous consumption which is always a bad look, not to mention being awful for the environment. Putting on a jumper or just being sensible is always something that reflects well on the individual. There is also the part that it varies from property to property, with windows closed my flat has not yet dropped below 19.4c, of course it can go lower if I open windows, other people might find it significantly closer to ambient temperatures, but apart from in the North of Scotland it has not yet got particularly cold for a sustained period so the vast majority should not have yet had a reason to put the heating on. 

Hi Matt ... Is that strictly true? I can imagine that with external temperature in the low single figures and with high relative humidity (damp/rainy), good ventilation can soon equalise the RH and subsequently cause condensation.

I hardly have any heating on, do not heat unused rooms, only mould since buying 1930s mid terrace house in 2019 has been through living room skirting boards, clearly a problem pre 2019 when house would have been well heated. and relates/related to moisture when raining causing damp,

TheElectricCow

I’ve what I consider to be a reasonably decent MVHR unit in an otherwise quite well sealed flat with good insulation, so the property is always fairly well ventilated leaving no damp/mould issues no matter the temperature.

Only time a significant amount of condensation forms is in the mornings if drying a big load of washing indoors when it gets especially cold outside, but for those days a blast in the dryer before hanging mostly alleviates the problem.

I don’t plan on using the main heating for myself unless inside temps drop into single digits, although my temperature preferences are heavily skewed to the low end anyway so I’m still quite happily walking to work in shorts and T shirt each morning (7c today. It’s not a long walk and saves changing clothes there, as the management often waste huge amounts of energy keeping the heating cranked up to unliveable levels by my standards only for staff to arrive and prop open all the doors & windows to let it out). 

Not for bragging purposes of course, partly for the money savings, but primarily just because I have a greater appreciation of the cold than most. Everyone has different temperature needs/preferences and mine happen to be skewed heavily towards the low end - great for winter energy savings but gets expensive over summer.

Isoei

Good to know I'm not the only one thinking about this haha. My flat is heated by electric radiators, and unfortunately they aren't the most effective. Alongside the general cost of everything right now, I've been trying to keep the heating off, or find alternatives. I do worry about mold though, and have noticed some appearing the bathrooms already. Even worse, I found out just yesterday that the radiator in the bathroom doesn't work at all, so now I'm trying to figure out the best way of drying it out after being used (suggestions are welcomed), as I can't direct the heat from anywhere else in the flat into that room. Maybe something to plug in might be in order...

CrispyChris

Isoei said:

 I'm trying to figure out the best way of drying it out after being used (suggestions are welcomed), as I can't direct the heat from anywhere else in the flat into that room. Maybe something to plug in might be in order...

Dehumidifier?  It will also put out a bit of heat, it might try to empty the water out of the WC though, best to keep the lid down.

ArbitraryRandom

Does you bathroom have a window?  If so, then one of the best options might be that as soon as you're done with the shower (and all that water is in the hot air) open the window fully and close the door to the flat - let as much of the damp air out as possible before it can condense. 

A squeegee brush can make a big difference: https://www.lakeland.co.uk/24842/oxo-good-grips-window-and-shower-squeegee - get the water off the sides of the shower and down the drain; and standing on towels to avoid the water standing on surfaces outside the shower area. Ideally hang them to dry outside or put them in the washing machine rather than hanging elsewhere in the house.  

Isoei

ArbitraryRandom said:

Does you bathroom have a window?  If so, then one of the best options might be that as soon as you're done with the shower (and all that water is in the hot air) open the window fully and close the door to the flat - let as much of the damp air out as possible before it can condense. 

A squeegee brush can make a big difference: https://www.lakeland.co.uk/24842/oxo-good-grips-window-and-shower-squeegee - get the water off the sides of the shower and down the drain; and standing on towels to avoid the water standing on surfaces outside the shower area. Ideally hang them to dry outside or put them in the washing machine rather than hanging elsewhere in the house.  

Sadly no window, or outside space to hang the laundry - a nightmare, haha! But the squeeqee is a brilliant idea, I'll have to give that a go Extractor fan is old and could do with a good clean, that might help too.

I've got those little tub-type dehumidifiers, the ones with the crystals. Not really sure if they'd do much to help.

ArbitraryRandom

It's an older thread, but you might find this helpful: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1987439/moisture-trap-dehumidifier

Spoonie_Turtle

MattMattMattUK said:

As for the comment/boast about not having the heating on, there is first an element of stoicism about it, but it also can demonstrate an element of common sense, turning the heating up to 24 and walking around in just shorts is an extravagant waste of energy which falls into an element of conspicuous consumption which is always a bad look, not to mention being awful for the environment. Putting on a jumper or just being sensible is always something that reflects well on the individual. There is also the part that it varies from property to property, with windows closed my flat has not yet dropped below 19.4c, of course it can go lower if I open windows, other people might find it significantly closer to ambient temperatures, but apart from in the North of Scotland it has not yet got particularly cold for a sustained period so the vast majority should not have yet had a reason to put the heating on. 

Sorry, what?

That's nice your flat hasn't got cold but not all of us live in lovely, warm, well insulated properties.  Our house has been sitting between 18-19℃ with the heating on since at least the middle of last month, although it did kick in during September.

I was enjoying this previously nonjudgmental thread.

Swipe

Spoonie_Turtle said:

MattMattMattUK said:

As for the comment/boast about not having the heating on, there is first an element of stoicism about it, but it also can demonstrate an element of common sense, turning the heating up to 24 and walking around in just shorts is an extravagant waste of energy which falls into an element of conspicuous consumption which is always a bad look, not to mention being awful for the environment. Putting on a jumper or just being sensible is always something that reflects well on the individual. There is also the part that it varies from property to property, with windows closed my flat has not yet dropped below 19.4c, of course it can go lower if I open windows, other people might find it significantly closer to ambient temperatures, but apart from in the North of Scotland it has not yet got particularly cold for a sustained period so the vast majority should not have yet had a reason to put the heating on. 

Sorry, what?

That's nice your flat hasn't got cold but not all of us live in lovely, warm, well insulated properties.  

Agreed, my bedroom is often 10C when I wake up after one of the recent colder nights

B0bbyEwing

debitcardmayhem said:

B0bbyEwing said:

Interesting what other folks comfort levels are. 
I used to set mine to 18c before prices went crazy.
Have since dropped that to 17c & find it acceptable for us. Radiators all got turned down a notch too.

Why turn all the rads down? I would be pleased if someone else could answer that one too.

Why would someone else answering help as to why >I've< turned them down?

Anyway, to answer your question - because the masses at MSE said so & you lot seem to know more than I do about it all anyway so I trusted your advice.

I had them all up at 5, full whack. 

Now some are 3, some are 2.