What temperature should a house be?

[Smigly]

I am currently living at home with my parents until July when I move out. Me and my partner are constantly complaining that the house is freezing ad regularly have to sit with duvets on when watching tv etc.

When people come to visit they normally sit with their coat on, and I'm forever complaining that its cold, but according to my parents "it's lovely and warm".

The only reasons I can come up with for this that they genuinely don't feel the cold because my mam will go round opening windows!

So anyway my parents have this energy thing which tells them how much energy they're consuming by the hour and it tells them the supposed temperature.

Anyhoo, this device says that's its 21 degrees c in the house so my parents believe it. I'm like "it's absolutely Baltic in here" and they're like "no it's 21 degrees, the box says so". They think that just because the box tells them it's true. I can't see anything on the box though to say its a thermometer and I've only EVER seen it read 21 degrees.

So we bought a house thermometer and its in my bedroom, which is showing 10 degrees this morning (and my room is the warmest room in the house).

Anyone have any idea as to what temperature a house should be? Ie not particularly hot but just warm enough that we don't have t wear a jumper, woolly slippers and a blanket everytime I'm at home??

Edit: I AM NOT COMPLAINING JUST ASKING WHAT TEMPERATURE PEOPLE NORMALLY HAVE THEIR HOUSE!

 

[SlyReaper]

20°C is roughly what I aim for.

 

[Teknobry]

I have mine at 22c when we're in. Nice and toasty

 

[Mrs Seabiscuit]

Are they very strapped for cash maybe? I know a lovely family and they simply cant afford to put the heating on. Also people of a more elderly age remember the rationing and so dislike waste and are actually used to putting on warm clothes and blankets and being generally cost saving.

 

[Smigly]

They say they are sometimes but they "earn" more than I do. I appreciate they have bills to pay and whatnot but my mum is sometimes quitefrivolous with money. Everytime she gets paid he goes out and buys whatever she wants and sometimes hasno money left at the end

 

[Smigly]

And they're not that old, they're in their late forties.

 

[Maccapacca]

You wait till you're paying the bills you might revise your view.

18 in the morning as everyone is up and moving around and 20 at night when sat around.

 

[Schizo]

24c here,like to be warm

 

[konicky]

It's easy to turn the heating up when you're not paying the bills!! Do you pay any rent to your parents?

 

[RJC]

Around 20 -21c here, I have a decent thermometer and this shows my room temp as 19c ~.

 

[Angilion]

If that device is supposed to set the desired temperature for the heating then something is broken. Either the device and your parents' perception of temperature or your thermometer and the temperature perception of you and your partner. 21C is standard room temperature, which most people would perceive as comfortable while wearing normal indoor clothing.

Is it possible that the device is actually for setting the return temperature for the boiler? I don't know if they go that low, but if it is that then it would explain the lack of heating - the boiler wouldn't be heating the water for central heating above 21C. What do the radiators feel like?

A house should be at the temperature that the inhabitants want it to be. Apparently your parents' house is at the right temperature for them. Which is strange, as 10C is a brisk winter's day outdoors. If that's what they like indoors, how on earth do they tolerate summer? 20+C would seem sweltering to them.

 

[Smigly]

You wait till you're paying the bills you might revise your view.

18 in the morning as everyone is up and moving around and 20 at night when sat around.

Yeah but I appreciate that it's cold and it's hard to afford stuff nowadays. That's not the issue, what I'm saying is, everyone who comes to the house says its cold yet they outright deny it and say I'm a wimp and that it's lovely and warm. I'm just getting at why they are saying that. :S

 

[mysticsniper]

24c here,like to be warm

Agreed, the warmer the better

 

[Smigly]

It's easy to turn the heating up when you're not paying the bills!! Do you pay any rent to your parents?

I can only afford to pay them £80 a month. I appreciate all the other bills but I work Monday to Friday and I am at my partners sat and sun mostly, I buy my own food etc.

 

[Cold_And_Miserable]

I like 16*C, the same temperature Black Mesa is maintained at.

Higher temps cause my neck to swell making breathing/swallowing hard work and panic attacks.

 

[Smigly]

If that device is supposed to set the desired temperature for the heating then something is broken. Either the device and your parents' perception of temperature or your thermometer and the temperature perception of you and your partner. 21C is standard room temperature, which most people would perceive as comfortable while wearing normal indoor clothing.

Is it possible that the device is actually for setting the return temperature for the boiler? I don't know if they go that low, but if it is that then it would explain the lack of heating - the boiler wouldn't be heating the water for central heating above 21C. What do the radiators feel like?

A house should be at the temperature that the inhabitants want it to be. Apparently your parents' house is at the right temperature for them. Which is strange, as 10C is a brisk winter's day outdoors. If that's what they like indoors, how on earth do they tolerate summer? 20+C would seem sweltering to them.

This might be it! The radiators are cold/off at the moment but when they're on they're never hot, I'd say more lukewarm. I bled mine just in case it was broken but alas, no. I rarely have a bath here because the water just does not run hot enough to be comfortable in it. When pi mentioned the boiler, it reminded me: in the summer some guy from the council came and did something with the thermostat and told my parents if they turned something down, it would be heaped to keep the heating on all the time at that temperature than to have it set higher and turning it on and off all the time. So I think the man has ironed if down so the heating can be on all the time and they still turn it off. I'm not very technical minded and I admit I don't have a clue about boilers but that's basically the gist of the conversation I caught. But that was last summer.

 

[scrlk]

I like 16*C, the same temperature Black Mesa is maintained at.

Higher temps cause my neck to swell making breathing/swallowing hard work and panic attacks.

Did you even remember this bit?

68*F = 20*C

 

[Cosimo]

24c here,like to be warm

Aye, it has to feel like the Mediterranean.

 

[jsmoke]

8-10C is pretty cold. My flat is pretty cold, I have a digital thermometer and it usually about 12-13C during day and 15-17C at night when I put heating on. Which is a bit cold in itself. You get used to the cold though, also depends on how wrapped up you are, how much you move about/eat etc.. but usually dictated to by cost.

Thankfully we will be in spring in a couple of weeks though so lets hope for a warm March.

 

[peige]

The temperature is probably 21, right by the energy monitor, not the rest of the house.

I try to keep our house around 22 when we are here, its a bit of a battle with teenage girls in the house that are always vocally "really cold" or "really hot" and silently just the right temperature, best to ignore them all keep the house at 22.
Took quite a while to set it right from the previous house owners who seemed to desire tropical temperatures and have no concept of heating programmers.

I would say you need radiator thermostats to correct the heat in that place, sounds like downstairs just by the energy monitor is just lovely

My mum believes in a "fresh set of air" every saturday, still does. Rain sun or snow all the heating would go off on a saturday morning and the windows all open, as kids we though she was mental and would stay in bed or huddle on the sofa in blankets