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I'm in UK (south east). I work in tech, working from home. I very rarely put the heating on. The best part of not putting the heating on is that I've had my gar

I'm in UK (south east). I work in tech, working from home. I very rarely put the heating on. The best part of not putting the heating on is that I've had my garden doors open almost every day through the winter. I mostly work at my laptop, just inside sitting on a comfy sofa, right next to the outdoors. In December I was mostly opening the doors about midday just for the afternoon, but since mid to late January I'm back to opening the doors mostly from about 9 in the morning again, right through to the end of the working day. To do this and remain comfortable I have to put on extra layers. When I go out the extra layers come off. Weirdly, this is the first winter in a long time I've not really felt cold at all. I think it's because previous winters I've been working in an office heated to 20C+, and this year I've acclimatised slowly from the summer. When I have put the heating on, I get hot real quick unless I start taking layers off, and actually it's easier to turn the heating off.

jaynetics 5y ago
I stopped heating out of necessity when I was a poor student and made the same discovery. It's funny how when you go outdoors with other people they are freezing and you feel super comfy. I seriously think that about 3/4 of Europeans could get by without any heating for about 3/4 of winter time. Well, as long as the gulf stream holds up anyways.
- chewz 5y ago
  > I seriously think that about 3/4 of Europeans could get by without any heating for about 3/4 of winter time. The temperatures in UK are stable during the day due to sea climate. In Central Europe we get +/- 10 degrees during the day. This is completely different story from temperature comfort/security perspective. That's why we overinsulate and overheat our houses and why we tend to have higher temperatures inside then Brits. My Italian friend laughed that he immediately recognized Poles in Italy because in August they had blanklets and sweaters at hand. We just always expect temperatures to drop suddenly by 10 degrees. Even on British Airways planes temperatures are lower then on other airlines...
onion2k 5y ago
The temperature in the UK this winter was the warmest ever recorded. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/03/why-has-uk-weather-been-so-mild-and-is-it-linked-to-climate-crisis https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/03/why-has-uk-w...
wheels 5y ago
In continental Europe (Germany, specifically is where I have experience), most apartments are so well insulated that they don't even get significantly cold without the heat on. I often travel in winter, and have come back home, say, mid-February after a month away, and my apartments have never been lower than 15º C (about 60º F) inside. (Admittedly, it'd be colder if everyone in the building had their heat off.) That's very easy to deal with with no heating. Though, like most schmucks, I do use my heating to get it up to more normal inside temperatures.
- Ekaros 5y ago
  I wonder if this effect of effectively "stealing" the heat from neighbouring spaces. After all the walls are quite large radiation surfaces...
- jillesvangurp 5y ago
  Yes, I have heating in every room in my apartment in Berlin. But I only use the one in my living room. I never heat my two bed rooms or the bathroom. The rest of the apartment is a bit cooler but stays warm thanks to the neighbors below me heating their apartment. I actually prefer sleeping in a cold bed room so I never use the heating in there. I just toss on an extra blanket when it gets really cold outside. I generally have the window open there throughout the year. Even when it gets well below freezing temperatures. Nothing worse than a stuffy warm room for sleeping for me. It's one of my annoyances with hotels actually. I hate it when I can't open the window. Generally the first thing I do is remove most of the blankets, turn of whatever heating is there, and if possible open the windows. For me the ultimate in stupidity is a hotel room with the AC on where people use blankets to stay warm where you can't even open the windows.
  - 988747 5y ago
    >> stays warm thanks to the neighbors below me heating their apartment. So you're basically stealing the heat from your neighbors :) You can see how that strategy falls apart if everyone starts doing it?
    - 5y ago
tonyedgecombe 5y ago
I'd could probably do that (in the two years I lived in my flat I never turned the heating on). The problem is my wife would leave.

jaynetics 5y ago

I stopped heating out of necessity when I was a poor student and made the same discovery. It's funny how when you go outdoors with other people they are freezing and you feel super comfy. I seriously think that about 3/4 of Europeans could get by without any heating for about 3/4 of winter time. Well, as long as the gulf stream holds up anyways.

chewz 5y ago
> I seriously think that about 3/4 of Europeans could get by without any heating for about 3/4 of winter time. The temperatures in UK are stable during the day due to sea climate. In Central Europe we get +/- 10 degrees during the day. This is completely different story from temperature comfort/security perspective. That's why we overinsulate and overheat our houses and why we tend to have higher temperatures inside then Brits. My Italian friend laughed that he immediately recognized Poles in Italy because in August they had blanklets and sweaters at hand. We just always expect temperatures to drop suddenly by 10 degrees. Even on British Airways planes temperatures are lower then on other airlines...

onion2k 5y ago

The temperature in the UK this winter was the warmest ever recorded. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/03/why-has-uk-weather-been-so-mild-and-is-it-linked-to-climate-crisis https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/03/why-has-uk-w...

wheels 5y ago

In continental Europe (Germany, specifically is where I have experience), most apartments are so well insulated that they don't even get significantly cold without the heat on. I often travel in winter, and have come back home, say, mid-February after a month away, and my apartments have never been lower than 15º C (about 60º F) inside. (Admittedly, it'd be colder if everyone in the building had their heat off.) That's very easy to deal with with no heating. Though, like most schmucks, I do use my heating to get it up to more normal inside temperatures.

Ekaros 5y ago
I wonder if this effect of effectively "stealing" the heat from neighbouring spaces. After all the walls are quite large radiation surfaces...
jillesvangurp 5y ago
Yes, I have heating in every room in my apartment in Berlin. But I only use the one in my living room. I never heat my two bed rooms or the bathroom. The rest of the apartment is a bit cooler but stays warm thanks to the neighbors below me heating their apartment. I actually prefer sleeping in a cold bed room so I never use the heating in there. I just toss on an extra blanket when it gets really cold outside. I generally have the window open there throughout the year. Even when it gets well below freezing temperatures. Nothing worse than a stuffy warm room for sleeping for me. It's one of my annoyances with hotels actually. I hate it when I can't open the window. Generally the first thing I do is remove most of the blankets, turn of whatever heating is there, and if possible open the windows. For me the ultimate in stupidity is a hotel room with the AC on where people use blankets to stay warm where you can't even open the windows.
- 988747 5y ago
  >> stays warm thanks to the neighbors below me heating their apartment. So you're basically stealing the heat from your neighbors :) You can see how that strategy falls apart if everyone starts doing it?
  - 5y ago

tonyedgecombe 5y ago

I'd could probably do that (in the two years I lived in my flat I never turned the heating on). The problem is my wife would leave.