Now that spring is here we can turn the heating off, right? It’s March, it’s positively balmy!
Agree with me? My husband doesn’t. He also doesn’t agree that snow on the roof insulates, that fresh air is bracing, and being slightly chilly is excellent for the metabolism. He’s all thermal vests, I’m very much not.
We have what can only be described as ‘thermostat incompatibility’. Or to put it more directly: Thermostat Wars. My husband and I can’t agree on the temperature - at all. He tweaks it up, I tweak it down. The dial is right outside the living room, so in the evening whenever one of us casually asks, “Drink?” the other suspiciously watches as they pass through the hallway to the kitchen.
Should You Turn the Heating Off in March? The Never-Ending Thermostat Battle
My response to the whoosh of the boiler turning on is the same as the whoosh of £10 notes bursting into flame would be. Besides, making it turn on all the time for the heating puts strain on the boiler - and after the boiler we had in the last house, with it’s flaky, frankly laissez-faire attitude to working, I think that’s a very valid point.
For me, a pleasant ambient temperature is one that will see my husband putting on a coat. And he’s not averse to doing that in the house either. For Christmas this year I bought him some thermal socks, hand warmers and a gilet that heats up when you plug it in. He wears them all INDOORS. He’s still cold.
If I’m going to have a particular phrase etched on my gravestone I think it might be: “Is it me, or is it hot in here?”. And don’t go thinking this is because, as the delightful Mr Wallace would put it, I’m a woman of a certain age. Oh no, I’ve been like this forever. To me, my idea of absolute hell is a turtle neck jumper. Or just any jumper, especially one that’s acrylic. I can feel my eyeballs sweating at the thought of it.
We recently bought a new car, and this thing has not only heated seats but also a heated steering wheel. Ridiculous! Thankfully it also has individual climate control, so he can have his side of the car on ‘Bahamas Setting’ whilst mine is the far more sensible ‘Snowflake Setting’.
We also have an ongoing window war in the bedroom. For me, I absolutely can’t sleep with it shut. This worked perfectly in the old house when my side of the bed was next to the window. Sadly that’s not the case now, so he sleeps with the duvet literally over his head and the ever-present thermal vest on (although not the gilet). I sleep with my legs out. I've been googling "Scrooge type nightcap" for his upcoming birthday...
We can both get quite dramatic about temperature levels, and I admit quite freely that levels of histrionics about said temperature are often just as extreme. I can’t cope with being in a hermetically sealed environment (ie, windows closed), he can’t cope with being in the Arctic (ie, a room temperature below 25 degrees).
I know that this disparity isn’t how things are supposed to be - women are supposed to be cold all the time, men are supposed to be hot all the time. I’ve seen men with my own eyes, walking about in January in shorts. I suppose at least we’re both the wrong way round when it comes to heating, so I guess we’re not so different from other families up and down the country. And there’s always that day or two every year when the temperature is just right for both of us. Not too hot, not too cold, no need for gilets.
So, what’s it like in your household? Do you also suffer from the Great Thermostat Wars/Standoff in your relationship?
Sarah x
