Central Heating Hours & Temp Control / restrictions

[bessie]

Hi
I set my prices quite high for winter months simply because of the heating required in the cottage.As it is listed no double glazing,quarry files floors etc ,I don't like been hot and living in drafty farm houses teaches you to move faster or put a jumper on BUT my guests are not me and I would be upset if they complained of been cold .
My last Canadian guests had the cottage really warm /hot and like you I had to open doors and windows just to start my cleaning or I would have passed out.but the Canadians before them hardly used any heating .
So you can never tell what guests want.
My discounted booking I have just taken we have agreed a unit level on gas for the stay and any excess will be charged from her security deposit but even then I don't think she will use her permitted units.
It's difficult some people just feel the cold ,but what I do at home heating wise may not be the same if I stayed in a lovely central heated cottage.

[greenfrog]

Hi,

I understand your problem, as heating costs can be high, but I would agree with Nemo's time frames. I doubt I'd even be back "home" by 9pm on holidays! And I wouldn't go to bed til after midnight, so would hate to be sitting in the cold all night. And stoves take a bit of time to kick in.

Personally, I prefer cool to hot, but I would rather people were warm and happy than unable to beat the chill. I have individual electric heaters so no way for me to control them. Luckily, the building is quite warm.

Now, the ones who upset me are the occasional guests who turn the heating right up, in living room and bedroom, then open all the windows because they "like fresh air"! I kid you not...

[akwe-xavante]

Thank to all those that have offered help, advice and shared there experiences on this subject.

Still exploring different ideas and thinking about my options and haven't made any decisions as yet. I'll be doing something just not sure what yet.

Don't want a big gas bill but don't want to spoil a holiday either.

A fair balance of comfort but in some way controlling abuse.

[bessie]

Just a thought could you get a hive fitted ,at least you will be able to monitor use

[greenbarn]

One thought: the typical thicko twenty-something (and plenty of others!) will think "ooh I'm a bit chilly" or whatever the Newspeak version is and whack the thermostat to max, on the assumption that's the quickest way to raise the temperature and completely missing the concept of what a thermostat does. They don't really want it that hot, they just want it warmer - NOW. And they'll light a fire if that's an extra option. You cannot educate these people, nor is education within the job description of providing holiday accommodation.

Max on the stat is probably daft degrees C and beyond the point that can still sustain intelligent lifeforms, but there you go. That is abuse based on ignorance, and can also upset the balance on some systems. So....... setting a limit point, regardless of what the stat is turned to, is not an unreasonable concept. The problem is knowing where to set that limit. For many guests 21C may be too low. Is 25C an unreasonable upper limit? I'll vote no, particularly if the guests don't actually know the figures - eg using a stat marked Min and Max rather than in degrees, or "recalibrating" a marked one.
In summary, I don't think it's unreasonable to have an upper limit on the achievable temperature - in fact it's inevitable. The only issue is, if you decide and control that temperature, what will be fine for 99% of your guests? As for times, I'd leave it on all day and rely on all that insulation to keep a stable environment rather than trying to second-guess what guests want - why would someone on holiday get out of bed before 10:00 am?

[Joanna]

why would someone on holiday get out of bed before 10am?

Because they are under the age of 6 (or travelling with someone under the age of 6). The OP accepts children so there could be guests up at 5am. In fact if there's a baby then they could be waking up for feeds throughout the night.

[akwe-xavante]

Thank you greenbarn, I think we are on the same page by one thing!

why would someone on holiday get out of bed before 10:00 am?

Off Topic.......... Howgills, Cumbria, As a keen walker visiting the lakes and the dales regularly on holidays I'm up at 6 and out in the hills before 8 every day

[la vache!]

I would think 23°C is more than generous.
The problem with guests on holiday is that they do nothing, in your own house you are often busy doing something, cleaning, housework, other jobs but people on holiday actually like to relax, they burn fewer calories and hence feel the cold.
And as GB points out, why would they get up early. Not everyone is a hill walker or runner (like me!)
Unless you advertise for sporty guests only who keep warm through exercise you have to provide heating for a non active person.

[Bunny]

Hi akwe-xavante, I can empathise with what you are saying to a certain extent. We also have a highly insulated, air tight, sealed eco cottage with a very efficient underfloor heating system. Just recently I've been setting the thermostat at 18 degrees for arrivals but some guests have been turning the heating off. I agree that underfloor heating takes ages to cool down in a house that is so well insulated, so I tell guests on arrival to be tentative with the thermostat and only to turn it up a bit at a time unless they want to end up in a greenhouse within the next 24 hours. Most seem to listen. Once there are bodies in the house, sun shines on the windows and people start cooking, the heat cannot escape, so this has to be taken into account too and most guests find that they don't need to set the temperature as high as a normal house. Our heating runs 24/7, as underfloor heating is designed to do and be at its most efficient, but is programmed to reduce in temperature over night etc. It's cheaper to run it like this, rather than letting the house get cold and have to reheat again. Most guests don't appear to turn up the thermostats at all because it never gets cold enough for them to even think about it. My problem is that some just open windows when they are too warm instead of turning it down. As the bulk of the cost is heating up from cold, have you tried running it 24/7?

[Ben McNevis]

It's cheaper to run it like this, rather than letting the house get cold and have to reheat again.

That's a common myth and it has been spread by heating engineers who ought to know better! See http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilit ... #heatingon

A quote from that page: "According to leading energy experts at the Energy Saving Trust, as well as British Gas, the idea that it's cheaper to leave the heating on low all day is a myth. They're clear that you'll save energy, and therefore money, by only having the heating on when it's required. (Using a timer's best, because your thermostat is designed to turn your heating on and off to keep your home at the temperature you set it.)"

The explanation is simple enough: The amount of heat LOST by a house is proportional to the difference between the inside and outside temperatures. If, for part of the day, that difference is lower (i.e. when the heating has been off for a while) then the house has lost less heat for the day. Therefore, less energy has been put in to it over a 24 hour period where the house starting temperature and ending temperature are the same.

Having said that, in a holiday let that's well-insulated, I'd be tempted to leave it on 24 hours to reduce the risk of guests setting a wild thermostat setting when what they really wanted to do was to adjust the time setting.

[Bunny]

I think the myth you are referring to is related to a traditional radiator system and I would not advocate leaving the heating system on 24/7 with such a system. We have had underfloor heating in our own homes for 20 years and I am confident that it is cheaper to run it as suggested. Radiators quickly go stone cold once turned off, but a concrete underfloor stab retains heat for a considerable time once turned off. In reality, the house is so well insulated and it takes considerably longer to lose heat than a traditional build, so the heating is not actually 'on' 24/7. It is programmed to set back a few degrees at certain times of day, but because the house will already be above that temperature, unless the outside temperature suddenly drops considerably, the heating will not stay on until the next programmed temperature increase. However, if the temperature inside the house drops it uses less power to bring it back up to temperature than heating again from cold. We can turn our system off in winter and 24 hours later it will still be warm enough in the cottage, whereby in a normal house it would be bitterly cold. We've tried running the system both ways and monitored the energy consumption and we are in no doubt which is cheapest, but I stress this does not apply to homes with radiator systems which by comparison could be considered to be poorly insulated.

[kevsboredagain]

It's cheaper to run it like this, rather than letting the house get cold and have to reheat again.

That's a common myth and it has been spread by heating engineers who ought to know better!

+1

[akwe-xavante]

Just thought I would follow up what I have done about my problem.

A great deal of thought and advice here and elsewhere and I have for now (No reason why I couldn't alter or change my mind in the future) installed a 2nd roomstat disguised as a frost stat wired in series with the first stat.

Both stats need to be "On" or calling for the boiler to turn on during allowed time periods. I've set the disguised stat to 23 degrees, this means that the heating will go off when the room temperature at the stat reaches 23 no matter what the obvious roomstat is set to.

So far having had 3 weeks bookings since the change nobody has complained or questioned anything.

However the weather has been mild.

I'll continue to monitor and ask guests about the heating and if required in future consider future changes.

[Gordo]

I can't think of anything more miserable than paying for a holiday and being cold. Sorry, but I really don't think you should limit the thermostat or heating. Not everyone will run the heating to excess and it is really a matter of swings and roundabouts with regard to the cost.

+1 Rightly or wrongly I assume air-con/heat will be on 24/7 and allow for that in my pricing strategy (I'm talking 9.50€ per day worse case scenario).

Frankly I'm mortified at the thought of a guest wanting to tweak the heating then finding they have no control and/or system is off.

.

[akwe-xavante]

I've had no complaints about anybody being cold yet, only praise for how warm and comfortable the cottage is so far.

The only complaint I have had so far is about the absence of a chip pan!

Oh and I've had a complaint about a wardrobe being too small but then the couple did bring no less than 6 suitcases for a 7 night booking and there own microwave.