Why is it absolutely fucking freezing in my house?

[Hennessy]

Well the answer is pretty simple, the heating's turned off, as Albany Park doesnt get winter heating until January, so about midday the temperature drops to the point where it's cold unless you're wearing at least three layers and a vest. Anyone getting bored with the incessant frigidity? (or annoyed at the University's heating schedule?)

[Duggeh]

I've reprogrammed the central heating in our flat twice in the last week. It's still becoming noticeably chill in the living room and the bathroom is always Baltic. Debatably the worst room to be that cold what with the whole not being able to wear 3 jumpers while having a shower thing.

[Thalia]

I always hated that about living in Fife Park - if it was cold you just had to sit and shiver in your room and count down the hours till the heating finally came on. It is really cold this year though, looks like even the weather is conspiring to make our energy bills go up. I've even been using my hot water bottle these past couple nights to keep myself extra warm

[queen of scots]

Just be thankful you're not running central heating on calor gas cylinders...£130 for two which last just under two weeks if we keep the house at a decent temperature. So we're basically just keeping the house at a level to prevent hypothermia. Not easy when the garden thermometer was measuring -5.1 yesterday afternoon!

[Senethro]

Isn't there some minimum temperature that the owner of the property has to maintain it at for renters/residents? Whos a smart legally person.

In my flat, I've got the 2nd largest room in the house but the smallest radiator, which doesn't even get so hot that you have to remove your hand from it. I've taken to using an electric heater to top up the room somewhat. Still, at least the boiler hasn't broken and not been repaired for a week this year!

[Power Metal Dom]

I live in a fairly sizeable house that can get so cold it's actually warmer outside. Seriously, me and my housemate were on the beach at 3am getting whipped by icy North sea winds, decided to go indoors and found it colder. Even with the thermostat up to the highest and the boiler on 'advance' the place never seems to warm up fully. My only advice to counter the chill is to wear a dressing gown on top of your clothes, wear slippers, put two duvets on your bed and never be without a cup of tea/coffee/hot beverage.

[Frank]

IIn my flat, I've got the 2nd largest room in the house but the smallest radiator, which doesn't even get so hot that you have to remove your hand from it.

Old wife's solution would be to suggest bleeding that radiator if it's not heating up properly. No idea if that's solve it, I'm a terrible plumber, but there we are.

I'm quite fortunate in my room in McIntosh. The heating, except at around 3PM, never goes off in my room. I need to adjust it continually to avoid roasting, most of the time! The porter tells me that my heater works on some strange, different system from the rest of hall. I'm quite thankful for it, truth be told.

Anyone desperately in need of being warm, feel free to come visit. The room isn't huge, but I can fetch a cup of tea!

[orudge]

My room tends to be of a reasonable enough temperature for my liking - I don't tend to like it too hot. It does tend to get cold at night though, and usually stays cold in the morning, which doesn't make getting up for lectures all that pleasant!

[ct3012]

Albany Park is absolutely freezing between 8-9am (after getting out of nice warm bed) and 6pm (takes a while for the radiators to heat up and make the rooms warm), so I go about the house in various jumpers and scarves with the occasional pair of gloves. And then if you go out at night it's freezing again when you get back! Hot water bottles are a God send in Albany!

[What?]

Spoiler: show

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4150327/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CHome+and+furniture%7C10197552/c_2/2%7Ccat_10197552%7CHeaters+and+coolers%7C10197884/c_3/3%7Ccat_10197884%7COil+filled+radiators%7C10197900.htm

Just got one, there's one left in Argos in town. It's a great little thing, heated my study bedroom in an hour and only costs 8p/hour on my electricity tariff. And saves fighting with the heating nazis I live with over putting the gas central heating on.

[Mr Comedy]

This isn't going to appease any of the cold people, but when I was in Melville the hot water pipes for the whole block ran around the top of my room, which meant that my room was always super-toasty. So warm in fact, sometimes I'd open the window even though it was snowing outside.

[Hennessy]

Albany Park is absolutely freezing between 8-9am (after getting out of nice warm bed) and 6pm (takes a while for the radiators to heat up and make the rooms warm), so I go about the house in various jumpers and scarves with the occasional pair of gloves. And then if you go out at night it's freezing again when you get back! Hot water bottles are a God send in Albany!

I have so far been continually woken up by the cold, it's so bad this year. Last night I donned my ushanka with the flaps down, put a vest and socks on and slept in that (under a duvet of course). Usually the heating comes on at 6am, but it takes about an hour for the room to become less like an icebox. It's actually true, when I open my window, discounting the odd gust of icy north sea wind, it's actually warmer outside, under the sun.

Looks like -1°C again tonight! BRRRRR!

EDITED for repeating myself, kind of forgot I was the OP

[Fawksie]

Oil filled radiators are the business. I had to buy one a few years ago to heat a room with a long north-facing wall and a radiator that was sized to suit a small shower room, connected with the tightarse plumber's best friend, 8mm pipe.

[777]

My gas direct debit is now £188 per month, added to the £642 per month managed accommodation rent, St Andrews is becoming an expensive place in which to spend the winter.

[Timata]

Heating in Fife Park is,I've concluded, designed mainly for Science students - comes on for them getting up and having breakfast, goes off, then comes back on in time for it to be warm for them coming home from class (generalisation, I know, appologies to any house-bound Science students with few class hours).
As an Arts student, I work till 4/5am (I can understand the lack of heating at this time), then don't get up till after 11 - when the heatings gone away - and only have classes two days a week. I've never been able to sleep with the heating, so I don't get the benefit of the 7:00 till 9-ish heating in the morning. Last night I also got to experience the nice Fife Park breeze coming in my window. I think it was Saturday night, the kitchen was so cold, we boiled pans full of water on the hob for no reason, just so the steam would warm the room up. Tea and hot water bottles are pretty much the only solution for early afternoon studying (which is made worse by these cold-topped desks). I love Fife Park.

[Duggeh]

Old wife's solution would be to suggest bleeding that radiator if it's not heating up properly. No idea if that's solve it, I'm a terrible plumber, but there we are.

Must remember to check the radiators for air at some point.

This isn't going to appease any of the cold people, but when I was in Melville the hot water pipes for the whole block ran around the top of my room, which meant that my room was always super-toasty. So warm in fact, sometimes I'd open the window even though it was snowing outside.

I'm fairly sure that Prophet_Tenebrae lived in similar circumstances.

[orudge]

My gas direct debit is now £188 per month

£188 per MONTH? That seems rather excessive, or is your heating literally on all the time? I was in university managed accommodation last year, and our gas bill was about £40/month (which often was more than we actually used in a month). That was only with two people in the flat though, and I guess prices have gone up a good chunk since then, but £188 seems very high to me.

[777]

I phoned them after the last snottogram. My d/d was much lower than £188 when I moved in here last year, Scottish Gas acknowledge that my usage hasn't increased. I've told them that the most I can manage is £150 per month. We're out nearly all day so the heating is only on twice. I have a child with me so I can't allow the house to become too cold. The boiler is the original 1970s installation, it would be a lot cheaper for me if it was updated.

[Hennessy]

Revising my earlier post a bit, i think the problem in Albany is the lack of effective insulation, especially around the windows, meaning that heat is lost at a greater rate than is necessary. The abundance of concrete also sucks up the heat as the walls on the outside become colder, sort of like osmosis, except with heat, a problem that could have been lessened if the place hadn't been built for a free lunch and a crate of beer. The adage is true, you get what you pay for.

Fife Park has it even worse, you poor bastards, but at least because of the dilapidated state of your houses you can see the insulation, or lack of it.

[ct3012]

No matter what I do to try and block up the windows, my curtains always flap about when it's windy outside... The draught still manages to get past duck-taped window edges!