My question is, do you have central heating and is it electric? I have gas central heating and I know, if we’re indoors, I increase the temperature. Not excessively but by a couple of degrees. I also have a smart meter and can see the £’s going round. I think it’s longer using just electric heating to make your house warmer…could be wrong before I’m shot down in flames! We can quite easily spend £10 plus a day just being warm (not hot) so I’m guessing it wasn’t really excessive; just warmer than you, the home owner would have the house. And it’s been damned cold this winter!
Look, we made a choice when we took our cats into our home. We don’t go away in the winter months because we can’t expect a sitter to stay in a house as cold as we’re prepared to and put a blanket on. You either have to provide a warm enough home, don’t go away when it’s cold or put your animals in kennels. There’s a choice.
I’m stunned at how many HOs want their sitters to be wearing wool hats in bed and to be bundled up in blankets while they are in the house. You’re already saving upwards of £100 pounds a day in sitter costs and you don’t seem to think that their comfort, and that of your pets, matters.
I keep my house cold in winter and wear appropriate clothing and use good bedding. It’s more comfortable for me to not have a lot of artificial heat. I also need it cool in summer and live in a hot humid environment so my costs in summer are high.
What IS reasonable is to ensure that your sitter knows what you set the thermostat to day and night and how to adjust the temperature and use any ancillary heating and cooling devices as well as when not to use them. Including windows and fans. I’ve had to tell a guest from Turkey that she couldn’t run the mini split HVAC while the windows were open in July with temps outside around 100F.
For those of you with electric heat and AC. You will NOT save money by cutting the heating and cooling completely off when you leave or having the sitter do so. You’ll also put a lot of strain on your system. Adjusting the thermostat down in winter and up in summer when you leave is a much better strategy.
Well, okay! My point was that there are easy, better ways to warmth without heating a room via an additional electrical source. It’s not really an issue of being ‘mean’, it’s an issue of practicality and better energy efficiency.
I wouldn’t personally choose to own an electrical heater and given that I haven’t inflicted any harm on myself via a lifetime of not having one, I reckon most sitters will survive a week or two under similarly awful levels of hardship!
I’m not familiar with central ac, so not sure how that works. With our system (in the tropics), we really do save money by turning the ac unit off, when leaving the room. These things are not made to be on 24/7
This kind of nitpicking is pointless. How can you possibly know what kind of home people have, how high their ceilings are, how the heating system works, if the insulation is good, what a “normal” temperature is, and how different people regulate their comfort?
I have lived in small ranch homes that required additional portable heat sources and huge drafty apartments that didn’t need any. My own body has changed many times over the years, and will do so in the future.
Asking a sitter to be respectful of energy consumption and explaining, without being needlessly condescending, how the systems work, is completely reasonable. Expecting your sitter to stay at home all day with your pets and wear a jacket and hat to bed isn’t.
If someone were this stingy with me, I’d turn the heat and everything else off and go to a cafe or library to work. And I sleep with the windows open during a midwestern winter.
@Pips I take it that you don’t live in an old drafty poorly insulated home in a cold climate.You brought up the idea of hiding electric heaters. My point was that if the HO needed electric heaters, the sitter would too.
It takes any HVAC system about 4 hours of running continuously to get to the desired temperature. It’s more energy efficient to turn the thermostat up or down 2 to 4 degrees to maintain the temperature at a level which doesn’t have the unit on continuously but that is not going to require the unit to run continuously for hours to get it back down to a comfortable level. I turn my thermostat up or down by about 4 degrees when I’m leaving. So it’s not terribly hot or cold when I return.
Tropics are a bit different. And so are mini splits and window units. Breezes and windows can do wonders. I always like outside air.
Thanks for explaining We have split units (is that the correct term?), and they get a room cool in about 5 minutes. We mostly use ours in thd bedroom for night time and on the afternoons on hot season. But like I said, we’re totally cool for sitters to use them way more than we do.
Fair enough! But it goes along with this idea that you’re there to be with the animals, same as the homeowner, but not permitted the same comforts as the homeowner…it’s just inhospitable.
A person who’s stingily monitoring the heat usage but still wants you to be home all the time with their pets needs to pick one or the other. I don’t care much about being cold, but I don’t expect my sitters to wear all their clothes and never switch on the heat. They’re my guests, for goodness sake!
I did a 5-day house-sit at the end of January (not through THS). I wouldn’t usually leave my own home at that time of year because it’s an old cottage and it needs keeping an eye on, but the sit was a favour for friends. I spend winters rugged up in more wool than a sheep, and surgically attached to a hot water bottle whilst working from home in order to keep heating costs to an absolute minimum, but I had to leave my own heating on whilst I was away because I dread coming back to a burst pipe. My friends’ place is also old, and I suspect that they were worried about the same. I walked their two dogs, separately, for an hour per dog each day and, unsurprisingly, ended up with a car full of mud from transporting them. My friends came home from their trip to fires ready to be lit, freshly made soup and muffins, whilst I went home to my chilly little abode and an empty fridge. Please bear in mind that sitters are giving of their time for free in caring for animals, as well as (in most cases) incurring their own utility bills, alongside travel expenses, and a little bit of give and take goes a long way. Unfortunately there will always be sitters who take advantage, but even so, £135 for 12 days’ worth of pet care, home care, and peace of mind seems like a relatively small price to pay. I’m guessing the excess on your insurance had you come home to find that a pipe had burst would have been significantly more?
@CatsAndDog I would have my entire house done with mini splits if it wasn’t prohibitive to do so after the fact. They really are the best design for heating and cooling. Many of them can be set to cycle on and off when people enter an exit a room. Love them. But yes central HVAC is a bit different.
Even mini splits may need to be left on if temperatures are extreme. My Turkish guest who wanted to open the windows while the mini split was running full bore and the outside temperature was 104° F learned that it took the unit about 4 hours of running continuously to return the room to a comfortable temperature after the windows were closed.
I received a welcome guide for an upcoming sit that mentioned setting the heat to 60 Fahrenheit during winter months. I let the host know that I find that uncomfortable, especially because I telecommute and spend more time at homes than many sitters. They quickly replied that I should make myself comfortable. It just took being direct in communications to work that out promptly.
Of course, no sitters should be wasteful and crank up heat, air conditioning or lights for no reason (and should be mindful about turning down settings when a home or room will be empty), but I’d expect any decent hosts to want their sitters and pets to be comfortable. If I encounter hosts who are inhospitable that way, I’d avoid them.
And BTW, we all prefer different temperatures. Just because you as a host might be perfectly comfortable at 60 degrees doesn’t mean your sitter will be.
Personally, I figure if any host is fixated on heating or cooling costs and doesn’t keep perspective that THS sitting saves you a lot in most cases, then maybe THS is not for you.
I didn’t suggest hiding the heater, I suggested storing it out of sight because if it’s there and plugged in, it’s easy to leave it mindlessly running by default. That then has the potential to affect the proper operation of the central heating thermostat, which can affect the rest of the house, particularly in winter.
I grew up in Scotland, moved around elsewhere in the UK, and I have lived in my share of very old and very draughty homes, so yes, I understand what they entail.
You know, that’s just over £11 per day. Nothing! If it’s cold (and we live in a modernist largeish 4 bedroom house), I have the washing machine on, turn the heating up to around 16/18 C if I’m in in the day and 14 C at night, it can take my electric/gas up to around that. But original poster, it’s still less than kennels and they’re keeping your home safe! Perfect!
January in the UK was absolutely freezing cold this year and UK housing stock is generally not great for keeping heat in. Most leak like sieves and have poor insulation. Some old listed properties only have single glazed windows and many are not built with solar gain in mind
Additionally we are still dealing with very high fuel bills (they went up again in January) and wages are simply not keeping pace. Folks in the UK are trying hard to keep fuel bills manageable and once where they would have kept the heating on longer and at a higher temperature now they are forced to cut back.
Every day we read articles about how to save on heating bills from turning thermostats down to wearing more layers. Most sits we have been on over winter have the heating set to come on for a few hours in the morning and then again around 4.30/5pm until around 9/9.30pm. I do not know of any UK household among friends, family or HOs in the UK that have heating on at night. A few, (thinking of our Scottish relatives) have electric blankets on the bed. Also goose down duvets which are really cosy.
We are generally busy bees in the mornings, walking the dogs, preparing meals, cleaning etc. so on the move and wearing warm clothes but if we are chilling in the afternoon (no pun intended ) and not out sightseeing or having a walk and coffee then we use our electric throw as it is cheaper to run than putting on the heating. In January I was wearing thermals indoors at a sit as it was a very large old property that cost a fortune to heat!
A family member in Scotland has their heating off all day and windows open in mid winter and we refuse to visit them as it is way too cold for us but it is what they are used to!
If a sitter is used to plus 20c all day and/or come from somewhere significantly warmer in the winter then UK winter sits are probably not the best idea as really it is cold! We have had our fill of cold and wet for the last two years and it will be our last (Kiwi summer here we come)! Yes HOs are making savings on sitters but to be honest when considering THS they probably didn’t consider anyone using more heating than they would. One person’s comfort level is not another’s and HOs should be clear on expectations and if hosting sitters from warmer climes really should have that conversation before confirming.
I think this is the issue. Most overseas visitors from warmer climates would find 18c and 14c too cold to be comfortable. They are more likely to need around 20/21c during the day and 18c at night. Temperatures we would find too warm (well not me personally but the other half being Scottish likes it colder).
if hosting sitters from warmer climes really should have that conversation before confirming.
I don’t think this is about coming from a warmer climate. I’m from a colder climate than the UK so we do have to use our heat all the time in the winter (it was -10F, -23C a few weeks ago). We could never turn the heat totally off, our pipes would burst. And, as someone else pointed out, it cost more for us to have it extremely low and turn it up and have it running constantly for a few hours to get it to a comfortable temperature. It’s more cost effective to adjust it by only several degrees. Where I live it’s typical to turn the heat down to about 62F (16C) at night and when you won’t be home and have it around 67-68F (19-20C) when you are home.
The issue is more about different types of homes and very different heating systems. Even if someone is coming from a cold climate, they still probably won’t understand UK heating without being told. As a sitter I would expect to be reasonably comfortable while I’m in the house all day working. If sitters are expected to not have heat for large parts of the day or have the heat uncomfortably low, I think that should be discussed in the listing so we can scroll on if that won’t work for us. I’ve done a lot of winter sits in cold climates and I always ask about the hosts typical heat settings and follow what they normally do. However, literally every host has told me to adjust as needed for my comfort level. I’m on a sit now where they keep it at 72F normally which I find too warm, so I turn it down to 68F. They should have a lower than normal bill for my stay.
Totally agree. Maybe too much of a general statement and many from colder climates will also expect warmer temperatures inside than we do. UK housing stock in general is very poor compared to many places and until you have experienced it you may not truly understand it. Not even touched on moisture levels! Currently in a reasonably newish property now and they have a dehumidifier kicking in all day and need windows opened after showers etc.
When I say the heating is off during the day and nights most modern central heating systems have frost settings so although it is ‘off’ (radiators are cold to touch) it will kick in under a certain temperature to prevent frost damage.
You know from experience to have the ‘heating’ conversation prior to agreeing a sit as do we and we have always had HOs say to ensure we are comfortable but I am still careful to keep within what I consider reasonable norms and I love a smart meter as I can check the history and work to stay close to that.
I doubt this was such an issue prior to the Ukraine war and rampant inflation here.
I also agree that the extra cost to a HO compared with kennels or paid care is much less but new HOs have probably not joined the dots and just see a higher fuel bill. Some may also choose THS as they can’t afford the alternate and did not consider anyone using more fuel than them, especially if one person v’s a family.
It is all a learning process and the more sits we do the more we learn and consider and I guess it will be the same for HOs. Every day a school day as they say
your post but not this.
) and not out sightseeing or having a walk and coffee then we use our electric throw as it is cheaper to run than putting on the heating. In January I was wearing thermals indoors at a sit as it was a very large old property that cost a fortune to heat!