And…keep in mind that even a PAID sitter, who stays in your home with your pets to the tune of $75-150 per day (USD), would also use gas and electricity.
PAID versus UNPAID, the same issue exists.
Sitters and your pets deserve to be comfortable. That being said, everyone should be mindful about consumption.
I just want to make it clear that I wasn’t suggesting that sitters be asked to wear a warm hat - that’s just what I do.
*(currently sitting in a home that is heated higher than my own) *
What an interesting thread that shows how completely different everyone is to temperatures.
I sat in a property last year where the only heating in the home was a wood stove in the lounge. It was fine around it in the evening if you kept it topped up but moving to the bedroom with night temperatures of 3c (38f) was not pleasant.
Wow, definitely a thermals and hat sit!
Reminds me of staying at my granddad’s house in Scotland. In the winter, the ice was on the inside of the windows in the morning. We would be dressed in seconds and pray the fire was still alive enough to roar into life with some logs and didn’t need to be completely reset! One way to get us kids out of bed and off to school with no argument 
.
Yikes. Did you know that when you accepted the sit?
My POV: If a host has a home and/or pets with unusual conditions or requirements, best to declare that upfront, because there’s less risk of a mismatch, disgruntled parties on both sides and poor reviews on both sides. Like most sitters wouldn’t want a sit where they can’t even live in comfortable temperatures.
Personally, during winter sits, I’ve taken fleece-lined sweatpants, winter slippers and such so I can stay warm without needlessly running up the heat. That’s especially so, because I sit solo. Even in rooms where you can control the heat independently, it would take a while to heat up, and you might not even want to be in the room that long.
Hi @Maggie8K. No I didn’t know the place lacked any other form of heating when I accepted the sit. I now ask!
@richten1, I hope you mentioned that in your review, to spare other sitters.
Hi @Shannon.
My Great Grandmothers home in the late 70’s had no central heating or indeed any form of heating apart from the open fires in all the main rooms. I’d go and visit her and she’d be sat in the back room (kitchen/dining room) next to a roaring fire but wrapped up like a mummy! She was in her late 90’s so expected I guess!
I use whatever heating keeps me comfortable when I sit. Also, I probably use their washing machine more than the HO would, as I don’t bring a lot of clothes with me. I don’t feel guilty about this in the slightest. Nothing has ever been said to me about use of heating. If there was a stipulation about heating in the listing, or during a conversation, I wouldn’t take the sit. If I arrived to find that I was expected to wear a hat in bed to keep warm, I’d find a way to put that in the review, and never go there again. Unutterable meanness.
I had the same thing last month. After asking them not to have the heating on high all the time I returned to a bill over twice the normal amount (£250 for 2 weeks) and Ovo shows a graph of exactly what was used on each day.
This may be cheaper than paying for a sitter but it’s the lack of respect - and they were wearing shorts and t-shirts in the house during that time!
It’s the trust from Trusted HouseHousesitters that took a knock.
I didn’t get the bill till after I’d left a review, but I did contact them to say I was shocked. Needless to say, no reply.
Hopefully it’s a one off as it’s only my second time of having sitters
If it was unusually cold the bill would have been higher. I did a sit last month where it was far colder than normal for two of the weeks that I was there. They had the thermostat automatically set for certain temps during the day and at night. I never touched the settings, but the bill will definitely be more than normal due to the extreme cold.
Yes, I did such a sit recently. I’d previously lived in the same neighborhood for years and the hosts and I chatted about how unusual the cold, snow and ice were. They were kind and, before they left, told me to adjust the temperature as needed to stay warm. I actually adjusted it downward from their normal settings at times, but no doubt their heating system had to work harder than normal and the bill would be higher than normal, because of the unusual weather.
I’m in SEQ ATM ( south east queensland Australia at the moment 11:06am) I have had the air con on since 05:30. It’s 33deg C outside and a very comfortable 24c inside. I just got my monthly electricity bill this morning. I was $957 in credit but now only $938 in credit. Not too bad living in a place where the sunshine heats and provides free electricity as well.
How do you know what they were wearing inside?
@Orlando very odd comment - how would you know what they were wearing in the house?
Let’s say you didn’t use THS but had family or a friend take care of your pets. Would you be upset at them too after they spent time and energy keeping an eye on your house and taking care of your pets but ran the utility bill high? I don’t understand any of these comments thinking it’s okay for sitters to be uncomfortable and cold when they are taking care of the animals for free. Hide the electric heaters? Really? If hosts have worries about high utility costs, it should be stated in the listing and not the welcome guide. Then it would give sitters like myself a chance to not apply. Not because I want to run up the bill. Not because I don’t have the money. Just because it’s a crappy way to start off feeling like unpaid staff instead of a pet-sitting guest. Thank goodness so far all the hosts we have sat for have never asked us to be uncomfortably hot or cold for the sake of their utility bill.
This has been our experience too . On our U.K.January sit this year . When I sent cute photos of the cat in the snow for a daily update. The snow was unexpected and temperatures had dropped to -7 . The hosts immediately concern was if we were warm enough and they told us how to override the heating timer so that the heat stayed on all night .
We hadn’t complained about the heating and we were not concerned ourselves about the temperatures dropping at night since the bedding was very warm. So we didn’t need to override the heating . It was nice to know that we could have if needed without worrying if owners would complain about the bill . Never even crossed our mind that there would be owners on holiday in the sun who would begrudge paying to heat their home whilst we stayed there to care for their pets when it was minus degrees outside .
I live in London, neighbours can see in to kitchen from upstairs. I knew someone would ask that but couldn’t be bothered to explain in original post!
Sounds like the sitter was not respectful. During my second year as a sitter, I stayed in the Midlands in November for over 3 weeks. The owner never discussed the utility costs, but I saw that she had a energy monitor. I tried to keep it in the green zone, but was never warm enough to be comfortable. I bought a fuzzy bath robe to wear while inside. I’m a nomad, who used to be a home owner, who got burned by a renter who hiked up my energy bill so was conscious, and I’m also eco-conscious. So don’t base it on one experience, just be clear about your expectations ahead of time, and do a video interview to get a feeling for how they will be.
With a bit more respect for one’s own self worth and one’s own comfort, one sets the temperature to a pleasant level. That is how I live at home. Yes, not that many clothes on. This is Sweden, district heating.
Another HO’s inadequate insulation is not a reason for me to be shivering.