We are currently on a sit in the north of England and hit by freezing temperatures and snow. Unfortunatley the property has air heat pump heating which is on timers and set to 18c. The heating doesnt come on until 8am and not in evenings plus no heating in bedroom and en suite, so finding it cold. We have experienced this heating before and find that people dont understand how to operate this type of system. How are you going on in this cold snap?
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Yes, we’re in the north of England and it’s definitely very cold. We did a sit with a heat pump, it came on randomly when the temperature dropped below a certain point, ( as this was in the Outer Hebrides, it was quite often). We also had a remote control which we could adjust. Don’t you have one of them?
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The hubby says is there an over ride button on the timer?
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If you take a photo of the controls and search in Google lens ( or similar )you will be able to find information from the manual online .
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Yes we have used the overide but it appears to us that the system has been set to run very low as in the morning the heating is not on and stats show 16c. We are coping except the bedroom is a strain without heating (Hot water bottles have been a best buy!) my understanding of these systmes in winter is to run low and constantly its not efficient to have on a timer
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Could you contact the hosts and mention you are feeling cold and ask if the timer/thermostat can be adjusted.? Alternatively do they have any supplementary heating such as portable radiators.
How long is the sit for @Twogreys?
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another 2 weeks to go, no supplimentary heating.
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I think I would still contact the hosts, that is a long time to feel uncomfortable. I live in the UK and when I am sitting I would need a temperature of at least 20 deg. A lot depends on the property as well as the older ones can be poorly insulated and draughty.
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When I say sitting I mean relaxing and not moving around.
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I agree with @Twitcher about contacting the owners, @Twogreys 
the THS code of conduct means owners agree to provide a clean, comfortable, and secure environment. I think making sure you’re warm enough should come under “comfortable”.
I thought you might find some inspo from a topic from last year - Heated blankets? Ways to stay warm in winter. - as a result of that discussion I bought a heated blanket which I’m very thankful for especially as it’s currently -4 here in Scotland 
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I live in north of England and we like to sit in old houses in the north. We tend to bring an electric blanket and a heated throw from home. You can pick them up quite cheaply. Might be worth investing in one or both if you can’t sort the heating. Its been freezing last two days but due to be warmer tomorrow onwards.
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I’d be getting in touch with the home owners and getting the heating on for longer, you should not be forced to being in a property when the heating isn’t on at this time of year. We are currently on a sit in Devon and it’s been really cold here, we can put the heating on when necessary. I thought that with a heat pump it was more economical when running all the time to keep the property at a constant temperature.
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We’re in the North East of England. There was beautiful autumn leaves 2 days ago, now it’s completely changed, it’s freezing, & it snowed yesterday.
We always have a couple of blankets in the car just-in-case. We originally used them to cover the back seats when we had the odd dog in it, or for covering over our cases in between travelling from sit to sit, but they come in handy in the winter months. We haven’t took them out the car yet on this sit, but if it gets even colder, we’ll be bringing them indoors.
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So I may be a bit biased but Scottish folks may prescribe a hot toddie … or two … perhaps not at 8am though 
Otherwise we’d contact Pet Parents - hopefully reasonable people - what would they do if they were present at property? And find user manual online (as @Silversitters noted). When it gets cold in Canada - and it gets very cold indeed - then we’ve found hot water bottles to be blooming marvelous, but not a substitute for reasonable home heating.
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Don’t let the brilliant sunshine and clear sky fool you - you are not alone. No, I am not in the North of England or Scotland, but I might as well be. I’m in the South of France in a stone house and counting the days until my departure. 18 days to go.
p.s. it was 21 C OUTSIDE only a very few days ago but it was as cold INSIDE as it is today 
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That sounds awful @august - I feel your pain. I hate being cold.
Do you have any heating at all, open fire, radiators etc?
Ah, thank you. I also hate being cold and tend to freeze more than everybody else.
And yes, I do have the heat/AC unit in every room, which is, in fact, unrestricted. However, I feel as though I cannot have it on in every single room, so I only keep it on in the room I am currently in. This means that each time I need to go to the kitchen or bathroom, it’s a nightmare. I wear 3 sweaters and a coat indoors at all time. Still my hands are frozen,
It is a stone house, so even when the outdoor temperatures were 20+C, the house was freezing cold, and I had to go out to get some warmth.
Sorry to hear your current plight @august. I know the feeling. I did a sit a few years ago end of February in March in Murcia Spain. It’s usually mild there but I had 7 days of unexpected cold weather with night time temps dropping to 3-4c. Like you described the finca I was staying in had thick stone walls to keep the place cool! There was no heating in the whole place apart from a small wood stove! Fortunately the owners had left plenty of duvets and blankets so my nights were spent under these in bed as the fire started to go out!
Hope it warms up for you.
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I sit a lot in the northern part of the UK and Scandinavia. I always travel with thermals, slippers, fleece hoodie and a hot water bottle. On a very recent sit I was asked to minimise energy use because the owners were waiting for an expensive electricity heating system to be replaced with an oil one. Was snug enough. Another tip is to find a video of a burning log fire on YouTube. Somehow makes a cold place feel cosier! And drag all the duvets off the beds to sit under if it is really cold. I’d draw the line at burning their furniture though!
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@Twogreys If you can see the make & model of the heat pump, look it up online and change the settings.
As a sitter we are providing up to 50gbp per day of value vs. a kennel (20gbp for a cat/day). The owners are receiving (they pay TH 150gbp/yr on a consume as much as you like basis) HUGE value. Thus, they can afford to stop being tight about their heating bill and facilitate sitters being in their house in comfort (ie. 20 degrees); if they can afford to travel, they can afford to keep their housesitter from shivering. Yes, most UK houses are drafty due to myriad reasons, but owners should be the ones providing any ancillaries (blankets, hot water bottles, wood for the fire/woodstove if they have it). Personally, I already have a suitcase full of winter clothing, waterproofs, waterproof boots, etc - I’m not about to start carting around blankets, hot water bottles, kindling etc. - ridiculous!
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