What temperature should I set the thermostat to?

[Alethea17]

We are in the UK, and this year the price of heating is really high. Our guests left and I went up to clean, and the heat hit me as I walked in the door! They had set the thermostat to 27°c. At this temperature it costs about £30-50 per day in gas, and we are charging around £110 to stay. Obviously this is not viable. Can i hide the thermostat, and what is a reasonable temperature to set it to? Thanks, Alethea 

[Bes175]

Hi Althea, I might be wrong but how did you arrive at £30-50 per day per gas in UK, [£900-£1,500 per month] based on + 5-6 degrees more [presuming you had 20-21 degrees c.heating already]

[1.] a customer with Ofgem typical domestic usage , paying by direct debit on a default tariff covered by the Government's Energy Price Guarantee rates of 34.037p per kWh plus standing charge of 46.356p per day for electricity and 10.330p per kWh plus standing charge of 28.485p for gas. [B.Gas]

[2.] In terms of the average gas bill, the average UK household uses 12,000kWh of gas every year at a cost of 7p/kWh. This means that the average gas bill in the UK is equal to £840 per year or £70 per month. [energy guide Sept 2021] 

[3.] the average price of gas after the price cap hike on 1st October 2022, is aruond 15p per kWh. Meanwhile, the average daily standing charge for gas is between 27-28p per day, or £100-£102 per year [yousave.co.uk]

[4.] Each energy supplier will set its own rate, but figures from the Energy Savings Trust show that standing charges for electricity are usually around 20p perday, although you may be charged between 5p and 60p perday.Gasis charged at an average rate of 24p perday, but can be anywhere between 10p and 80p perday [ukpower,co.uk]

Can i hide the thermostat,

No you cant. You can disguise it [behind a box, painting etc] but you can't stop access to it [someone might even need to turn it off during sleep] 

and what is a reasonable temperature to set it to? 

ideal temp would be 18-21 degree Celcius in family homes

[Bes175]

this also helps [remote control thermostat that guest can't override it] here:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Improve-your-space/Limit-the-temperature-on-thermostat/m-p/17193...

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Bes175 If, as we are, you have an environmentally friendly biomass boiler the fuel, post the Ukraine war, is up around 15p/kWhr. Oil, I believe, is equally horrific. Sadly the Government has helped those on gas or electricity but there is limited help for the rest of us - £200 promised but still no sign when it will be paid and it is somewhat irrelevant when our last hopper of fuel cost £3600 to fill and we use 3 or 4 of these a year!

[Bes175]

I realise what you mean Mike & J, I know 2 ppl [a friend in Sussex + a cousin in Spain] that have the problem you describe - with a biomass boiler; the former is already regretting it & the latter a bit concerned but doesn't affect him in full [2nd home] Seems that 'what we were encouraged' [go green etc] is not being followed at all levels of Gov. In London - our Mayor, changed 'the terms in  some vehicles for Congestion Charge [75 g/km of CO2 based on emissions ] and not many cars can go under it,  unless plugged/ electrical; so ppl must pay. 

[Helen3]

Of course you can hid the thermostat you can have a lockable cover so guests can't access.

My heating automatically goes off from 11 pm - 7.00 a.m.

[Till-and-Jutta0]

Meanwhile I use electronic thermostats, which I can configure and control by App.

The thermostat is accessible to the guests. The default in the morning/evening  is 21 C (bathroom 22 C), the maximum is 22 C, with an automatic night set back.

We clearly announce these limitations in our listing.

The times are definitely gone, when guests can require 25 C at midnight (we had this request beginning of the year).

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Alethea17 we have covered our heating controls with a lockable plastic cover that allows air to circulate to the thermostat. I can't make the link work but google thermostat covers and you will see the fire protection shop products.

In our listing we state that the heating cannot be controlled from the property and is set to between 21 and 22 degrees. 

When people arrive I explain this is because guests have set the heating at 30 degrees 24 hours per day but that I am happy to adjust the temperature if they are cold.

See our listing for the words we use.