Heating on & windows open

[Amanda660]

So it’s that time a year again where it’s freezing,  guests crank the heating up full tilt then open all the windows. 

I live just across the road and my heart sinks when I see windows  open knowing that I’m heating the street. 

What’s the best way of preventing this? - a wee message on a blackboard or a framed pic in the hall?  No point clogging up house info/rules as it’ll seldom be read. 

Thoughts? 

[Sarah977]

@Amanda660  It's mind-boggling to me that people do this. It makes no sense whatsover unless they are smoking indoors and trying to hide the fact.

[Anonymous]

@Amanda660   One possibility here is that your guests are just wasteful idiots with no concern for the environment. If that's the case, no amount of signage can fix stupid.

Another possibility is that the guests are making a clumsy effort toward that elusive combination of toasty warmth and clean fresh air that the Scottish winter is not famous for. If the house happens to hold a bit of damp, I'd suggest a dehumidifier, but based on the photos it looks like your listing has a modern renovation and probably some excellent insulation, so mugginess doesn't look like an obvious issue.

Then, as @Sarah977  mentioned, there's the possibility that they were smoking, or maybe they just burned something in the oven. It happened to me once while visiting a friend in London - I meant to crisp up a takeaway chicken in the oven at high heat, but we got a bit distracted in the other room for a minute and I managed to set the thing on fire. Flatmates were not amused by all the windows being frantically flung open in the middle of winter, even less so upon learning that I'm actually a chef by trade and should have known better.

[Sarah977]

@Anonymous  Like the time I put my daughter's $100 Cuisinart electric kettle on the stove burner 🙂

Melting plastic probably smells way worse than chicken flambé.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Anonymous @Sarah977 Even more embarrassing when I microwaved a bacon roll that came in a brown paper bag. I didn't remember they came in tinfoil which caused the bag to catch fire. Would have been OK if it hadn't been at work with lots of smoke alarms.......

[Amanda660]

@Sarah977  and @Anonymous  we built the house 11 years ago and the insulation spec is high as well as blinds on all windows and super thick carpeting.  It’s mostly bedrooms, en-suite and bathroom windows that they leave open.  

Tonight my guests arrived @ 8.30pm and messaged asking about heating (idiot guide in kitchen as well as in a pre-arrival message).  I looked over and here’s the bathroom window open like it was the middle of summer (albeit a Scottish one).  It’s 2 degrees outside. 

I want to prod them with pointy sticks.  

[Sarah977]

@Amanda660  Well, they were probably trying to air out the bathroom, pretending like their s**t doesn't smell. Do you have a bathroom extractor fan?

And while I wouldn't understand it during the day, a lot of people like a bit of fresh air when they sleep. But that doesn't require more than the window being open a crack and only while sleeping.

In any case, I guess you have to find a way to tactfully point out to guests that your pricing is based on average utility use and that blasting the heat with the windows open doesn't exactly qualify.

[Amanda660]

@Sarah977  yup extractors in all the loos and bathrooms.  I looked over this morning....blinds still

down and windows open.  😬

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Amanda660 Our recent guests set the heating to operate 24 hours per day and at 31 degrees. I'm sure it never got that hot but why would they do this?

Thankfully we rarely get stays of more than a week so the expensive guests don't stay for long and, whilst environmentally disastrous the costs of this madness are small relative to the nightly rate. Also we don't reduce our rates over the Winter as our place is old and does take some heating.

[Amanda660]

@Mike-And-Jane0 historically I dropped my rates in the slower months/gap weeks  but we’ve been very fortunate to have had a much busier off season.  I’m following your lead and keeping the rates up to cover the extra costs. 

[Dimitar27]

Some "digital" magic will help. My heating has such a defense- if the temperature drops by more than 2 degrees for 1 minute, the heater goes in standby and must be restarted manually. After at least 10 minutes.