Heater On October

Chihaya wrote:

I have a question. I share with someone else apartment. And now Cold season not yet snowing. Is it good to leave the heater on? Or better to on it when someone is around? I am having argument on this not tho leave the Heizung on and the smell in the house is like suffocating leaving the Heizung all day.

One need not wait until it snows to start heating but keeping a place very warm when nobody is there would waste a lot of money. But if one doesn't heat all day then it would get uncomfortable cold and need excessive heating to warm up again in the evening.

Danke schön. I just read somewhere that below 9 should maintain the heater at all times to prevent freezing of pipes. But i just wanted to know the German way. And it really costs a lot of money. Still confused about it to let it on even you are in Vacation.

If it feels suffocating then you have the heat on too high!

If you have a thermostat, set it for 18 degrees in bedrooms, 20 in living rooms. If you can program your heating system, have it go down to 16 degrees during times nobody is home, restarting to heat a bit more maybe half an hour before you come home. While on vacation in winter, I'd also keep it around 16 degrees throughout the house, you don't want it to completely cool down to the very core.

If you can't program anything, but have to set a level on individual radiators, I have it on 3 in the living room and on 2 in bed rooms. I turn it up a bit if the temperature drops and I start feeling uncomfortable even while wearing woolly socks and a sweater.

Turn down heat while airing out the house.

Chihaya wrote:

Danke schön. I just read somewhere that below 9 should maintain the heater at all times to prevent freezing of pipes. But i just wanted to know the German way. And it really costs a lot of money. Still confused about it to let it on even you are in Vacation.

Well, frozen pipes are a real concern; a disaster if it happens. But of course this cannot happen unless temperatures are well below freezing. And many factors will come into play. If an apartment is fairly well insulated and  has apartments above and below that heat then it might be very unlikely even if one didn't heat at all. Stand alone structures, especially if not used in the winter are more of a concern.

Thank you for all the replies. We lived in Dachterrase. And we don't have automatic thermostat to control the heating of the room. So i did Luften. But the idea only die Heizung is always on the whole day.

If you don't have proper Thermostats, you can ask your landlord to install them - or get them yourself (at below €10 a piece in every Baumarkt). They have a "*" setting that prevents frozen pipes (i.e. keeps the system above 5°C).
Since energy prices are skyrocketing right now, you should heat as little as possible. Turn off (meaning to "*") whenever you don't need the room or are away. Turn it down at night. Air the rooms (several times a day) only for a short time (minutes) and with all windows wide open, then close again to keep the heat in.
I calculated that keeping the window open (even if only slightly) while a heater is on can cost you several € per day.

Chihaya wrote:

Danke schön. I just read somewhere that below 9 should maintain the heater at all times to prevent freezing of pipes. But i just wanted to know the German way. And it really costs a lot of money. Still confused about it to let it on even you are in Vacation.

Never heard of an approved heating system without a thermostat. Required by German law and the system should be checked every year by the chimney sweep if it burns gas or oil. Simple electric space heaters bought at any hardware store will also have them. One that doesn't is likely decades old. And electric heating is usually too expensive unless an apartment is well insulated. The heaters are super cheap, the electricity is not. It is the duty of the landlord to comply with safety standards for the basic system - although they cannot  really do anything about one having additional space heaters.

Hi

Usually in the winter, I leave the heating on, but regulate the temperature on the individual heater. And on a warmer winter day, if you regulate your heater on 20 °C, it will just stop heating when it reaches the temperature and then heat again when it loses warmth. But if it smells strange, it might be best to have it checked. I think the safest option would be to contact your landlord or the "Schornsteinfeger" who is responsible for your place.
All the best! Gina

I wouldn't turn it up a lot when no one is home, but you should leave it on a bit. The reason is that it actually is more expensive to heat rooms from scratch each time...it's better to just leave it on low so that you get sort of a base level of heat going.

If you want to save energy, you can also shut some doors and turn off the heat in rooms that you don't mind being cold (like the bedroom...I almost never heat my bedroom in autumn or spring)...that way, the heat won't escape from the other rooms.

Also, make sure you're airing out your rooms regularly! Open all the windows each morning and evening to let the cool air in and the stuffy air out. That will keep it from feeling so stuffy