A DAD has left people “crying” after sharing the brutal flowchart he made to stop his family turning up the heating.
Amid the cost of living crisis, we’re all looking for ways to keep energy bills down.
And as the temperature gets even colder outside, it’s even more tempting to whack up the thermostat.
But one dad is doing his best to encourage his family to try out other ways to keep warm before resorting to turning the heating up.
In the flowchart, attached to the front of the thermostat, he had written “Before turning heating on, do you…”
He’d then listed the options on the left, writing in bullet points: “Have socks on, long sleeve shirt, underwear/pants, see your breath”.
If they’d answered yes, yes, yes, no, he’d pointed them to a note insisting there’s “no heat needed”.
However, if they answered no, no, no, yes, or “any other combo”, he angrily told them to “get dressed”.
The thermostat was shown as being set to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 21 degrees Celsius.
One person took to TikTok to share the viral snap, writing above it: “The dad has spoken!”
And the comments section was almost immediately filled with people weighing in, as some admitted they’d break down in tears if they were met with such a note on the heating control.
“I would cry. I’m always cold!” one admitted.
“Lol I wouldn’t listen to no-one, let alone my husband,” another insisted.
“If my kids or myself are cold, the heating is going on.”
“I know someone who has a baby and doesn’t turn on the heat… the baby already had pneumonia and he’s not even 3 months old,” a third shared.
“We grew up with a parent like that,” someone else sighed.
“When you are on your own you do the exact opposite!”
“I have a family of 7 and never have this problem,” another wrote.
Laura Court-Jones, Small Business Editor at Bionic shared her tips.
1. Turn your heating down by one degree
You probably won’t even notice this tiny temperature difference, but what you will notice is a saving on your energy bills as a result. Just taking your thermostat down a notch is a quick way to start saving fast. This one small action only takes seconds to carry out and could potentially slash your heating bills by £171.70.
2. Switch appliances and lights off
It sounds simple, but fully turning off appliances and lights that are not in use can reduce your energy bills, especially in winter. Turning off lights and appliances when they are not in use, can save you up to £20 a year on your energy bills
3. Install a smart meter
Smart meters are a great way to keep control over your energy use, largely because they allow you to see where and when your gas and electricity is being used.
4. Consider switching energy supplier
No matter how happy you are with your current energy supplier, they may not be providing you with the best deals, especially if you’ve let a fixed-rate contract expire without arranging a new one. If you haven’t browsed any alternative tariffs lately, then you may not be aware that there are better options out there.
“Nobody turns the heating on, most never complain about the cold, it’s standard on 15 degrees.
“We turn it on an hour a day approximately.”
To which someone else wrote: “Omg. I would literally freeze!
“My brother is like this, now he has damp cos he doesn’t put heating on!”
However, others said the dad was perfectly within his rights to put the note up.
“70 is 21,1°C. So that’s warm enough. No need to go any higher,” one said.
“Why is it in every household it is only the dad that has this sense?” another questioned.
As a third said it was “absolutely correct”, adding: “Why do people turn the heating up before putting clothes on?”
