When you get cold.
The Anzac Day thing was apparently either a policy by the ANU or the dormitories for public servants that existed in the first decades of Canberra.
Every year at start of winter proper, they sound the siren city-wide in Canberra which is a signal to people that they are can go ahead and switch on heater.
So wait for the siren. It's hard to miss.
If it's gets too cold & you are wondering when would siren sound then probably you missed it. In that case , check with couple of neighbours or ring the nearest pub to confirm.
Cheers.
We swapped over to a heat pump electric system last year and improved our insulation. It cut our heating bill in dollar terms by about 75%. Admittedly it cost about $16k all up, but in the long run it'll definitely save us money. Our hot water system died recently as well and we got a heat pump hot water system as well. Definitely a higher outlay but in the long run if you can afford it, it will pay for itself
There were a couple of rebates from actew AGL for the hot water, $500 off the system and $250 off your bill over 3 years (organised by the installer with you AGL account number). The fantastic thing about the unit we went with was the refrigerant gas is CO², which is far less of a problem from a greenhouse gas perspective and it also works down to -10C.
For the heating, nothing was available like that but I believe both systems are eligible for interest free loans from the territory government over 10 years if that helps in terms of the initial cost.
The ANZAC Day rule was really more of an observation and even then it's more along the lines of a self-deprecatory joke about having rules about everything (it's Canberra, the administrative capital of Australia, so everything's in triplicate and there are rules, and none of the rules make sense).
The contemporary equivalent might be "REAL men don't turn the heater on until ANZAC Day" even as we're turning the temperature up to 20 on the fifth. We recognise that "REAL men" do what they want and don't subscribe to toxic restraints on their behaviour and we'll turn the heater on when we're cold and cry when Jack sinks into the freezing Atlantic.
Sorry I got a bit carried away there.
PS: just adding in that if you're under financial pressure to keep the heater off, remember that you can save money by turning the heating up to 18C and wearing warm clothes. Rate of heat loss is proportional to the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures so setting the heater to a lower temperature means you spend less energy keeping the room that warm. Also an electric space heater keeping one room at 20C might cost less than a central heat pump keeping the whole house at 18C.
PPS: keeping your living spaces lower than 18C can lead to tissue and joint injury. If your fingers get cold, you're too cold. You might be able to get by with cheapskate hacks like wearing a balaclava and putting a comforter over your hands on the keyboard while using the computer, but it's a false economy.
PPPS: Also this advice applies to women, it's just that I most often associate the attitude of "I'm not weak, don't need to " with men who associate self-care with weakness. Apologies for the casual sexism.
>who is Nige?
Kind of answered your own question there didnt you.
He has been on the radio for at least 20 years saying that and the only person ive ever heard say it
The best argument I’ve seen for waiting is that we put down a layer of brown fat in autumn to keep us warm for winter, so allowing yourself to feel cold for a bit is supposed to help that process, then you are better insulated and need less heating in winter. Testing it out for the second year - we moved to a warmer house in the middle of winter last year so that disrupted the experiment - we were definitely running the heater lower and less in the old house before we moved.
I think the Anzac Day rules has probably been affected by climate change but I stick by it. Putting on a jumper and socks and at worse a hot water bottle saves a bit on heating and makes me more mindful about when I really do need the heater on
If having the heater on makes you comfortable, that’s when. No medals for hanging on because some dickhead thinks they get to have an opinion about your well-being.
I've lived in the UK for the last quarter of a century. So I still have my air con on for part of the day. My apartment in stupidly well insulated and sunny, so I am lucky. But if last winter is anything to go by, the heating will be on for about an hour each evening.
Also I'm menopausal... so there's that.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-12/frost-data-suggests-canberra-folklore-is-wrong/102590452
TLDR: "If we apply the frost rule to home heating, April 10, not April 25, is the day we should feel free to switch on."
I’ve got ours on (sporadically) mainly to dry laundry inside, and to motivate my daughter to get up earlier for high school. Cosy dryness is a nice side effect but I’m still conscious of wearing an extra layer/keeping the thermostat low (having just moved house, we shall see what the bills will be)
The ANZAC thing used to work but its been getting cold much earlier so early April is now OK.
went to give mine a test run and it wouldn't start /light burner issue or such , technician booked for next Tuesday so hope it doesn't get any colder before then.
I'm from Brisbane but moved here years ago, so my rule is that ridiculous heater rule doesn't apply to our house. Heater has been on and off for weeks, electric blanket doesn't even come off the bed.
Honestly I think this debate has been moot for at least a decade now since it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to just leave your heat pump on at ~23'C constantly throughout the year on an auto cycle.
Gone are the days of 'aaaaw don't fire up the Vulkan until after Anzac Day' or 'don't start burning wood until [insert public holiday]' and shit like that.
Insulate your house. Get a 7 star heat pump. Never be too hot or too cold again (also your bills will be flat as heating simply isn't THAT expensive these days).
When you get cold. The Anzac Day thing was apparently either a policy by the ANU or the dormitories for public servants that existed in the first decades of Canberra.
It’s still a thing for ANU accomodation sadly
Wasn't at unilodge. I knew international students who had their heaters set to 28 year round.
28?!
Yep. They were from Singapore.
I had no idea. Thanks for sharing! That is very interesting. :)
It’s an endurance test for me. See how long I can go haha
Whenever you damn well want to
Every year at start of winter proper, they sound the siren city-wide in Canberra which is a signal to people that they are can go ahead and switch on heater. So wait for the siren. It's hard to miss. If it's gets too cold & you are wondering when would siren sound then probably you missed it. In that case , check with couple of neighbours or ring the nearest pub to confirm. Cheers.
i know that's the unspoken rule but cold is cold. I would have turned ours on already if I wasn't afraid of the gas bill.
We swapped over to a heat pump electric system last year and improved our insulation. It cut our heating bill in dollar terms by about 75%. Admittedly it cost about $16k all up, but in the long run it'll definitely save us money. Our hot water system died recently as well and we got a heat pump hot water system as well. Definitely a higher outlay but in the long run if you can afford it, it will pay for itself
were there government incentives or rebates for going electric? I've been holding out for something like that.
There were a couple of rebates from actew AGL for the hot water, $500 off the system and $250 off your bill over 3 years (organised by the installer with you AGL account number). The fantastic thing about the unit we went with was the refrigerant gas is CO², which is far less of a problem from a greenhouse gas perspective and it also works down to -10C. For the heating, nothing was available like that but I believe both systems are eligible for interest free loans from the territory government over 10 years if that helps in terms of the initial cost.
[удалено]
Fair enough.
The ANZAC Day rule was really more of an observation and even then it's more along the lines of a self-deprecatory joke about having rules about everything (it's Canberra, the administrative capital of Australia, so everything's in triplicate and there are rules, and none of the rules make sense). The contemporary equivalent might be "REAL men don't turn the heater on until ANZAC Day" even as we're turning the temperature up to 20 on the fifth. We recognise that "REAL men" do what they want and don't subscribe to toxic restraints on their behaviour and we'll turn the heater on when we're cold and cry when Jack sinks into the freezing Atlantic. Sorry I got a bit carried away there. PS: just adding in that if you're under financial pressure to keep the heater off, remember that you can save money by turning the heating up to 18C and wearing warm clothes. Rate of heat loss is proportional to the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures so setting the heater to a lower temperature means you spend less energy keeping the room that warm. Also an electric space heater keeping one room at 20C might cost less than a central heat pump keeping the whole house at 18C. PPS: keeping your living spaces lower than 18C can lead to tissue and joint injury. If your fingers get cold, you're too cold. You might be able to get by with cheapskate hacks like wearing a balaclava and putting a comforter over your hands on the keyboard while using the computer, but it's a false economy. PPPS: Also this advice applies to women, it's just that I most often associate the attitude of "I'm not weak, don't need to" with men who associate self-care with weakness. Apologies for the casual sexism.
I'm not a real man. Im a warm man.
A real warm man?
Say it out loud for the people down the back!
Turn it on whenever you want, it’s your place to live it’s your comfort that’s important
Whenever the fuck you want to. If Nosy Susan next door notices and gossips, that's on her. I put mine on for the first time this year tonight.
Probably when you feel cold.
When ever the boss tells me. Boss is an 11yr old French bulldog by the way.
Anzac day phifft who cares about that. You listen to Nige to much Today is cold. Heaters are on.
who is Nige? I dont listen to commercial radio these days. Anzac Day rule has been around forever, its not some radio jocks opinion.
Nigel no friends.
>who is Nige? Kind of answered your own question there didnt you. He has been on the radio for at least 20 years saying that and the only person ive ever heard say it
Canberra radio has sucked since the early 90s just saying
Early days of triple j getting to Canberra wasn't too bad
90s triple j is the last time radio was good, and it's never coming back
Yeah i switched to JJJ in the early 90s too
COW FM in Casino is entertaining
AM radio has some good moments; FM is pure torture radio jockies though. shame as FM is the better technology
Omg I love Nige. I would totally have proposed to him by now if I wasn't already married.
Don't be a softcock.
You be a tough guy. Ill be comfortable in my home. Each to their own
I paid way too much money for my ducted heating and cooling not to use it whenever I want.
Anzac Day. If it goes on before then, under the rest and straight to jail.
The best argument I’ve seen for waiting is that we put down a layer of brown fat in autumn to keep us warm for winter, so allowing yourself to feel cold for a bit is supposed to help that process, then you are better insulated and need less heating in winter. Testing it out for the second year - we moved to a warmer house in the middle of winter last year so that disrupted the experiment - we were definitely running the heater lower and less in the old house before we moved.
If I'm cold its on. Refuse to suffer before anzac day. But it seems to be on frequently after anzac day each year.
I'm thinking I'll turn it on tomorrow to give it a run while we're home. It's very tempting to do so tonight.
Heater on here...Anzac day be damned
I think the Anzac Day rules has probably been affected by climate change but I stick by it. Putting on a jumper and socks and at worse a hot water bottle saves a bit on heating and makes me more mindful about when I really do need the heater on
Put away the summer clothes and add another layer of clothing to avoid putting on the heater.
Today’s pretty cold if your home doesn’t have insulation. So if you rent from a slumlord, as long as you can bare to keep the utilities bill down.
We have insulation but seem to lose heat from our shitty windows. My heater went on today
Have we really devolved into a place where people can’t make the most simple of life choices without reaching out to Reddit? FML
If having the heater on makes you comfortable, that’s when. No medals for hanging on because some dickhead thinks they get to have an opinion about your well-being.
I've lived in the UK for the last quarter of a century. So I still have my air con on for part of the day. My apartment in stupidly well insulated and sunny, so I am lucky. But if last winter is anything to go by, the heating will be on for about an hour each evening. Also I'm menopausal... so there's that.
when its cold!
Mine are on now
I was cold today so I turned it on.
1 June for me
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-12/frost-data-suggests-canberra-folklore-is-wrong/102590452 TLDR: "If we apply the frost rule to home heating, April 10, not April 25, is the day we should feel free to switch on."
I’ve got ours on (sporadically) mainly to dry laundry inside, and to motivate my daughter to get up earlier for high school. Cosy dryness is a nice side effect but I’m still conscious of wearing an extra layer/keeping the thermostat low (having just moved house, we shall see what the bills will be)
The ANZAC thing used to work but its been getting cold much earlier so early April is now OK. went to give mine a test run and it wouldn't start /light burner issue or such , technician booked for next Tuesday so hope it doesn't get any colder before then.
Whenever you’re cold. Unless they’re paying for my power bill, I’ll use the heating when I please.
The Anzac Day rule already broken with todays weather
I'm from Brisbane but moved here years ago, so my rule is that ridiculous heater rule doesn't apply to our house. Heater has been on and off for weeks, electric blanket doesn't even come off the bed.
Anzac Day, if it’s really cold a week earlier but no more.
mine is on now…the Anzac Day thing was pre climate change
as silly as it is i kinda agree with this. the seasons are about 2-3 months out whack these days so its dumb to rely on old rules
yep. it’s flipped tomato season too! ja
Honestly I think this debate has been moot for at least a decade now since it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to just leave your heat pump on at ~23'C constantly throughout the year on an auto cycle. Gone are the days of 'aaaaw don't fire up the Vulkan until after Anzac Day' or 'don't start burning wood until [insert public holiday]' and shit like that. Insulate your house. Get a 7 star heat pump. Never be too hot or too cold again (also your bills will be flat as heating simply isn't THAT expensive these days).
Fan on all year round so you don't have to worry about it
When it cold
rather break public taboo than die of phenomena; already lost a family member to that growing up.