Mischievous question

[Scott]

I live in a top floor flat. If I turn off my heating, will this increase my downstairs neighbour's gas bill? :-)

[newshound]

A bit, in theory. It all depends on how cold you let your flat go, and then on the construction details. Were you planning to open all your windows as well?

[ARW]

Yes, but not by much.

[The Natural Philosopher]

yes

[alan_m]

I wondered about this when my house was empty for 3 weeks during cold weather. I live in a mid-terrance house and during that time I only had the heating come on for a low frost protection temperature.

[Fredxx]

Very little. I'd be more worried if he turns his off.

[Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp]

Depending on your reasons, a storage heater may be the answer and would not entail you having to wear several layers indoors.

It would not affect his gas bill though and indeed may introduce a slight drop.

Installation might be tricky, and an example of a suitable explanation of why your storage heater was connected to the neighbours light fitting might form a good request for uk.d-i-y though.

If fortune smiles on you, the neigbours light may even have the switch in the neutral.

Time to cancel that holiday in the tropics methinks :-)

AB

[Andy Burns]

It'd increase yours more if they turned theirs off ...

[Scott]

Interesting, because my former neighbour had no central heating and I have noticed a definite warming effect on my flat since heating was installed downstairs.

[Tim Watts]

Yes. The heat that will be lost going along the thermal gradient from their warm ceiling to your cold floor (that was previously a very small or non existent gradient) will have to be replaced by their heating.

[Andrew Gabriel]

When you do full heat calculations for a house, a significant quantity of the heat upstairs comes from downstairs through the floor. If you are zoning and might want to heat only the upstairs, you have to calculate on the basis of reduced or no heat from downstairs (depending if you will have a setup or heating downstairs completely off), and will require higher heat output (e.g. larger upstairs radiators).

[spuorgelgoog]

One of my former downstairs neighbours had a baby, and so kept their flat warm. I really noticed when they moved out!

Owain

[Clive Arthur]

I know it's just a typo, but it makes me grin.

Cheers

[harry]

If the temperature in your flat fell to outside temperature, then significantlty. Depending on the U value of your floor/their ceiling.

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

It'll increase your air-conditioning bill in the summer and you'll keep the lower flat much cooler.

[Brian Gaff]

How insulated are the floors and ceilings is the key I'd have thought unless there is a direct path for air between the flats. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

I am in a terrace, ie not the end house, and I notice that the house is warmer as for a start i only have two outside walls, unlike the end terraces, whether I am actually getting any heat flow through the party walls is debatable of course. brian

[Dave W]

I live in a terrace house built in 1902. I can feel the heat coming from both my neighbours as the party walls are solid.

[pamela]

I wonder what temperature diference you would see between each side by measuring the walls with an infrared thermometer.

[Andy Burns]

Paint them black and put fins on them ...